Where To Go In » Italy Villa Cimbrone, Villa Rufolo, where to stay, and how many days you need in Italy’s City of Music
I have visited the Amalfi Coast more times than I can count on both hands, and somehow it took me until this year to properly stay in Ravello. Too long, I know. But better late than never, and now that I have finally slept here rather than passed through on a day trip, I understand what everyone has been quietly protecting all this time. Ravello is not a stop, it is its own reason to come.
We ended up here almost by accident, in the best way. Back in June, Luca’s parents were invited to one of the famed Ravello Festival concerts at Villa Rufolo, and they fell so completely in love with the town that they gifted us three nights here. So this guide comes from a real stay, on a real recommendation, from people who came for one evening of music and could not stop talking about the place.
Ravello, to me, is where you come to slow down. If the rest of your Amalfi Coast itinerary is boats and beach clubs and crowded lemon-lined streets, Ravello is the exhale: the town where the plan is simply to enjoy your hotel, wander the square and the boutiques, buy a piece of ceramic you will treasure, spend hours in Villa Cimbrone, and end the day with aperitivo and dinner on a terrace above the coast. You can reach the nearby beaches too, but you will need a car. What Ravello asks of you is not to rush, and that is exactly its gift. Here is everything I would tell a friend before they go.
Getting to Ravello
We drove up from Nerano, right at the tip of the Amalfi Coast, which meant the full stretch of the coastal road: the winding turns, the SITA buses appearing around blind corners, the drama of the cliffs, and the near impossible task of keeping your eyes on the road when the view keeps pulling them back to the sea. We passed all of it, Positano, Praiano, Amalfi, before taking the turn that matters most.
Because this is the first thing to understand about Ravello. It does not sit on the water like the other towns. It is perched high above the coast, so after Amalfi you turn inland and climb. There is a stretch where the road narrows so much that only one car can pass, and you wait your turn at a light while cars file down from above. As you go up, the terraced hillsides open around you and the air turns a few degrees cooler and fresher. Then the signs appear, “Ravello Città della Musica,” then “Ravello Festival,” and you know you have arrived somewhere that takes itself, gently, seriously.
A practical note: because Ravello is up and away from the coast road, reaching it is genuinely harder than reaching Positano or Amalfi, which is exactly why a day trip here can feel rushed and stressful. More on that below, because it shapes how I think you should visit.
For the full picture of the coast and how the towns connect, this guide sits inside my complete Amalfi Coast travel guide.
Day trip or overnight? My honest take
My honest advice is to stay the night, at least one, and here is why.
Ravello is small, and you really do not need a week here. Plenty of people visit it as a day trip, and it is entirely possible to do that from towns like Amalfi or Maiori, but I would not, and I think you would be selling the place short if you did. I will be honest about the crowds, because I want this to be useful rather than dramatic: when we were there, at the end of August, from the 18th to the 21st, I did not find Ravello crowded, certainly not compared to the crush you feel in Positano or Amalfi. The porter at our hotel told us the season had been very busy, so perhaps we simply caught a calmer stretch. Either way, the difference between a day trip and a night here has less to do with crowds and more to do with time of day.
Because the real magic arrives once the day trippers leave. The town settles back into itself, the streets belong to the locals again, and you find kids kicking a soccer ball in the square, mothers lingering over aperitivo, retirees talking on the benches, and the view going soft and pink over the coast. That is the Ravello worth staying for.
One night turns Ravello from a checklist into a feeling. One of my favorite moments was simply walking back to our hotel along Via Richard Wagner in the evening, when the lights come on down the tree-lined avenue and the whole town feels hushed and golden. You do not get that on a day trip, and it is the reason I would always choose to stay.
Things to do in Ravello
Ravello rewards wandering more than it rewards a packed itinerary, but there are a few things you should not miss.
1. Villa Cimbrone
If you do only one thing in Ravello, make it this. It is a once-in-a-lifetime hotel, but it is also a garden open to the public, and it is genuinely extraordinary. I arrived thinking I had come for the famous Terrace of Infinity, and I was wrong, because the real magic turned out to be the path that leads you there, the way the whole garden unfolds like a story, and the tale of the Englishman who bought the place and brought it back to life. Give it hours, not 30 minutes. I wrote a full deep dive on visiting the gardens, which you can read here, because it truly deserves its own guide. It is also, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful gardens in Italy.
