Salerno travel guide
Saint Matthew's crypt, a palm-lined seafront and ferries to Amalfi
Salerno is Campania's second city, a seafront port with a medieval cathedral and an easy ferry or bus link to Amalfi and Paestum. Come in May, June, September or early October, and allow two nights: one for the old town, one for a day out on the coast. Prices are above average, and Schengen rules apply.
Most people meet Salerno through a train window, changing here for the Amalfi Coast or the Greek temples at Paestum. Give it a night or two and it repays the stop: a working port city on its own gulf, about 50 minutes from Naples by regional train, with ferries to Amalfi leaving three blocks from the station and an old quarter of steep lanes climbing toward a Lombard castle.
Its past is bigger than its profile. A medieval medical school, the Schola Medica Salernitana, made the city a name across Europe long before universities existed, and Lombard princes ruled much of the south from here. From February to July 1944, after the Allied landings, the Badoglio and Bonomi cabinets met in the Salone dei Marmi and Salerno served as Italy's provisional capital.
Expect a real city rather than a resort. The docks are plain, yet the palm-lined Lungomare Trieste fills every evening for the passeggiata, and each winter the Luci d'Artista light installations turn the streets into an open-air gallery that pulls day-trippers from all over Campania.
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A medieval cathedral, a terraced herb garden and a castle above an old town of steep lanes, with Amalfi and Paestum a boat or bus ride away.
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Best time to visit Salerno
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Warm swimming weather, coast ferries running and terraces open on the Lungomare without peak-season crush.
Hot and humid; the Amalfi buses and boats are packed, so book ferries early and start before 9am.
Mild and quiet by the sea, with the Luci d'Artista lights giving the city its busiest weekends of the off-season.
During Luci d'Artista (roughly November to January) weekend evenings bring coach parties from across Campania; come midweek or reserve dinner in the old town.
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Getting there
Train via Naples, or a direct SITA bus
Naples Capodichino, about 60 km to the north-west, is the airport most visitors use. The simplest route is the Alibus shuttle from right outside the terminal to Napoli Centrale, then a regional train to Salerno, which takes about 50 minutes; slower metropolitan trains stopping through the Naples suburbs take around 80 minutes.
- Alibus + regional train
- Airport to Napoli Centrale, then about 50 minutes to Salerno
- Direct airport coach
- A few runs a day; check the current timetable
- High-speed trains
- Trenitalia and Italo stop at Salerno station
- Ferries
- Seasonal boats from Amalfi and Positano dock a short walk from the station
- A few direct coaches also link the airport with Salerno, but they are infrequent and timetables change, so check before relying on one.
- Salerno station itself is a high-speed stop for both Trenitalia and Italo, so Rome and the north connect without changing.
- Regional trains from Naples accept the Unico Campania zone ticket; buy it at a kiosk before boarding.
- Driving in from the airport is possible but the motorway habits around Naples are aggressive; the train is calmer.
Where to stay
Old town, Corso or seafront
Salerno is compact, so the choice is mostly about noise and how early you need a boat or train. The old town has the atmosphere and the late bars, the Corso is flat and easy with luggage, and the seafront gives the shortest walk to the ferries.
- Centro storico
- Lanes around Via dei Mercanti and the Duomo; most atmosphere and late-night bars, so light sleepers should ask for a back room
- Corso Vittorio Emanuele
- Flat shopping street between the station and the old town; easy with luggage, quieter after the shops shut
- Lungomare and Piazza della Concordia
- Sea views and the shortest walk to the ferries, but traffic along the seafront road
Getting around
Walking, local buses, coast boats
The station, the Corso, the seafront and the old town are all within a 20-minute walk of each other, so most of Salerno is done on foot. Busitalia runs the city and provincial buses from the station forecourt; buy tickets at a tabacchi or kiosk first, because drivers do not sell them.
- Busitalia
- City and provincial buses from the station, ticket before boarding
- SITA Sud
- Amalfi Coast buses, 24-hour COSTIERASITA pass
- Busitalia buses
- South toward Paestum and Agropoli
- Light metro
- Station east to Stadio Arechi
- On a calm summer day the ferry to Amalfi beats the coast bus for both speed and nausea.
Know before you go
What makes Salerno worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- The crypt of the Duomo, where Saint Matthew's relics lie beneath the 11th-century cathedral founded under the Normans.
- The Giardino della Minerva, a stepped medicinal garden whose labelled plants recall the old medical school, with a view over the rooftops to the gulf.
- The evening walk on the Lungomare Trieste, when half the city strolls under the palms as the lights come on along the Amalfi cliffs.
Good to know
- The Giardino della Minerva shuts on Mondays and its hours change month by month, so check before climbing up.
- Bus tickets are not sold on board on most local lines; carry a few from a tabacchi.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Salerno, month by month
Month-by-month climate figures for Salerno are being researched.
