Europe Up Close

Where to Stay in Sorrento, Italy

Published/Revised April 14, 2015 By This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

A luxurious, coastal Italian town if ever there was one, Sorrento offers a great selection of high-end ‘where to stay’ options; but budget travelers will have a hard time of it. Nevertheless, you’ll find a small selection of budget hotel recommendations below. The following ‘where to stay’ options are organized by hotel star rating, beginning with five-star hotels, and preference has been given to ... Read Full Article

The Good Life at the Grand Hotel President Sorrento

Published/Revised March 15, 2015 By This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

On our last trip to Italy, we enjoyed a two-night complimentary stay at the Grand Hotel President in Sorrento. After several days in Rome and two nights in gritty Naples, we were ready for a respite and the Grand Hotel President Sorrento proved to be just that. Set a few miles high above Sorrento (the gateway to the Amalfi Coast), the hotel offers unparalleled views over the Bay of Naples ... Read Full Article

Hiring a Tour Guide: Is it Worth it?

Published/Revised December 18, 2017 By This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

My husband, Bill, and I had never hired a private tour guide before our recent trip to Italy. In the past, we read our guidebooks, consulted the internet, and reviewed EuropeUpClose.com to see what our writers had to say. We then did our own thing. We have also been part of  large group tours, but this experience showed us the value of a knowledgeable, private tour guide to help us sort through ... Read Full Article

Viewing the Lives of Pompeii, Italy’s Elite

Published/Revised June 20, 2016 By This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Pompeii is one of the leading sights in all of Italy because it takes visitors into the past, one that not only surrounds them on all sides, but which resembles the present. Originally, I’d questioned the necessity of visiting Pompeii after hearing that it is a tourist trap. In the spring, school groups fill the buildings and all of summer is also peak-season. However, when I visited the city in ... Read Full Article

Pompeii, Italy: Where Time Stands Still

Published/Revised June 20, 2016 By This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Some 2,000 years ago, Pompeii, Italy was a thriving city of shops, taverns, workshops, theatrical shows, and homes with elaborate courtyards. Then, one disastrous August day, Mount Vesuvius blew. The volcano’s eruption smothered Pompeii and everything in it under 60 feet of ash. There the city lay, untouched, until excavation began in the 18th century. Today people, millions of them, walk ... Read Full Article

Explore the South of Italy

Published/Revised June 12, 2014 By This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

    For most travelers to Italy, Rome is the furthest south they will travel. The golden triangle encompassing Rome, Venice and Florence is the main route. But the south has so much to offer! The regions of the south include, Lazio and within it Rome and Vatican city, Abruzzo, Molise and Puglia along the Adriatic, Naples and Campania, the toe of the boot Basilicata and Calabria, ... Read Full Article