Campania · Napoli
Sorrento
The Roman Surrentum on a tuff cliff above the Bay of Napoli, sacked by the Turks in 1558.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
This one is famous. If you want what it offers with fewer people, see what to see instead of Sorrento.
Why Sorrento is on our list
It holds Bandiera Blu.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 57 min from Naples
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 15,152
- J13°
- F14°
- M15°
- A17°
- M22°
- J27°
- J30°
- A30°
- S26°
- O22°
- N18°
- D15°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 28° and coldest in February at 15°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Sorrento sits on a block of tuff cliff fifty meters above the Bay of Napoli, thirty kilometers from the city by Circumvesuviana railway or ferry. The town began as a Greek foundation and became the Roman Surrentum, a resort favored by senators. The current population is 15,152.
The old town sits above, gathered around the Duomo and the cloister of San Francesco a few minutes apart, while Marina Grande lies below the cliff, reached through the ancient Greek gate, its harbor still working and its trattorie facing the bay. Terraces of lemon groves ring the slopes above town, the same femminello sorrentino IGP fruit that supplies the limoncello sold through the centro storico. Piazza Tasso, at the head of the old town, is where Corso Italia begins and where the statue of Torquato Tasso stands; the poet was baptized in the cathedral below. A cliff town facing the bay, its upper streets given to churches and squares, its lower shore to fishing and the harbor, and its surrounding slopes turned over entirely to the lemon that still funds much of what happens in between.
How to get there
From Naples (NAP), about 1 h 3 min by car.
Rome Fiumicino (FCO) is about 3 h 23 min away.
By car from the center of Naples 57 min or Salerno 1 h 3 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Naples?
Coming by train into Napoli Centrale? Sorrento is about 56 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Naples airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Duomo di Sorrento
Eleventh-century cathedral, rebuilt in 1573 after the Ottoman raid, with a Baroque interior, a 1924 neo-Gothic façade and the baptistery where Torquato Tasso was christened.
Chiostro di San Francesco
Fourteenth-century cloister of tuff arches and crossed columns, the marble façade redone in 1926, still used for civic weddings and chamber concerts.
Museo Correale di Terranova
Decorative arts museum in a seventeenth-century villa opened in 1924, with Neapolitan porcelain, period furniture and seventeenth-century painting.
Piazza Tasso
Main square at the head of the centro storico, with the statue of Torquato Tasso, the church of Carmine and the start of Corso Italia.
Marina Grande
Old fishing district below the cliff, reached through the ancient Greek gate, with seafood trattorie facing the bay and the harbor still active.
From the guides
Where to eat and stay
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Il BucoRistorante
Il Buco holds one Michelin star and two Gambero Rosso forks (85/100).
LoreleiRistorante
One Michelin star for Lorelei, and two Gambero Rosso forks (84/100).
Terrazza BosquetRistorante
One Michelin star for Terrazza Bosquet, and two Gambero Rosso forks (83/100).
18 more places the guides name in Sorrento
ZestRistorante
Zest holds two Gambero Rosso forks (84/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Da Bob Cook FishRistorante
Da Bob Cook Fish has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.
L' Antica TrattoriaRistorante
Two Gambero Rosso forks (81/100), at L' Antica Trattoria.
Ristorante O' Canonico 1898Ristorante
A place on Italy's historic-locali register, at Ristorante O' Canonico 1898.
Ristorante O' ParrucchianoRistorante
Ristorante O' Parrucchiano has a place on Italy's historic-locali register to its name.
Soul & FishRistorante
A spot in the Michelin Guide, at Soul & Fish.
The Garden da GennaroTrattoria
The Garden da Gennaro carries a Gambero Rosso listing.
VrasaGriglieria
A Gambero Rosso listing, at Vrasa.
Grand Hotel Excelsior VittoriaHotel
One Michelin Key for Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, along with a La Liste score of 93 and a Leading Hotels of the World listing, among other nods.
Bellevue Syrene 1820Hotel
Bellevue Syrene 1820 carries two Michelin Keys, plus a place on Italy's historic-locali register.
Grand Hotel AmbasciatoriHotel
Grand Hotel Ambasciatori carries a place in the Michelin hotel guide.
Grand Hotel RoyalHotel
A place on Italy's historic-locali register, at Grand Hotel Royal.
Hotel Imperial TramontanoHotel
Hotel Imperial Tramontano holds a place on Italy's historic-locali register.
Hotel Lorelei LondresHotel
Hotel Lorelei Londres carries a place in the Michelin hotel guide.
