Sitting 50 m. above the sea, Sorrento is the town that names the Peninsula. Located in an enviable geographic position, it possesses superb views, with the Bay of Naples below and the islands out at sea. Small streets wind through the town's historic centre, easily explored in a day. Though Sorrento has become increasingly devoted to tourism and its more tawdry trinkets, local craftsmen still create beautiful objects of inlaid wood (a method called tarsia), leather and jewellery of coral and cameos in side-street workshops.

Cloister of St. Francis — The arched 14th century cloister is filled with palms and tumbling purple bougainvillea. It is attached to the baroque church with its big bell-tower. The surrounding walls are often used for local art exhibits, since the convent is now an art school.