The real city at the eastern end of the coast: a Norman cathedral built over the tomb of St Matthew, a medieval garden of medicinal plants, a long palm-lined seafront and a port full of boats to every town on the coast.
Salerno is a working city, not a resort, and that is its charm: real shops, real prices and real life, with the whole coast a boat ride away.
The cathedral of San Matteo was built by the Norman ruler Robert Guiscard in the 11th century. Its arcaded courtyard leads to a church whose glittering crypt holds the tomb of St Matthew the Evangelist. Uphill, the Giardino della Minerva is a terraced garden of medicinal plants linked to the Schola Medica Salernitana, the first medical school in medieval Europe, with views over the rooftops to the gulf.
Down by the water, the Lungomare Trieste runs for more than a kilometre under palms and holm oaks, and from the port the Travelmar ferries leave for Cetara, Maiori, Minori, Amalfi and Positano for €12 to €17.
High-speed trains reach Salerno from Rome in about two hours, and beds here are cheaper than anywhere on the coast. It is a sensible place to start or end a trip.
A half-day loop on foot from the station, ending at the port.
Walk from the station to the Lungomare Trieste and follow the palms west.
Turn into the medieval merchants' street with its small shops and churches.
Cross the arcaded courtyard and go down to the crypt of St Matthew.
Climb the lanes to the terraced garden of medicinal plants and its view.
Walk back down to the port for a boat along the coast.
High-speed trains from Rome and Naples; Salerno's airport has had scheduled flights since 2024.
Travelmar to the coast towns from April to October, €12 to Amalfi and €17 to Positano.
The cheapest beds near the coast, with a ferry outside the door.
Amalfi Coast practical notes →Photographs from Wikimedia Commons and Pexels under their licences; some are our own.
