We visited here in October 2013. We were staying in Positano and had booked Rainbow Limousines for the day, taking us to Paestum, lunch in Cetara and time to look around Ravello and these wonderful gardens. You will need to allow at least an hour or longer to have a really good look around them. The views over the coast are beautiful especially as a haze over the sea provides a wonderfully ethereal outlook. The town of Ravello is also interesting to look around and an opportunity to purchase some authentic Limoncello aperitif and some brightly coloured pottery ware.
If you absolutely must have the iconic Ravello shot with the 2 church domes and cypress tree, then you'll need to throw down your 5 euro to go through this place. But the domes are now devoid of paint and weedy. The gardens are nearly bare and the building itself in shambles. There are many empty display cases where the art exhibits were supposed to be housed. It's a depressing place in need of an infusion of energy and upkeep. Sorry.
Fabulous architectural heap of many ages and influences - Norman, Moorish/Sicilian medieval - you name it. We visited off-season, so the gardens were not at their best and maintenance work was in progress. Still very much worth it. A combined ticket for several local attractions can be bought at the Duomo Museum in the central piazza.
amazing views and a very nice little garden in the center of Ravello.To those who like to take some Photos- it is a very beautiful location . from this spot you can see the Napoli bay in a great engle. Recomended
We nipped into Villa Rufolo as part of an Amalfi coast day trip. We had an hour to kill in Ravelo and thought - "Villa Rufolo - why not". We paid our 5 euros each entrance fee and were given a map of the Villa. We wandered around and read the leaflet and wandered around some more. The villa itself was not particularly impressive, or really that interesting (and we both do love our history) and as we are not too enthused by 'modern art' we weren't particularly taken aback by the exhibits that were on display at the time.There are some beautiful photos on TA of the plants and flowers of the villa, but unfortunately, when we visited in September they were preparing for one of the festival concerts and a lot of the plants were covered over with temporary platforming and not many of the remaining plants were in flower either.The 'saving grace' of our visit were the absolutely stunning views we were able to see down towards the sea and Amalfi coast, they were the best views we had witnessed all day during our tour of the amazing coastline.Was our visit to Rufolo worth the 5 euros ? - the views just about made the visit worth while !.
the villa is a magnificent 13th century structure, beautiful gardens and architectural features. Well worth a visit. I also attended one of the outdoor concerts in the gardens of the villa and it was fabulous, a 76 piece youth orchestra from Brazil they played everything from West side story to Sambas and Salsas. Great fun.
These gardens and buildings are closer to the center of town and more compact than Villa Ciambrone, just a different style of gardens/grounds, but pretty much the equal. No Terrace of Infinity, but plenty of beautiful views, and a totally unbelievable setting for the music programs in the summer. Even in November it was well worth the time and price of admission.
I came here first, because it is in the center of town and also because I had heard so much about it. I was not impressed by what admission buys you in the way of a tour. You're confined to a tiny area where you basically admire the view of the sea. The property is not large and lots of it is barred from tour visitors. Basically, the highlight is flowered area where the stage is set up for shows, sooooo if you happen to go on one of the days when they are setting up for a show (which is quite often), you don't even get to see the highlight -- and this place needs a highlight -- otherwise it just has a view. The museum was just a modern art exhibit, so info on the villa was barebones. You basically get a map. The Villa Cimbrone has a sprawling property of an actual estate where I was able to walk through gardens and admire classical statues along with a breath-taking view. Luckily, there were barely any people there as well, because it was far from the center of town. It was the opposite at the Villa Rufolo where it was nearly impossible to get a photo of anything without others walking in the way. That is to be expected though, when it is so close to the town center and the walkable area of the villa is so small.
We visited the gardens and grounds - very enjoyable. Also took in a piano concerto on the main stage - fantastic. The concert was lovely and the backdrop of sky and sea was breathtaking.
Liked: Nice views, nice flowers, nice landscaping.Disliked: Some areas were being worked on so they were covered in plastic. They should have mentioned it at the gate as you pay to get in or they should have offered discounts.