Capri

The Romans came first. Emperor Augustus took the island for himself, and his successor Tiberius ruled the empire from Capri for his last years. The ruins of his largest palace, Villa Jovis, still stand on the eastern cliff, about 45 minutes' walk uphill from the Piazzetta.

In the 19th century, painters and writers from northern Europe came for the light and the low cost of living. In 1826 the German painter August Kopisch and his friend Ernst Fries were taken by local fishermen into a sea cave on the north coast. Kopisch's account made the Blue Grotto famous across Europe. The Swedish doctor Axel Munthe later built Villa San Michele in Anacapri, now a house museum with a garden over the bay.

The German industrialist Friedrich Krupp paid for the road that zigzags down the cliff to Marina Piccola, known as Via Krupp. The best view of it, and of the Faraglioni, is from the Gardens of Augustus, a few minutes' walk from the Piazzetta.

Every visit starts at Marina Grande, the main harbour. From there a funicular climbs to the town of Capri and the Piazzetta, with its cafés and clock tower. The lanes around it are full of small shops, and a short walk leads to the Gardens of Augustus, the viewpoint over the Faraglioni and Via Krupp.

Anacapri is reached by minibus or bus along a road cut into the cliff. In the town you can visit Villa San Michele, or take the single-seat chairlift up Monte Solaro, the island's highest point at 589 metres. The ride takes about 12 minutes and the view covers both the Bay of Naples and the Gulf of Salerno.

The Blue Grotto is a sea cave on the north-west coast. You reach it by boat from Marina Grande, or by bus from Anacapri, then change into a small rowboat for up to four people. The entrance is only about a metre high, so you lie back while the boatman pulls the boat through on a chain. Inside, light coming up through the water turns everything blue. The visit inside lasts about five minutes, and the queue can take an hour or more. Entry is paid separately from the boat ride.

Late spring and early autumn are the most pleasant times, with warm weather and fewer people than in July and August. In high summer the ferries are full and the Piazzetta is crowded from mid-morning. In winter many shops and hotels close, but the island is quiet and the walks are cooler.

The sea decides a lot on Capri. Fast hydrofoils are cancelled more easily in rough seas than the larger ferries. The Blue Grotto closes when the sea is rough or the wind is strong, and boatmen decide each morning whether it is safe to enter. You cannot know in advance whether it will open, so treat it as a bonus, not the reason for the trip. It is always closed on 25 December and 1 January.

An early ferry helps in any season, as the island is calmer before the day crowds arrive.