Elegant, colourful and small (1 ml N to S, 1¼ mls E to W), with spectacular coastal scenery, Positano is one of Italy's most exclusive resorts, attracting celebrities, artists, musicians and writers for many decades. Such renown has led to the presence of chic boutiques, craft workshops, antique dealers, smart cafes and restaurants, and a reputation for fashion confirmed by it being, in 1959, the first Italian resort to see the bikini! The town's Moorish origins are betrayed by its picturesque clustered maze of white and pastel-coloured cubic dwellings with their arches, occasional domed roofs, tiny gardens laden with flowers and citrus trees, cobbled alleys, colourful narrow lanes and stepped streets. Dominating all is the distinctive patterned tiled dome of the cathedral. Exploration is strenuous, as the alternative to long, sloping, serpentine streets are steep, stepped streets and old, romantic, whitewashed passages. It's a relief to arrive at sea level by the Piazza Amerigo Vespucci and collapse on the beach or in a cafe!

Middle- to upmarket couples and singles. The topography suits the young more than the elderly.

Some 30 hotels of all categories: four 5-star and eleven 4-star. Half-a-dozen self-catering establishments. Some rooms in houses.

A central sand/shingle beach in front of the town's main square has the full range of beach facilities and is reached by a winding, narrow pathway. Smaller Fornillo beach lies on the other side of town, ½ ml to the W, just beyond a rocky headland.

Tourist shops galore, smart boutiques, antique shops. Positano fashion is renowned for its bright colours and delicate fabrics. Shops tend to be rather pricey.

Daytime: water sports and boat trips. Admiring the views for which this resort is famous. The cathedral. Some works of art and holy relics in the 13th-century church of Santa Maria Assunta. Nightlife: nothing lively. Cultural activities including the International Chamber Music Festival during the summer.

Local Italian cuisine predominates in a selection of pizzerias, beachside cafes and seafood restaurants. Plentiful local dishes such as squid with potatoes, aubergine and legumes with pasta or various types of meat. Romantic settings for a bottle of Lacryma Christi from vines growing on the slopes of Vesuvius. Formal dining in one of the more exclusive hotels with unforgettable views of the rugged coastal scenery.

Regular local buses. Service along the coast to Sorrento or Amalfi (slow progress due to hairpin bends on coastal road). Boats to nearby bays and islets.

Sorrento, Capri, Herculaneum, Pompeii, Vesuvius, Naples, Paestum.

About a third of the way up the front of the boot of Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno; 26 mls SW of Salerno; 11 mls E of Sorrento; 36 mls SE of Naples and 40 mls from its international airport. 166 mls SE of Rome.

Clinging tenaciously to the steep terraces of a natural amphitheatre, the town rises up behind a sand/shingle beach and is surrounded by plunging, partially wooded mountain ridges. Just offshore are 3 uninhabited islets.

Post Code: 84017
Website: www.positanonline.it

Airport : Capodichino
Airport Code: NAP
Flight time from ther U.K.: 2 hrs. 30 mins