Napoli travel guide
Napoli is loud, steep, generous and a little frayed at the edges, and most visitors fall for it within a day. The sights sit close together, the museums are among the best in Italy, and Pompeii is a short train ride away.
The city in short
Napoli, which English speakers call Naples, climbs from the waterfront up to the hills of Vomero and Capodimonte, and most of what you came for lies in a strip about three kilometres wide. The old town is a grid laid out by the Greeks, now packed with churches, pastry counters and washing lines. Palaces and the big square stand along the bay to the west, and the Archaeological Museum sits on the northern edge of the old grid. Pizza comes with the place, so plan lunch and dinner rather than hoping to stumble on them. Expect noise, scooters that ignore crossings, and a warmth in strangers that surprises people who arrive braced for the opposite.
How long to stay
- Two days cover the old town and the waterfront on the first day, and the Archaeological Museum with an evening up at Castel Sant'Elmo on the second.
- Three days add Pompeii or Herculaneum by train, which is the best use of a spare day in the region.
- Four days leave room for Vesuvius, a slow morning in the Santa Lucia streets and the long meals that Napoli is built around.
A three-day plan
Day 1: palaces, bay and the old town
Begin on Piazza del Plebiscito before the crowds, then go through the Royal Palace and walk down to the sea at Castel dell'Ovo. After lunch take Spaccanapoli from one end to the other, stopping in the cloister of Santa Chiara. If the Veiled Christ interests you, book a timed slot at Cappella Sansevero, which costs €12 and is closed on Tuesdays. Finish with pizza in the old town.
Day 2: antiquities and the view
Give the Archaeological Museum the whole morning, since it holds what Pompeii and Herculaneum yielded and the Farnese marbles. In the afternoon go up to Vomero by funicular and walk to Castel Sant'Elmo for the bay at its widest. The Certosa di San Martino, €6, is next door and open until 18:30.
Day 3: Pompeii or the volcano
Take the Circumvesuviana from Napoli Garibaldi to Pompei Scavi and give the ruins about four hours. Anyone who prefers a smaller site with colour still on the walls can go to Ercolano instead. Both finish in time to be back in the city for dinner.
If it rains
November is the wettest month here and the winter months are not far behind, but the old town has plenty of roof. The line between a gloomy day and a good one is mostly where you spend the hours between showers.
- Morning: the Archaeological Museum, which asks €20 and is closed on Tuesdays. Allow the whole morning.
- Afternoon: the guided Napoli Sotterranea tour, €18, from Piazza San Gaetano. Tours leave every hour between 10:00 and 18:00 and go down 136 steps.
- Evening: pizza and a long table. A wet evening is also the best excuse for the Teatro di San Carlo.
- Anytime: the Catacombs of San Gennaro, €13, on guided tours of one hour from 10:00 to 17:00, closed on Wednesdays.
Where to stay
- Centro Storico
- The old town puts you among churches, bars and the pizza places, and the cathedral, Spaccanapoli and Santa Chiara are all on foot. It is also the loudest part of the city late into the night, so ask for a room away from the street.
- Chiaia and Santa Lucia
- Calmer, with the sea promenade, Castel dell'Ovo and the shops of Chiaia. Plebiscito is a ten-minute stroll along the waterfront, and the evening is more relaxed than in the old town.
- Around Napoli Centrale
- Handy for the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii, for trains from Rome and for the Alibus from the airport. The streets around the station are rough at night, so pick a hotel with a lobby you like the look of and arrive before dark.
- Vomero
- A residential hill with long views, shopping streets and Castel Sant'Elmo at the top. You pay for the quiet with a funicular ride or a metro trip every time you go down to the centre.