Flight time
2h 45m
Best season
April–June & September–October
Budget
Budget to mid-range
Best for
Pizza, chaos, history, Vesuvius, Amalfi
Overview
Why Naples for a city break?
Naples is the most misunderstood city in Italy and, once understood, one of the most magnificent. Raw, operatic and fiercely proud, it refuses to be tidied up for tourists — and this is precisely its genius. The centro storico (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is the most intact ancient city grid in the world, laid out by the Greeks in the 5th century BC and still functioning as a living urban neighbourhood. The pizza was invented here in 1889. The National Archaeological Museum holds the greatest collection of ancient Roman art in existence, including most of what was buried at Pompeii.
From London it's just under three hours; direct flights from several UK airports. Naples Capodichino Airport is 6km from the centre (taxi, fixed rate €23 to the city centre). The essential caveat: Naples rewards engagement over caution. The chaos is real; so is the warmth of the people once you step beyond the defensive initial impression. Go in April, May or October — summer heat in a dense urban centre is formidable. Pompeii is 30 minutes by Circumvesuviana train; the Amalfi Coast starts 60 minutes south. Herculaneum, better preserved than Pompeii and far less visited, is 20 minutes.
Where to stay & explore
Naples's best neighbourhoods
Centro Storico (Spaccanapoli)
The ancient Greek and Roman city grid — the street that splits the city in two (Via dei Tribunali, Via San Biagio dei Librai), the churches every 50 metres, the finest pizza in the world.
Chiaia & Posillipo
The upscale seafront districts west of the centre — the Lungomare waterfront, the finest seafood restaurants, Castel dell'Ovo on its island, and the best views of the bay and Vesuvius.
Quartieri Spagnoli
The Spanish Quarter — a grid of narrow lanes above Via Toledo, laundry between buildings, shrines at every corner, and an electric, entirely ungentrified street life that is the real Naples.
Things to do
What to see in Naples
1
Museo Archeologico Nazionale
The greatest collection of ancient Roman art in the world — the Farnese Hercules (the largest ancient statue to survive intact), the Farnese Bull (the largest ancient sculpture group ever found), the Secret Room (erotic art from Pompeii), and room after room of mosaics, bronzes and frescoes from the buried cities of Vesuvius. Give it a full morning. Book online; the Secret Room requires a separate booking within the main ticket.
2
Pompeii & Herculaneum
Pompeii (Circumvesuviana train, 30 minutes from Naples Centrale, €2.80) is the most important archaeological site in the world — a Roman city of 20,000 people frozen in August AD 79. The Forum, the brothel (Lupanare), the Villa of the Mysteries frescoes and the plaster casts of the victims. Allow a full day; buy tickets online. Herculaneum (20 minutes from Naples) is smaller, better preserved and far less crowded — the wooden furniture, the carbonised food, the colours on the walls are extraordinary. Go to Herculaneum if you can only do one.
3
The Centro Storico churches
Naples has more baroque churches per square kilometre than any city on earth, and the finest are extraordinary: the Cappella Sansevero (a private chapel containing the Cristo Velato — the most technically astonishing marble sculpture in existence, a figure of Christ under a transparent veil carved from a single block of stone), San Gregorio Armeno (the Christmas presepe street), and the Duomo (San Gennaro's blood liquefaction, three times yearly). The Cappella Sansevero requires booking online; the queue is always long.
4
Mount Vesuvius
The only active volcano on mainland Europe — the crater rim walk (45 minutes from the car park to the summit at 1,281m) gives the most extraordinary view in Campania: the bay, the islands, Naples below, and the smoking crater edge. The EAV bus from Pompeii station runs to the car park (€3 each way); the crater entry is €10. Go in the morning for clear views; afternoon clouds frequently obscure the summit.
Food & drink
Where to eat in Naples
L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele
Pizza / the original
The most famous pizzeria in the world — two pizzas only (Margherita and Marinara), made the same way since 1870, eaten standing or at a marble table in a room of extraordinary atmosphere. Julia Roberts ate here in Eat Pray Love; the queue is usually 30-45 minutes. Worth every minute. Under €6 for the finest pizza you will ever eat.
Trattoria da Nennella
Traditional Neapolitan trattoria
The most raucous and authentic trattoria in the Quartieri Spagnoli — communal tables, singing waiters, no written menu, the fixed-price lunch changes daily (pasta e fagioli, ragù, fried food) for around €10 all in. The most Neapolitan dining experience available to visitors. Queue from noon; arrive by 12.30.
Palazzo Petrucci
One Michelin star / modern Neapolitan
The finest modern restaurant in Naples — Lino Scarallo's cooking takes the extraordinary produce of Campania (San Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, Cetara anchovies, Sorrento lemons) and applies technical precision without losing Neapolitan soul. On the Piazza San Domenico Maggiore in the centro storico. Book well ahead.
Itinerary
3 days in Naples — a suggested itinerary
Day 1
Arrive, the Centro Storico, da Michele at dinner
Fixed-rate taxi from Capodichino Airport to the city centre (€23, negotiate before getting in). Drop your bags — stay in the centro storico if you can — and walk immediately into the ancient Greek-Roman street grid. Via dei Tribunali is the decumano maggiore: walk its full length east to west, ducking into churches (Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco, the Duomo, the Pio Monte della Misericordia), watching the frenetic street life. The Cappella Sansevero is south of Via Tribunali on Via Francesco de Sanctis: the Cristo Velato for which you have booked online. Lunch at one of the street food stalls: a cuoppo (paper cone of fried seafood) or a pizza fritta (fried pizza, cheaper and arguably better than baked). Da Michele for dinner — go at opening time (11am if you're going for lunch, 6pm for dinner) to minimise the queue. Margherita only. Understand everything.
Day 2
Archaeological Museum, Pompeii or Herculaneum, seafront evening
Museo Archeologico Nazionale opens at 9am — the Farnese Hercules in the ground-floor gallery, the Secret Room (booked separately), the Pompeii mosaics on the first floor. Allow three hours. Circumvesuviana train from Naples Piazza Garibaldi: Herculaneum in 20 minutes (the better choice for a half-day, better preserved, far less crowded) or Pompeii in 30 minutes for the full site. Return by 5pm. Chiaia seafront for the evening: the Lungomare walk, Castel dell'Ovo (the castle on its own island, free to enter, the exterior is the point), aperitivo at one of the seafront bars. Seafood dinner in the Pozzuoli area or at one of the Chiaia restaurants.
Day 3
Vesuvius, the Spanish Quarter, one last sfogliatella
EAV bus from Pompeii to Vesuvius car park, or organised tour from Naples (many operators run morning half-days). The 45-minute walk to the crater rim is steep but well-maintained. The views on a clear morning are extraordinary. Back to Naples for early afternoon. The Quartieri Spagnoli on foot: the shrines, the washing lines, the football murals of Maradona (a Neapolitan saint), the social life of the lanes. Trattoria da Nennella for the final lunch if it's a weekday. Before the airport: one last sfogliatella (a ridged pastry shell of ricotta and semolina, the definitive Neapolitan pastry) from Pintauro on Via Toledo — the best in the city, made in the window since 1785.
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