Positano

Positano needs 2 days: the village itself, built in vertical terraces above the sea, is walkable (downhill to the beach, bus back up), plus a boat trip along the Amalfi Coast to Amalfi or Capri on the other. May-September has the best weather, though July-August brings the biggest crowds and highest prices. It's the priciest village on the Amalfi Coast, with luxury hotels carved into the cliffside. Its pastel-colored houses cascading toward the sea made it the coast's most photographed village, immortalized by John Steinbeck as «a dream place that isn't quite real».