2. Villa Rufolo
The other great villa, and the beating heart of Ravello’s identity as the City of Music. Unlike Villa Cimbrone, which is essentially an eclectic early-1900s dream-garden, Villa Rufolo is a genuinely medieval villa, dating to the thirteenth century, with a tall Moorish tower, an Arab-Norman cloister, and terraced gardens that spill out over the sea. In 1880 the composer Richard Wagner was so moved by it that he modeled the enchanted garden of Klingsor in his opera Parsifal on these grounds, and ever since, its lower garden has been the stage for the Ravello Festival, which has drawn music lovers here since 1953. If I am completely honest, having seen it right after Villa Cimbrone, if you only have time for one, I would return to Villa Rufolo more for a concert than for a daytime visit. The setting, with an orchestra playing on a terrace cantilevered over the coast, is genuinely one of a kind. If you can time your trip to a concert here, do not miss it. This is the villa that made Luca’s parents fall in love with the town in the first place.
3. Belvedere Principessa di Piemonte
Right at the main entrance to town, next to the town hall, this belvedere gives you one of the classic Ravello views, and it makes the perfect first stop to orient yourself. From here you can look straight across into the terrace of Palazzo Avino, its pink facade unmistakable, and get your first real sense of just how high above the coast Ravello sits.
4. The historic center and the Duomo
The main square is exactly the kind of Italian piazza you hope to stumble into, anchored by the cathedral and full of daily life: kids playing soccer while their parents linger over aperitivo, retirees talking on the benches. What struck me most about Ravello is how beautifully kept it is, all those lovely boutiques and ceramic shops, the flowers everywhere, the sense that the town is genuinely cared for rather than simply visited. Take your time here, and stop at the San Francesco cloister, a quiet, beautiful pause just off the walk up toward Villa Cimbrone.
5. A town full of cats
One thing I noticed is that Ravello is full of cats, lounging on the warm stone and waiting in front of the butcher’s shop to get some meat! Wandering near the Belvedere Principessa di Piemonte, we noticed that someone clearly looks after them, which felt very in keeping with a town this gentle. In Italy, street cats are protected and cared for as a matter of course, and in Ravello they feel like part of the furniture.
6. A ceramics detour worth taking
On the way to Villa Cimbrone we got happily sidetracked at a ceramics shop called Carmela, where the owner, Alfonso, sent us home with two beautiful serving plates. We will absolutely be ordering more, because they deliver for free. This is exactly the kind of small, personal find that a rushed day trip never leaves room for. But this was just one of the ceramics shops, Ravello is packed with them!
The terraces and views of Ravello
Ravello is a town of terraces, each one framing the coast a little differently. Beyond the Belvedere Piemontese at the town entrance, keep walking up and you cross into the grounds of Caruso, a Belmond hotel, another of Ravello’s legendary perches.
For a drink with a view, I would send you to the Terrazza del Professore. And the terrace at Villa Cimbrone’s restaurant, Il Flauto di Pan, is worth knowing about too. In Ravello, the view is never far, but these are the spots where you can sit with it.
Where to eat in Ravello
A few recommendations:
- Pizzeria da Mimì was a delicious first dinner after a long drive. The place has a few different areas, an indoor room, an outdoor space, and a beautiful terrace looking over the Duomo di Ravello and the greenery, so ask for the terrace if you can. I had La Verace, a bit like a margherita but with provolone, and Luca had one topped with friggitelli. Both were excellent.
- Vittoria won me over with its homey, proper-trattoria vibe. The service is lovely, and there is a genuinely knowledgeable sommelier, who steered us to a Furore by Marisa Cuomo, a fantastic wine grown on the cliffs of the coast itself. The genovese pasta was delicious, and so was the vongole, though for my taste both were not quite al dente enough. The sauces, though, wow. Luca’s filetto was excellent. Come hungry and let them pour you something local.
- For aperitivo, Terrazza del Professore was a highlight. One thing to know: you cannot sit at the tables with the full view unless you are having dinner, but our seat was still lovely and we did have a view. What I loved was the atmosphere: quiet, old-school, with jazz playing softly in the background. Luca’s Old Fashioned was excellent, and they have a serious wine list. We had one of those intimate, unhurried evenings that you remember, all easy conversation and low light. I am not sure I would come here for dinner, but for a drink, absolutely.
If you feel like splurging, Ravello has no shortage of special occasion tables. The Terrazza del Confalone, the Terrazza Meraviglia at Palazzo Avino, and Il Flauto di Pan, the restaurant at Villa Cimbrone, are all the kind of places you dress up for and remember.
