An impressive chunk of limestone soaring from the Tyrrhenian Sea, Capri has been attracting attention since Roman times: the notorious Tiberius ruled the empire from the cliff-top Villa Jovis, and in the mid-19th century the island became a magnet for artists, intellectuals, aesthetes and especially writers, drawn by the inspirational scenery, gentle climate and dreamy, liberal lifestyle: 'Capri makes you forget everything,' remarked Lenin when visiting Maxim Gorky here in 1910.
In the 1950 and 1960s, the literati gave way to glitterati. Images of Jackie O wandering the narrow lanes in ankle-skimming Capri pants, huge sunglasses pushed back on her head, are synonymous with the island's appeal in the heady jetset age (as are the Capri sandals she had made by local cobbler Canfora).
Visiting anywhere so famous is always tricky, and I have to confess to being disappointed the first time I stepped off the ferry at Marina Grande, one baking late August afternoon some 12 years ago. The quay was lined with tacky souvenir shops, cheap bars and restaurants touting fixed-price menù turistico deals. Glamour just didn't come into it.
I later learned that in high season an average of 20,000 day-trippers pile onto the island every day; I also learned how they can be avoided. Capri is the sort of place that grows on you, and it has been growing in my affections ever since that first visit, but it takes a bit of effort: you need to stay several nights (day visitors all leave by late afternoon) and you really need to go out of season.
In May, the carpets of wildflowers add glorious colours to the wild scenery, but the sea is chilly; I personally prefer late September or early October when the evenings are balmy, the water is still warm and there is a sense that things are calming down to a seductively easy pace.
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Most of Capri town is only accessible by foot (as I found out the hard way, with a heavy suitcase in tow). There are few roads and fewer cars, so for longer distances one must rely on the elongated, open-topped Fiat taxis (glam but expensive) or the fleet of Lilliputian orange buses (crowded but cheap).
Capri's wilder, more remote side can be explored through its network of footpaths, but to get a sense of the place, you need to get down to the sea. A gentle chug around the island reveals secret coves and sea caves, tiny scraps of beach you can't get to by land, villas hidden among folds of the cliffs, and towering rock formations looming over inky-blue depths.
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Capri is home to both rural farming and fishing communities, most obviously reflected in the island's well-known culinary traditions, based on simple, fresh ingredients from land and sea and overflowing with the big, bold, sunny flavours of southern Italy. Dishes such as insalata caprese are transported to another planet when made with real buffalo mozzarella, sun-ripened tomatoes and the peppery basil that grows on the island's steep, salty terraces.
Fat, round ravioli caprese (stuffed with caciotta cheese and fresh marjoram, and served with tomato sauce) are delicious, as is torta caprese, a moist chocolate cake made with ground almonds. Vines have been cultivated here for nearly 3,000 years, and local wines (mostly whites made from Falanghina and Biancolella grapes) are a great match for the unfussy food. After dinner, an ice-cold limoncello, produced from the alcohol-infused zest of local lemons and often homemade to a family recipe, can't be beaten.
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Any visit to Capri is likely to start and finish in Marina Grande which, as already mentioned, can be a grim experience in high season. So entrust your suitcase to the local porters' cooperative (who, for a few euros, will whisk it up to your hotel) and grab a taxi or join the queue for the trundling 1907 funicolare and you will be up the hill in Capri town before you can say 'granita'.
The only reason to return before it's time to go home is to visit the Blue Grottom, the underwater cave discovered (actually rediscovered because it's been known since antiquity) in 1826 by the German poet August Kopisch. There's a lot of getting in and out of little boats and waiting around involved, but once inside, the iridescent blue light is, well, very blue indeed. You can also swim into the cave from the rocks below Anacapri, but wait until after the boats have knocked off for the day: you may even find you have the place to yourself.
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The Piazzetta, Capri's elegant open-air drawing room, lies at the heart of the medieval town. What the writer Norman Douglas called the 'small theatre of the world' is a perfect stage set of a square, every bit as picturesque as you imagine it will be, complete with ancient church and pretty bell tower and filled with tables from four rival bars whose cream-jacketed waiters vie for trade among passers-by from early morning until well after nightfall. Everyone who comes to Capri passes through this square at some point, so once aperitivo hour draws near (and the day-trippers have left), take a ringside seat, order an Aperol spritz, and wait for the bejewelled, designer-labelled parade to begin.
