8 Best Things To Do In Sorrento, Italy At Night

1. Take a passeggiata in the city centre

Sorrento in the daytime is fabulous, of course, but the temperatures can get up into the high 80s and 90s Fahrenheit (26.6 to 32 C), making a long walk often feel like a physical trial rather than a pleasure. Fortunately, the shops stay open late at night, including up until 9 pm on Sundays. This makes the evening the perfect time to go for a passeggiata (a nice, leisurely walk), explore the shops, and enjoy some street food. Sorrento in the evening is beautiful, and a little quieter than in the daytime, so this is something to look forward to.

Sorrento City Centre

Website: Sorrento

2. Take the Amalfi Drive for an incredible experience

If you hire a car for your trip, then ideally you will have two drivers because, while this is an unforgettable experience, it’s less rewarding for the driver. The Amalfi Coast road, leading from Sorrento to Amalfi via Positano, is beautiful in the daytime. At night, it’s even more stunning as the coastal resorts are lit up and prettier than ever. Indeed, it might be worth leaving the car behind and taking a bus to get the full experience; it’s one you’ll want to record for posterity.

Amalfi Drive

Address: Amalfi Coast, Naples, Italy

3. Relax with an aperitivo at a cafe with a terrace

Editor's Note: There's no photo available at the time of writing

Sorrento is in Italy, so of course food is taken seriously here. Seriously to the point of requiring a small drink (alcoholic or not) before dinner, and ideally at one of the many cafes with a terrace you will find in Sorrento. Here, you can sit and watch the world go by, which is fun anywhere, but with the Sorrento town square as a backdrop, it gets even better. Quick tip: In Italy, aperitivo time stretches from around 7 to 9 pm, at which point dinner is eaten.

Aperitivo at Bar Rita

Address: Corso Italia, 219, 80067 Sorrento NA, Italy

Website: Bar Rita

4. Set sail from Marina Grande

As a coastal location, Sorrento has a couple of marinas. Known as Marina Grande and Marina Piccolo (those are large and small, respectively), they offer the chance to take a trip to nearby points of interest such as Naples and Capri. An early evening cruise to one of those beautiful spots can allow you to see the coast as darkness descends, taking on an almost magical quality that’s a feast for the eyes. Alternatively, if you haven’t got your sea legs, you can sit in one of the many cafes and bars port-side and enjoy the view.

Marina Grande

Address: Marina Grande, Sorrento, Italy

Website: Marina Grande

5. Sing and dance the night away at Tiffany

Editor's Note: There's no photo available at the time of writing

In Sorrento nightlife lore, no club has as longstanding and glittering a reputation as Tiffany. The nightclub is famous for its live music, which can vary between local, Italian language acts from Sorrento and nearby, or a more eclectic and international mix. After an evening in one of the many fine restaurants here, the finest way to end the night is with a couple of hours in this Sorrento institution.

Tiffany Sorrento

Address: Via Sant'Antonino 6, Piazza Tasso, 80067, Sorrento, Italy

6. Take a walk by the harbour and enjoy the sights

Although Sorrento may not be a beach paradise, it doesn’t mean you can’t go for a walk by the sea here. In fact, the walks you can take here, along the side of Sorrento harbour, can be even more pleasant because they’re more relaxing and scenic. The best time of all for such a walk may be just as the sun begins to go down. As you watch Sorrento light up ready for another flamboyant evening, a walk in the fresh sea air is just the way to work up an appetite.

Sorrento harbour

Address: Sorrento, Italy

7. Take in a Tarantella show at Teatro Tasso

Teatro Tasso, on Sorrento’s main square, hosts evenings of Tarantella shows that have become synonymous with the culture of the city. Tarantella, for the uninitiated, started as a form of dance not dissimilar to the tango, for which composers as illustrious as Rossini came to write music for specially. It has been argued that the shows lost their way over the course of time, until the proprietors of the Tasso looked deep into the history and culture of the dances to try and bring back the magic. This has proved a tremendous success, with countless tourists to the area remarking on the Tarantella as a highlight of their trip.

Teatro Tasso

Address: Piazza Sant'Antonino, 25, 80067 Sorrento NA, Italy

Website: Teatro Tasso

8. Eat! Dine in one of the many excellent restaurants

Editor's Note: There's no photo available at the time of writing

Any evening in Sorrento, or anywhere in Italy, would be a missed opportunity if the visitor doesn’t take the chance to sample the local cuisine. So near to the sea, it feels like it would be a shame not to sample some of the local seafood, with risotto and sea bass at Ristorante Bagni Delfino being particularly popular choice among visitors. Alternatively, Raki specialises in Italian traditional meals and offers a range of gluten-free and vegetarian-friendly options, as well as some of the best gelato in town.

Ristorante Bagni Delfino

Address: Via Marina Grande, 216, 80067 Sorrento NA, Italy

See Sorrento and smile: a seaside experience you'll want to repeat

Nearby Naples is famous, among other things, for the quote (attributed to Goethe, but not definitively): “See Naples and die.” The meaning was that, once you’d been there, nothing could ever top it. No one is going to suggest that you should see your holiday in Sorrento in quite the same melodramatic light, but it is a trip that will make you smile from ear to ear. Beautiful scenery, wonderful food, and perhaps most importantly, nights that will make the whole experience feel like a holiday in Heaven. Sorrento comes alive at night, and you’ll want to be there to see it happen.