Positano itinerary for first-timers

Begin high above the sea in the upper part of town around Chiesa Nuova, and let gravity do the work. Viale Pasitea, the one road that winds through Positano, curls down the western side of the cliff past villas draped in bougainvillea, small shops and a string of terraces where the whole town suddenly opens up below you, with the tiled dome and the beach far beneath. Partway down, a small nativity scene sits in the rock of the Grotta di Fornillo by the roadside.

• Chiesa Nuova
• Viale Pasitea viewpoints
• Grotta di Fornillo nativity
• Views down to the dome and the beach

The local bus can take you up to the top so the morning walk is all downhill; the pavement is narrow in places, so keep to the inside on the bends.

Viale Pasitea ends at the little Piazza dei Mulini, where the pedestrian Via dei Mulini begins: a narrow lane shaded by vines and bougainvillea and lined with linen boutiques, sandal makers, ceramics and lemon shops. It leads into the tangle of alleys of the old centre and down to the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, whose green, yellow and blue majolica dome is the symbol of Positano. Inside, look for the Byzantine icon of the Black Madonna above the altar.

• Piazza dei Mulini
• Via dei Mulini
• Old town alleys
• Majolica dome of Santa Maria Assunta
• Black Madonna icon

Via dei Mulini is busiest when the day-trip ferries and buses arrive in the late morning; the lanes are calmer early and again in the evening.

Just below the church, Spiaggia Grande is the town's main beach: a long curve of grey pebbles lined with rows of umbrellas and fishing boats, with the pastel houses stacked up the cliff behind it. A promenade runs along the back of the beach to the pier where the ferries come and go, and from the water's edge you get the view of Positano rising straight up from the sea that appears on every postcard.

• Spiaggia Grande
• Beach promenade
• Ferry pier
• View of the town from the shore

Part of the beach is free and part is taken by paid sunbed areas; bring water shoes, as the pebbles get hot and hard on the feet by midday.

From the western end of Spiaggia Grande, Via Positanesi d'America is a footpath cut into the cliff above the sea, passing a tiny hidden cove on the way to Fornillo. This second beach, in a small bay below the hillside, is narrower and more relaxed than the main one, with a laid-back mood and fewer crowds, a good place to swim and spend the hot hours of the afternoon.

• Via Positanesi d'America
• Sea views from the cliff path
• Hidden cove
• Fornillo Beach

The path takes about 10 minutes and is flat for most of the way, with a few steps; it is lovely in the late afternoon light on the walk back.

Back at the main beach, climb Via dei Mulini once more and turn onto Via Cristoforo Colombo, the road that rises along the eastern side of town. Near the top, a bend opens onto the most famous view of Positano: the whole town piled up the cliff like a pyramid, with the church dome and the beach at its foot and the coast fading away to the west. It is at its best when the low sun turns the houses gold.

• Via Cristoforo Colombo
• Positano viewpoint
• Sunset over the town

The climb takes about 20 minutes from the beach; the local bus runs up the same road if you would rather save your legs for the evening.

After dark Positano becomes a cascade of lights. Wander back down past Piazza Flavio Gioia and the floodlit church, take the steps of Via del Saracino to the shore and stroll along Spiaggia Grande, where the terraces fill up, the boats rock in the dark and the hillside glitters above you. Once the day visitors have gone, the town feels like a village again.

• Piazza Flavio Gioia
• Santa Maria Assunta at night
• Via del Saracino
• Spiaggia Grande by night