40 best romantic getaways

Vico Equense, Italy

Photo: Courtesy of Boutique Hotel Capo La Gala

Secret Village
A crenellated castle, pink-washed clifftop church, and pebbled beach make Vico Equense perhaps the most dramatic—though surprisingly undiscovered—village on the Sorrento Coast. On the main coastal road, Annamaria Cuomo and Salvatore De Gennaro serve cured meats and cheeses at their epicurean market La Tradizione (lunch for two $40). At Torre del Saracino (lunch for two $190), chef Gennaro Esposito creates innovative dishes, such as risotto with cod and figs, in a seventh-century tower. Stay just outside the village at the Hotel Capo La Gala (doubles from $260), a stone-studded cliffside lodge. The hotel has a nautical theme: porthole windows and hurricane lamps in the lobby, blue-and-white guest rooms accented with miniature model boats. Book one of the nine Classic rooms, and take your breakfast (cappuccino and croissants) on the roomy balcony overlooking the Bay of Naples.