The Piazzetta and its narrow surrounding lanes are impossibly crowded during the day, but it's easy enough to escape. The most popular passeggiata leads along quiet via Tragara to the Belvedere di Tragara and full-on views of the Faraglioni, the three jagged limestone stacks that soar from the sea off the south-eastern tip of the island. From here, a circular path involving hundreds (and I do mean hundreds) of steps and magnificent views leads around the coast, taking in Curzio Malaparte's red-painted modernist Villa Malaparte and the Arco Naturale, a towering natural arch formed from eroded rock.
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The famous via Krupp (named after a German industrialist) hairpins its way down to Marina Piccola, a charming little beach hangout overshadowed by looming cliffs, and a good place for a swim. You can rent a sunbed at La Canzone del Mare beach club, which even has a tiny stretch of sand. It's quite a climb to get up to the ruins of Emperor Tiberius's Villa Jovis to the north-east of town, but once at the top, you get an eyeful of what Graham Greene described as 'some of the loveliest scenery on earth'.
The best restaurants and bars in Capri
Inevitably, too many of the island's restaurants are geared towards tourists, but standards are generally high, and a couple of new openings by heavyweight chefs from the mainland are upping the stakes considerably.
DA PAOLINO
For something a little more rustic, the nearby citrus-themed Da Paolino has tables laid out under a splendid lemon arbour where you can feast on exemplary spaghetti alle vongole (with clams), sea bass in a salt crust and delizie al limone (a lemon pudding).
TERRAZZA TIBERIO
In the evening, cocktails at Jacky are followed by dinner at Terrazza Tiberio (about £115 for two), where dishes such as carpaccio of ricciola (amberjack) with citrus fruits, and buckwheat ravioli stuffed with rabbit, olives and pine nuts zing with local flavours.
MAMMA
At Mammà, his menus draw inspiration from local and regional traditions and ingredients, but the chef's lightness of hand and touches of genius raise dishes such as lemon-scented gnocchetti with clams and broccoletti, and roast suckling pig with local annurca apples and sweet green peppers, to another level. And if you fancy something a little more earthy, you can always pop over the alleyway to Pizzeria Mammà and order a puffy Neapolitan pizza or a traditional mozzarella in carrozza.
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LA CAPANNINA
Back to the tried and trusted, the justly popular La Capannina is a pink-hued classic that has been serving up perfect ravioli alla caprese and linguine allo scorfano (with scorpion fish) since 1931.
PULLALLI
With a tiny terrace tucked away just beneath the bell tower's clock face, Pulalli provides a hidden front-row perch for goings-on in the square below, plus tangy risotto al limone.
E'DIVINO
Quirky E'Divino is one of the few places in town where locals almost outnumber the tourists. It's set up to look and feel like a private home, and although you can eat at a proper table, it's more fun to balance on the arm of a sofa or sit in an armchair or even on a bed, surrounded by a collection of mismatched domestic clutter. The food is good, too, and a bit different: pasta with monkfish and pistachios, and aubergine parmigiana.
LE GROTTELLE
Off the beaten track, at Le Grottelle, the views from the terrace extend to the Sorrentine Peninsula and are so impressive that the simple, authentic food (spaghetti with tomato and basil, fritto misto di pesce) is almost incidental.
L'OLIVO
The only three Michelin stars on the island are all claimed by the Capri Palace. Two-starred L'Olivo is a cocoon of a restaurant where you sit on sofas covered in Loro Piana cashmere to sample Ischian chef Andrea Migliaccio's elegant, light-handed interpretation of regional favourites such as roast suckling pig with apricot jelly and lemon-scented fennel cream.
IL RICCIO
For an informal, lazy lunch on the rocks, it's hard to beat the hotel's beach club, Il Riccio, proof that Michelin stars are not only awarded for foams, frills and handbag hooks. Hopping-fresh fish and seafood from the Bay of Naples sing of the sea (paccheri pasta with squid, artichokes and mint was a recent standout) and are served under a wide pergola right over the water. For a post-lunch snooze, there are sunbathing platforms carved out of the rock.
DA GELSOMINA
Finally, a delightful get-away-from-it-all spot high above Anacapri: set among terraces planted with vines and neat rows of vegetables, family-run Da Gelsomin is a reassuring reminder that Capri isn't all about showing off. Tables are laid out on a shady veranda-with-a-view, and produce from the garden goes into dishes such as pasta with prawns and asparagus tips, and coniglio alla cacciatora (a rosemary-spiked rabbit stew). If you drink too much of the homemade Falanghina, you can crash out by the pool or even stay the night in one of six simple rooms (from about £100).