Where to stay in Ravello
This is the town of some of the most legendary hotels on the entire Amalfi Coast: Palazzo Avino with its pink walls, Caruso by Belmond up on the heights, and Villa Cimbrone itself.
We stayed at Hotel Villa Fraulo, a four star hotel on the same beautiful street as Palazzo Confalone and Palazzo Avino, and I would happily recommend it. Classic Italian elegance, warm service, and stunning views, the kind that made the room hard to leave, which after two hours in the car was almost a problem, because all I wanted to do was finish my book on the balcony.
Because there is a lot to say about where to base yourself here, and it is the decision that shapes your whole stay, I put it all in a dedicated guide: where to stay in Ravello, broken down by style and by budget.
Beaches near Ravello
Here is the one thing Ravello does not have: a beach. It sits too high above the water for that.
The good news is that Maiori and Minori, two of the coast’s easiest swimming towns, are a quick drive down. And for a proper beach club day, we drove about 45 minutes to Riva del Fuenti in Vietri sul Mare, which has parking, a rare luxury on this coast. I cover it and the rest of the coast’s best swimming spots in my guide to the best beaches and beach clubs on the Amalfi Coast.
How long to stay in Ravello
One to three nights is the sweet spot. One night is enough to see the town and have it to yourself in the early morning and evening, but a little longer lets you settle in and slow down, which is really the whole point of Ravello. We stayed three nights and it felt just right, with one of those days spent down at the beach for a change of pace. Much more than that and you will probably want to be moving between the coast’s other towns, which is easy to do with Ravello as a peaceful, cooler base above the crowds.
Is Ravello worth it?
Completely, and I say that as someone who waited far too long to find out. Ravello is quieter, higher, and more graceful than the towns on the water. It trades the beach for gardens, music, and views that genuinely stop you mid sentence. Come for at least one night, walk it slowly, and let it do what it did to Luca’s parents, and now to me.
Ravello FAQ
Is Ravello worth visiting?
Yes. Ravello is one of the most beautiful towns on the Amalfi Coast, and its two gardens, Villa Cimbrone and Villa Rufolo, along with its quieter, more graceful atmosphere, make it worth the climb up from the coast. If you can, stay at least one night rather than visiting only as a day trip.
How many days do you need in Ravello?
One to three nights is ideal. Ravello is small and easy to see in a single day of walking, but staying longer lets you enjoy the town in the early morning and evening once the day trippers leave, and gives Villa Cimbrone the hours it deserves. We stayed three nights, including a day at the beach, and it felt just right.
Is Ravello better as a day trip or an overnight stay?
Overnight, if you can. Ravello sits high above the coast and is harder to reach than Positano or Amalfi, so a day trip can feel rushed. Staying the night is when the town is at its most magical.
Does Ravello have a beach?
No. Ravello is perched high above the sea and has no beach of its own. The nearest swimming towns are Maiori and Minori, a short drive down, and beach clubs like Riva del Fuenti in Vietri sul Mare are reachable by car in under an hour.
What is Ravello known for?
Ravello is known as the City of Music, home to the Ravello Festival, and for its two spectacular clifftop gardens, Villa Cimbrone with its Terrace of Infinity, and Villa Rufolo. It is one of the most romantic and refined towns on the Amalfi Coast.
How do you get to Ravello?
Ravello is reached by turning inland and climbing up from the town of Amalfi on the coastal road. You can drive, take a SITA bus, or arrange a private transfer. Because the town sits above the coast, expect a winding road and, in high season, some traffic on the narrow stretches near the top.
Villa Cimbrone or Villa Rufolo: which should you visit?
They are two very different places. Villa Cimbrone is an eclectic garden created in the early 1900s, famous for its Terrace of Infinity, its mix of Moorish, Gothic, and classical architecture, and its dreamy, wander-for-hours atmosphere. Villa Rufolo is a genuinely medieval villa with a Moorish tower and gardens over the sea, best known as the setting for the Ravello Festival concerts. If you only have time for one, I would choose Villa Cimbrone for its stunning gardens and architecture. But I would not miss Villa Rufolo for a concert, which is an unforgettable experience in its own right.
When is the best time to visit Ravello?
We visited in late August and it was lovely, but late spring and early autumn, roughly May, June, September, and early October, offer the best balance of good weather, blooming gardens, and lighter crowds. The Ravello Festival typically runs across the summer months, which is worth planning around if you want to catch a concert at Villa Rufolo.
The post Ravello Travel Guide: Things to Do, Where to Stay, and Everything You Need to Know appeared first on Where To Go In | Luxury travel rooted in place.
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