Blue Grotto (Grotta Azzurra)
Blue Grotto (Grotta Azzurra) features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Capri. Give it roughly ~60 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type nature
- Suggested visit ~60 min
- Capri Capri guide
About Blue Grotto (Grotta Azzurra)
Capri's most famous natural wonder, a sea cave where sunlight entering through an underwater opening creates an unearthly cobalt blue glow in the water, accessible only by rowboat through a low sea-level entrance.
The Grotta Azzurra, the Blue Grotto, is a sea cave on the northwestern coast of Capri, approximately 60 metres long and 25 metres wide at its widest point. The cave is accessible only by small rowboats, which must pass through an entrance about 1.3 metres high and 1 metre wide at sea level, passengers must lie flat in the boat as it passes through. Once inside, the interior is illuminated by a remarkable blue light: sunlight passes through an underwater opening at the cave entrance and is refracted by the water, filtering out the red spectrum and casting the entire interior in shades of blue from cobalt to turquoise. The effect is most intense in the middle of the day when the sun is at the correct angle. The cave was known in Roman times, it served as a private swimming grotto for the Emperor Tiberius, and Roman sculptures found on the sea floor are now in the Casa Rossa museum in Anacapri. The cave was "rediscovered" for European tourists in 1826 by the German painter August Kopisch and the merchant Ernst Fries, who described their experience in terms that made the grotto world famous within a decade.
Did you know? The Blue Grotto was used as a private swimming grotto by the Emperor Tiberius, who ruled the Roman Empire from Capri between 27 and 37 AD. During underwater archaeological investigations of the cave floor, Roman sculptures including a triton and a Poseidon were found, along with evidence of an elaborate Roman lighting system using oil lamps. These sculptures are now displayed in the Casa Rossa museum in Anacapri.
How long is a visit to Blue Grotto (Grotta Azzurra)?
Set aside roughly ~60 min for Blue Grotto (Grotta Azzurra). That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Blue Grotto (Grotta Azzurra) worth your time?
Blue Grotto (Grotta Azzurra) is among the 15 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Capri, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Capri
Hear the story of Blue Grotto (Grotta Azzurra)
Preview the Capri tour free in the Gingerguide app.