Saint Matthew's crypt, the Minerva terraces and a boat to Amalfi
Begin the first morning at the Duomo on Piazza Alfano I, crossing the arcaded courtyard with its Arab-Norman touches and going down to the crypt that holds Saint Matthew's relics. Then drift along Via dei Mercanti and climb to the Giardino della Minerva, terraced with the plants medieval doctors used.
After lunch, head higher still to the Castello di Arechi, named after the Lombard prince who moved his court here in the 8th century. Take a taxi or bus up and walk down. Evening belongs to the seafront: the Villa Comunale gardens, then the full length of the Lungomare as the light fades.
On day two choose between sea and stone. A morning ferry from the harbour near Piazza della Concordia reaches Amalfi, and you can come back by the coast bus for the cliff views. Or take the bus or train south to Paestum, where the Greek temples of Hera and Neptune stand in open fields. Stop in Vietri sul Mare on the way back for its painted ceramics.
Buffalo mozzarella, colatura and pasta e fagioli by the Duomo
Salerno eats like the rest of Campania, but with the Piana del Sele on its doorstep. The flat farmland running south toward Paestum is buffalo country, so the mozzarella di bufala here is often only hours old; ask for it plain, with nothing but bread.
In the old town, Il Vicolo della Neve is one of Salerno's oldest restaurants and still serves pizza alongside its famous pasta e fagioli, a thick pasta and bean soup. Donna Margherita is a well-liked pizzeria that also cooks fish, and Il Brigante is a cheap, plain place where the dish to order is polpo, stewed octopus.
Look along the coast for the rest of the menu. Cetara, a fishing village a short drive west, makes colatura di alici, an amber anchovy sauce tossed through spaghetti. The big Amalfi lemons end up in limoncello and in delizia al limone, a sponge dome soaked in lemon cream. Lunch is long and dinner rarely starts before 8.30pm; arrive at 7pm and you will dine alone.
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How we research our Salerno travel guide
Trains via Naples, SITA buses and the Amalfi Coast boats out of Salerno are rechecked against the Comune di Salerno website and Italia.it whenever timetables change.
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Checked against trusted sources:
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Salerno.
Getting there
Take the Alibus from outside arrivals to Napoli Centrale, then a regional train to Salerno, about 50 minutes. A few direct coaches run from the airport too, but they are infrequent.
Regional trains take about 50 minutes and metropolitan trains around 80 minutes. High-speed trains are quicker still.
Regional trains to Paestum station are the simplest choice, and the temples are a short walk from there. Busitalia buses also run south toward Paestum and Agropoli; check where yours departs.
There are city beaches, but many people prefer the coves around Vietri sul Mare or the long sandy shore running south toward Paestum.
Naples Capodichino, about 60 km to the north-west, is the airport most visitors use. The simplest route is the Alibus shuttle from right outside the terminal to Napoli Centrale, then a regional train to Salerno, which takes about 50 minutes; slower metropolitan trains stopping through the Naples suburbs take around 80 minutes.
General
Yes. Ferries to Amalfi leave a few blocks from the station and SITA buses run along the coast road, while hotels cost less than on the coast itself.
Allow a full day for the Duomo, the old town, the Minerva garden and the seafront. Add a second for Amalfi or Paestum.
The apostle's relics are kept in the crypt of the cathedral, which is dedicated to him, and he is the city's patron saint.
A winter festival of artist-designed light installations across the city centre, running roughly from November into January.
For the view, yes: it looks over the whole gulf. Go up by taxi or bus and walk back down through the old town.
Briefly. From February to July 1944 the Italian government sat in Salerno while Rome was still under German occupation.
Timing & weather
The best time to visit Salerno is May to Jun, Sep to early Oct. Sea warm enough to swim and coast ferries running, without the August heat and crowds.
- Best overall: May - June, September - early October (Warm swimming weather, coast ferries running and terraces open on the Lungomare without peak-season crush)
- Summer: July - August (Hot and humid; the Amalfi buses and boats are packed, so book ferries early and start before 9am)
- Winter: November - January (Mild and quiet by the sea, with the Luci d'Artista lights giving the city its busiest weekends of the off-season)
Booking
Come in May, June, September or early October, and allow two nights: one for the old town, one for a day out on the coast.
Visa & documents
Schengen rules apply in Italy. Citizens of the EU and of many other countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia, can visit visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; other nationalities need a Schengen visa. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) records non-EU travelers' fingerprints and a photo at the border.
Health & safety
Violent crime against visitors to Italy is rare. Pickpocketing is the main problem, especially on buses and metros in Rome (bus 64 is notorious), at Roman and Florentine sights, and at Termini and Naples Centrale stations. Wear your bag across your body and zip it, and use only licensed white taxis or official ride apps.
