Hi friends, welcome back to my Italy series! On our first full day in Positano, we planned to take the ferry to see the gorgeous villas in Ravello. We headed to the port only to find out our planned ferry had been cancelled. We ran up all the stairs to try to catch the bus to Amalfi, but we couldn't find the store that sells bus tickets in time. After catching our breath, Jon and I headed back down and were able to get on the first ferry that was leaving for the day. (I used Ferryhopper to book our tickets and they had great customer service. They were able to issue refunds easily for all our cancelled ferries through a quick email) Once on the boat, we were able to relax and enjoy the beautiful views of the Amalfi Coast for the next 25 minutes.
Ravello is located on top of the cliff and only reachable by car or bus. We had planned on taking a bus up to Ravello, but when we went to buy tickets, the agent said no buses were going up to Ravello. We thought that was odd, but we were determined to get up to Ravello so we jumped in a group taxi that was 20 euros a person and made the ascent. It wasn't until we were heading back down that we learned the road was closed to buses due to a fatal accident. Sadly, about two weeks earlier a coach bus's breaks malfunctioned and the driver went through the barrier and off the cliff on one of the hairpin turns. He had just dropped off thirty-two tourists in Ravello, so it could've been even more tragic. We were already nervous about the buses because the roads are narrow and windy, so hearing about this made us even more wary.
After making it up to Ravello, we started our ten minute walk towards Villa Cimbrone. Ravello is a car-free town so I loved wandering the charming and beautiful streets. It seemed especially quiet without all the tour busses dropping off the influx of tourists.
Villa Cimbrone dates back to the eleventh century but underwent an extensive renovation in the 1900s. The villa was converted into a luxurious and pricey nineteen room hotel with a few restaurants including a Michelin star one. Luckily you don't have to be a guest to wander through the Villa's expansive and beautifully manicured gardens. They are open to the public for 10 euros.
The Terrace of Infinity is what this garden is most known for, and even on an overcast day it was still stunning!
I couldn't find much information about the garden so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Throughout the garden there are statues to discover and smaller gardens to wander through.
It's hard not to feel relaxed in such a serene garden.
After exploring the grounds at Villa Cimbrone, we headed back into town with a delicious detour at Mimi's pizza. Stay tuned for another spectacular villa.
Posts in this series:
Florence
Rome
Positano
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