Most day-trippers never make it past Capri town, and that is exactly why you should. Up the mountain, reached by a hair-raising bus ride or an open-top taxi, Anacapri is the island’s second village: quieter, whiter, lower-key, and home to two of Capri’s best experiences, the chairlift to the summit of Monte Solaro and the storybook Villa San Michele. This is the half of the island where you can breathe. Here is how to do Anacapri and Monte Solaro properly.
Getting up to Anacapri
Anacapri sits high on the western shoulder of the island, above Capri town. From Marina Grande or from Capri town, take the local bus up the winding cliff road to Piazza Vittoria, the village’s main square and the hub for everything here. A single ticket is about €2.40 if you buy in advance, or €2.90 from the driver; the buses are small, frequent and cheap, but they fill fast and the road is famously narrow, so expect a squeeze in high season. The island’s open-top taxis are the more glamorous way up, and the drive alone, hanging over the sea on those hairpins, is worth doing once.
The Monte Solaro chairlift
This is the single best thing to do in Anacapri, and one of the best on the whole island. From Piazza Vittoria, the seggiovia (a single-seat chairlift) carries you gently up to the summit of Monte Solaro, at 589 metres the highest point on Capri. The ride takes about 13 minutes each way, floating silently over gardens and terraces with the sea widening beneath your feet.
At the top the view is simply the best on the island: a full 360 degrees over the Faraglioni, the Bay of Naples, the Amalfi Coast, and, on a clear day, Vesuvius smoking faintly across the water. There is a little bar at the summit for a drink with the view.
Practical notes: it runs roughly 9:15am to 5pm (shorter hours off-season), a return ticket is about €14 to €15 (around €12 one way if you fancy walking down), and no booking is needed, you just turn up. Go on a clear day, because the whole point is the view.
Villa San Michele
A short walk from Piazza Vittoria, Villa San Michele is the former home of the Swedish physician and writer Axel Munthe, built on the site of a Roman villa on the edge of the cliff. It is a jewel: cool white rooms full of antiquities, a pergola-shaded walkway, and a famous stone sphinx on the parapet gazing out over the Bay of Naples, one of the most photographed views on Capri. Entry is €12 for adults, €8 for students, and free for children under 12. In summer it opens long hours, roughly 9am to 7pm from June to August (about 9am to 6pm in May and September), so it is easy to fit in around the chairlift. The gardens alone justify the trip up.
Wandering Anacapri
Beyond the two headline sights, Anacapri rewards a slow wander. The lanes are whitewashed and quiet, dotted with ceramic shops and small trattorias where lunch costs a fraction of what it does down in Capri town. Seek out the Church of San Michele with its extraordinary hand-painted majolica-tiled floor depicting the Garden of Eden, viewed from a little balcony above.
It is also a surprising place to eat well. Anacapri holds the island’s finest dining, the two-Michelin-star L’Olivo and one-star Il Riccio (the latter perched on the cliff near the Blue Grotto, famous for its majolica-tiled dessert room), both at the Capri Palace. For something far humbler and utterly charming, Da Gelsomina is a family trattoria and organic winery out among the vineyards, reached on foot or by its own little shuttle, where you eat home cooking with a view back to the sea. This is the Capri of local life rather than luxury boutiques, and it is a lovely contrast to the glossy Piazzetta.
How long to spend
Give Anacapri a half day. A typical rhythm: bus up mid-morning, the chairlift up Monte Solaro and back (about an hour with time at the top), then Villa San Michele and a relaxed lunch in the village before heading back down. If you are combining it with the Blue Grotto, note the grotto’s land approach also starts from Anacapri, so the two pair naturally into one western-island morning.
The Phoenician Steps and Punta Carena
If you have energy and good shoes, two more Anacapri experiences reward the effort. The Scala Fenicia, or Phoenician Steps, are an ancient stone staircase of over 900 steps that historically linked Anacapri down to Marina Grande, long the only connection between the upper island and the sea. Walking down them (do it downhill, not up) is a plunge into old Capri, with the bay opening below you the whole way.
On the island’s south-western tip, the Punta Carena lighthouse, built in 1866 and still working, marks one of Capri’s best sunset spots. It sits at the end of a scenic coastal walk from Anacapri (around 6 km, two to three hours at a stroll), and there are flat rocks and a swim spot below the light. Come late in the day, when the sun drops into the sea beyond the lighthouse, for one of the loveliest, least touristy evenings on the island.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the Monte Solaro chairlift?
About €14 to €15 for a return ticket, or roughly €12 one way if you plan to walk back down. No advance booking is needed; you buy at the base station in Piazza Vittoria, Anacapri.
How long does the Monte Solaro chairlift take?
Around 13 minutes each way. The lift runs from about 9:15am to 5pm, with shorter hours outside the summer season.
Is Anacapri worth visiting?
Very much so. It is quieter and less expensive than Capri town, and it holds two of the island’s best sights, the Monte Solaro chairlift and Villa San Michele, plus the finest views on the island.
How do you get from Capri to Anacapri?
Take the local bus up the cliff road to Piazza Vittoria, or splash out on an open-top taxi. It is a short but dramatic ride; buses are cheap and frequent but crowded in high season.
What is there to do in Anacapri besides the chairlift?
Visit Villa San Michele and its cliff-edge gardens, see the majolica-tiled floor in the Church of San Michele, wander the whitewashed lanes, walk down the ancient Phoenician Steps, and use it as the land gateway to the Blue Grotto and the Punta Carena lighthouse.
How much does Villa San Michele cost?
Entry is €12 for adults, €8 for students, and free for children under 12. In summer it opens roughly 9am to 7pm, so it slots easily around the Monte Solaro chairlift.
Is Anacapri better for a quieter Capri experience?
Yes. Anacapri is higher, whiter and far calmer than Capri town, with cheaper trattorias and thinner crowds, while still holding the island’s best view (Monte Solaro), its loveliest villa (San Michele) and its finest dining.
Planning the wider island? See my complete guide to Capri for getting there, the other sights and how to plan your days.
Read also: Visiting the Blue Grotto | The Best Photo Spots in Capri | The Complete Guide to Capri
