Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ristorante Don Alfonso 1890 €€€
( 081 533 02 26;
www.donalfonso.com
; Corso Sant'Agata 11; meals
€115-125; closed Mon & Tue, except Tue night Jun-Sep, closed Jan-early Mar &
Nov-Dec; )
This restaurant with two Michelin stars is generally regarded as one of
Italy's finest. Dishes are prepared with produce from the chef's own 6-hectare farm. The
dining hall is a picture of refined taste, and the international wine list is one of the coun-
try's most extensive and best.
The menu changes seasonally, but hallmark dishes include lightly seared tuna in red-
pepper sauce and pasta with clams and courgettes. The restaurant is part of a same name
hotel and also organise cooking courses. Reservations essential.
MEDITERRANEAN
Lo Stuzzichino €
( 081 533 00 10;
www.ristorantelostuzzichino.it
;
Via Deserto 1a; meals €18,
pizzas from €5; Feb-Dec)
Just down the road from Sant'Agata's church, this Slow
Food Movement affiliated restaurant has a gregarious host in owner Paolo de Gregorio.
Try the specialities: fish rolls stuffed with smoked cheese or seafood stew with seasonal
vegetables. The rare
gamberetti di Crapolla
(prawns) taste a whole lot better than they
sound.
NEAPOLITAN
Getting There & Around
Bus
SITA
( 199 73 07 49;
www.sitabus.it
)
Buses depart hourly from Sorrento's Cir-
cumvesuviana train station.
Car
By car, follow the SS145 west from Sorrento for about 7km until you see signs off to
the right.
Parking
There is generally street parking available, although August can be busy, espe-
cially in the evening.
THE BLUE RIBBON DRIVE
Stretching from
Vietri sul Mare
to
Sant'Agata sui due Golfi
, near Sorrento, the
SS163
, nicknamed
the
Nastro Azzurro
(Blue Ribbon), remains one of Italy's most stunning and dramatic roads. Commis-
sioned by Bourbon King Ferdinand II and completed in 1853, it wends its way along the Amalfi
Coast's entire length, snaking round impossibly tight curves, over deep ravines and through tunnels
gouged out of sheer rock. It's a magnificent feat of civil engineering although, as John Steinbeck poin-