Hotel MinervaHotel
Hotel Minerva has a place on Italy's historic-locali register to its name.
La MinervettaHotel
La Minervetta has two Michelin Keys to its name.
Mediterraneo SorrentoHotel
One Michelin Key, at Mediterraneo Sorrento.
Palazzo MarzialeHotel
Palazzo Marziale holds a place in the Michelin hotel guide.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Signature product
Limone di Sorrento IGP
The sfusato sorrentino lemon, large, fragrant, traditionally trained on chestnut-wood pergolas above the cliffs.
See the towns we cover in the zone of Limone di Sorrento IGP.
Living here
Could you live here?
Sorrento meets all 3 of our rules for a small town.
- 15,152 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Castellammare di Stabia, a city of 62,320, is 32 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 15,152, down 8.9% since 2015
- Nearest city Castellammare di Stabia, 32 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Vico Equense, 7 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €4,200 to €6,900 per m² to buy, €12.30 to €20.10 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 47% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Naples airport (NAP), 1 h 3 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Naples, 57 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
4% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Ukraine, Romania and India, against 9% across Italy. 74 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom and the United States. There are 237 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 30% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Naples province ranks 104th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is an emergency room in the comune. The nearest major one is in Naples, 29 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Vico Equense, 7 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 212 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is École Francaise de Naples Alexandre-Dumas, 27 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.7% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €15,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town qualifies, for someone with a foreign pension who has lived abroad for five years: 7% on foreign income, for ten years.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Campania spends about €1,800 a month, €650 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €328 a year for water, on the Campania average. In Naples, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.25, a meal in a pizzeria €11.02 and a man's haircut €18.55.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone C, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 15 to March 31, up to 10 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 4% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods. 8% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
TASSO
Torquato Tasso, author of Gerusalemme Liberata, born here in 1544 and baptized in the cathedral; Piazza Tasso holds his statue.
LIMONCELLO
Lemon liqueur made from the femminello sorrentino IGP lemons grown on terraces above the town, the local industry that anchors most centro storico shops.
1558 SACK
On 13 June 1558 Ottoman forces under Dragut breached the cliff walls and carried off two thousand inhabitants; the new walls were rebuilt in stages after that.
PROTECTED PRODUCTS
The commune lies inside the Provolone del Monaco DOP and Limone di Sorrento IGP production zones.
Common questions
- What is Sorrento known for?
- Sorrento is the Roman Surrentum on a tuff cliff above the Bay of Napoli, sacked by the Turks in 1558.
- Where is Sorrento?
- Sorrento is a comune in the province of Napoli, in Campania, at 50 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Sorrento?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Naples (NAP), about 1 h 3 min by car.
- Can you get to Sorrento without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Naples to Sorrento?
- About 57 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Sorrento?
- Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Sorrento?
- Orbetello, Cerveteri and Piano di Sorrento.
- How many people live in Sorrento?
- 15,152 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Sorrento a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Sorrento is a small town that meets all 3 of our rules. The nearest city, Castellammare di Stabia, is 32 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Vico Equense, 7 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 47% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 50 m
- Population: 15,152
- Surface area: 9.96 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Sorrento appears in
- The 6 best beach towns with a serious restaurant in CampaniaCampaniaclean beachserious restaurant6 towns · smallest 2,410 residents
- The best towns worth staying overnight in the province of NapoliNapoli provinceworth staying overnight6 towns · smallest 6,722 residents
- The best beach towns you can reach by train in CampaniaCampaniaclean beachby train7 towns · smallest 2,410 residents
- The best cheese towns within 90 minutes of SalernoNear Salernowithin 90 mincheese zone7 towns · smallest 720 residents · closest 55 min away
- The best towns inside a nature park that eat well in the province of NapoliNapoli provinceinside a parkeats well7 towns · smallest 12,213 residents
- The best towns with a serious restaurant that eat well within 90 minutes of NaplesNear Napleswithin 90 minserious restauranteats well8 towns · smallest 6,368 residents · closest 24 min away
Featured on
Sorrento appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Similar
Towns like Sorrento
What all six share with Sorrento: over 10,000 people · near sea level
- Written about. No. 52.
Orbetello
Province: Grosseto
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both have a railway station in the comune
- Written about. No. 67.
Cerveteri
Province: Roma
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both have a railway station in the comune
Piano di Sorrento
Province: Napoli
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both have a railway station in the comune
Vico Equense
Province: Napoli
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both have a railway station in the comune
Agropoli
Province: Salerno
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both have a railway station in the comune
Menfi
Province: Agrigento
both on the coast
The letter
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