Marina Grande is Sorrento's fishing village, at sea level below the old town on the west side. You walk down from the centre along Via Marina Grande and through the old double-arched gate, or take EAV bus line D, which in the timetable valid from 1 October 2026 runs roughly hourly from 7:20 to 20:05 and stops at Piazza Tasso. The beach is small, sand and pebble, with a free stretch beside paid lidos and restaurants. Ferries do not leave from here: they use Marina Piccola, the port. Checked on 2 November 2026.
Bus times from the EAV line D timetable (PDF, valid from 1 October 2026, read 2 November 2026). Streets, ZTL and feast dates from Comune di Sorrento pages; Blue Flag list from the Ministry of Tourism 2026 PDF; church history from the Italian Bishops' Conference church census. Summer timetables usually change — check EAV before you go.
From Piazza Tasso, head to Piazza Sant'Antonino, take Via San Francesco and Via Vittorio Veneto to Piazza della Vittoria, then follow Via Marina Grande downhill. It ends in a pedestrian ramp into the village. Italia.it describes it as the traditional stroll of Sorrento's people, and it is short — roughly ten minutes down, by the estimate most guides give. Coming back is all uphill.
The bus is EAV line D. It runs a loop from Sorrento's EAV station through Piazza Lauro, Via degli Aranci and Via del Mare down to the beach, and back. In the timetable valid from 1 October 2026 it runs 14 times a day, first departure 7:20 and last 20:05 from the station, with a stop at Piazza Tasso a few minutes after each departure. Summer timetables are published separately: check the EAV page before relying on it.
On the way down you pass under a double arch in tufa and limestone. Italia.it, the national tourism portal, dates it to the pre-Roman period and describes it as an example of the Greek technique of squared blocks laid in regular courses, known as isodomic masonry. It let people leave the town when the other gates were shut, and it has been restored.
It is not fenced or ticketed: it is simply part of the street. Stop under it for a minute on the way down.
A small beach of sand and pebble, with fishing boats pulled up on it and wooden platforms built out over the water. It is the most beach-like thing in Sorrento itself, but it is small, and in summer it fills early. For the bigger picture, see our guide to Sorrento's beaches.
Part of it is free. The Comune di Sorrento tenders two lots at Marina Grande as spiaggia libera attrezzata — a free beach where an operator provides services — and alongside them sit private lidos and restaurants with their own platforms and sunbeds. Prices change every season: ask on the spot.
It is not a Blue Flag beach. In 2026 Sorrento's Blue Flags went to Riviera di Massa, San Francesco, Tonnarella and Puolo. The Comune has occasionally issued temporary bathing bans here, then lifted them: if you see a notice, read it.
Marina Grande is where much of Sorrento comes to eat fish by the sea. We list only places whose existence we confirmed on their own websites, in alphabetical order — this is not a ranking, and we have no deal with any of them. Opening months, hours and prices change: book or check before walking down for dinner.
For where to eat after a day on the trails elsewhere on the peninsula, see where to eat after a hike.
The yellow-fronted church on the beach is Sant'Anna, the parish of Marina Grande (Via Marina Grande 98). According to the Italian Bishops' Conference church census, it was founded long ago with money from the village's fishermen, first dedicated to the souls in Purgatory and only later to Saint Anne; the present building dates from the 19th century and the parish was established in 1938. Inside: a single barrel-vaulted nave, the saint's statue on a Baroque throne above the high altar, and a large pipe organ over the entrance.
Saint Anne's feast day is 26 July, and late July is the village's big week. In 2025 the Comune closed the seafront road to parked cars from 24 to 28 July for the celebrations, and on the evening of 27 July the procession left the village, climbed through Corso Italia, Piazza Tasso and Piazza Sant'Antonino, and came back down along Via Marina Grande to the church. Dates move each year with the calendar: the 2026 programme is set by the parish and announced by the Comune in July.
They sound alike and both are below the cliff, but they are different places. Marina Grande is the fishing village to the west of the old town: beach, boats, restaurants, the church of Sant'Anna. Marina Piccola is the port, below the Villa Comunale, where ferries and hydrofoils leave for Capri, Naples and the Amalfi Coast; you reach it with the Sorrento Lift or the stairs.
If you have a ferry to catch, go to Marina Piccola. For boats, see getting around by boat and Sorrento to Capri.
On film: Pane, amore e… (1955, released in English as Scandal in Sorrento), directed by Dino Risi with Vittorio De Sica and Sophia Loren, is set in Sorrento — the Cineteca di Bologna, which restored it in 2014, quotes Risi on moving the story there. Marina Grande is widely remembered as one of its locations, but we have not found a primary source naming the exact spots, so we leave it at that.
On foot from Piazza Tasso via Piazza Sant'Antonino, Via San Francesco and Via Marina Grande, through the old gate — about ten minutes down, steep back up. Or take EAV bus line D, which stops at Piazza Tasso and ends at Marina Grande.
Yes, EAV line D (008). In the timetable valid from 1 October 2026 it runs 14 times a day, from 7:20 to 20:05 from the EAV station, roughly hourly. Check the EAV site for the summer timetable.
Partly. The Comune manages free-beach lots here, next to private lidos and restaurant platforms that charge for sunbeds. The free part is small and fills early in summer.
No. Ferries and hydrofoils for Capri, Naples and the Amalfi Coast leave from Marina Piccola, the port below the Villa Comunale.
Via Marina Grande inside the village is a limited traffic zone (ZTL) that needs an authorisation. Cars come down Via del Mare through the road tunnel, and there is a private car park at the entrance to the village. In late July, during the Sant'Anna feast, parking nearby is banned.
In late July, around Saint Anne's feast day on 26 July. In 2025 the celebrations ran 24–28 July with the procession on the evening of 27 July; the dates shift a little each year.
No. In 2026 Sorrento's Blue Flag beaches were Riviera di Massa, San Francesco, Tonnarella and Puolo.
Read on 2 November 2026: the EAV line D timetable and stop list (PDF, valid from 1 October 2026); Comune di Sorrento pages on the 2025 Sant'Anna traffic plan, the Marina Grande ZTL, the free-beach tenders (determinations 2022–2025) and the Piano Attuativo del Demanio Marittimo (August 2026); the Ministry of Tourism's 2026 Blue Flag list; the Italian Bishops' Conference census entry for the church of Sant'Anna; the Archdiocese of Sorrento–Castellammare parish directory; Italia.it on Marina Grande and the gate; Cineteca di Bologna on Pane, amore e…. Restaurants are named only after checking that they have their own websites; no ranking, no commercial agreement with anyone. The walking time is an estimate shared by tourist guides, not an official figure. We do not publish fares, lido prices or step counts: we could not confirm them on a primary source.
