Cilento Coast

The Cilento stretch of coastline may lack the sophistication of the Amalfi Coast, but it too has a string of craggy, sun-bleached towns, among them popular Agropoli, gleaming white Palinuro, charming Castellabate and the evocative ruined temples of Paestum. The Cilento can even afford to have a slight air of superiority when it comes to its beaches: a combination of secluded coves and long stretches of golden sand with fewer overpriced ice creams and sunbeds. Yet Campania's southern bookend is about more than its waterside appeal. It's here that you'll find the ancient Greek temples of Paestum and a large coastal tract of the Parco Nazionale del Cilento, Vallo di Diano e Alburni, also a Unesco World Heritage site.