Castel dell'Ovo on the Bay of Naples, the city's oldest standing fortification.
Photo: Kllwiki / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)Naples travel guide
Naples is southern Italy's largest city, a dense, chaotic historic center on the Bay of Naples overshadowed by Mount Vesuvius. It's also the practical base for day trips to Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the place Neapolitan pizza was invented — Via dei Tribunali in the old town is still lined with the wood-fired ovens that popularized it.
Neighborhoods
Centro Storico (Spaccanapoli)
The old Greco-Roman grid, split by the dead-straight Spaccanapoli street, is the densest concentration of churches, workshops and wood-fired pizzerias — Via dei Tribunali runs through the middle of it and is the natural base for a first visit.
Quartieri Spagnoli
A steep grid of narrow streets uphill from Via Toledo, historically the roughest part of the center and still the most unfiltered — the Pignasecca market and its fried-food stalls sit at its edge, and the Pedamentina's 400-step stair climbs from here toward Vomero.
Chiaia
The upscale seafront district: boutique shopping streets, the Villa Comunale gardens along the water, and the closest base to Castel dell'Ovo — reached from the center by Metro Line 2 to Piazza Amedeo or the Funicolare di Chiaia.
Vomero
A hilltop residential district reached only by funicular or a serious uphill walk, with panoramic views over the historic center, the bay and Vesuvius, plus the Certosa di San Martino and Castel Sant'Elmo — a quieter, more upscale pace than the center below.
Top attractions
National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN)
One of the world's most important archaeological collections, with its first two floors devoted almost entirely to finds excavated from Pompeii and Herculaneum — mosaics, frescoes and bronzes that were removed from those sites and are not displayed on-location. Plan 2-3 hours minimum.
Pompeii and Herculaneum (day trip via Circumvesuviana)
Both ancient sites are reached from Naples on the separate Circumvesuviana suburban line (board at Napoli Garibaldi, beneath Napoli Centrale), a roughly 35-minute ride. Pompeii requires timed-entry advance booking rather than walk-up tickets, and the Circumvesuviana is not covered by national rail tickets — you buy it separately.
Spaccanapoli and the historic center
Spaccanapoli is the famously dead-straight street that visually splits Naples' old town in two, following the layout of the original Greek and Roman city grid — it's lined with churches, workshops and the wood-fired pizzerias concentrated on nearby Via dei Tribunali.
Castel dell'Ovo
Naples' oldest standing fortification, built on the small islet of Megaride overlooking the Bay of Naples, with free access to its ramparts for harbor and Vesuvius views — a rare central attraction that doesn't require advance booking.
Toledo metro station
Naples' Metro Line 1 doubles as a public art project — Toledo station, roughly 50 meters underground, is built around a blue mosaic 'crater of light' shaft and is regularly ranked among the most striking metro stations in Europe.
Food
Neapolitan pizza is the obvious starting point — a true Margherita or Marinara from a wood-fired oven on or around Via dei Tribunali, where long-running names like Sorbillo and, a few minutes from Napoli Centrale, the famously bare-bones Da Michele still serve only two varieties each. For something faster between sights, cuoppo — a paper cone of fried seafood, vegetables or dough — is the go-to street food, and the Pignasecca market near the Montesanto funicular is a reliable spot for it. For pastries, sfogliatella (a crisp, ridged shell around sweet ricotta filling) and baba (rum-soaked sponge cake) are the two worth seeking out at any historic-center pasticceria. Carry cash: smaller pizzerias and market stalls don't reliably take cards.
How long to stay
If you only have one day
Skip the Circumvesuviana entirely on a single day — Pompeii alone runs 4-6 hours door to door and doesn't fit alongside anything else. Instead, walk from Napoli Centrale into the Centro Storico (15-20 minutes, or one stop on Metro Line 1 to Museo or Dante), spend the morning on Spaccanapoli with a pizza lunch on Via dei Tribunali, then visit the National Archaeological Museum (MANN) for its Pompeii and Herculaneum finds — check first, since it's closed on Tuesdays. Round out the afternoon at the free, no-booking-needed Castel dell'Ovo on the waterfront, or ride the metro to Toledo station to see its mosaic 'crater of light' shaft.
If you have two or more
With a second day, most visitors add Pompeii or Herculaneum via the Circumvesuviana line, which departs roughly every 30 minutes from beneath Napoli Centrale and takes about 30 minutes to Pompeii — the train ticket itself needs no advance booking, but the archaeological park's own entry now caps daily visitors with mandatory timed slots that can sell out weeks ahead in July and August. A third day is enough time to ride the funiculars up to Vomero for the Certosa di San Martino and city views, and to explore Chiaia's seafront and Villa Comunale gardens at a slower pace.
Getting around
Arriving from Rome, you land at Napoli Centrale on Piazza Garibaldi — in practice three connected stations in one complex: the mainline terminus at street level, the underground Piazza Garibaldi stop for Metro Line 2 and suburban trains, and the separate underground Circumvesuviana platforms for Pompeii, Herculaneum and Sorrento, reached via signed passages rather than a shared ticket gate. From here it's a 15-20 minute walk into the Centro Storico, or one stop on Metro Line 1 to Museo or Dante. Four funicular lines — Centrale, Chiaia, Montesanto and Mergellina — climb from the lower city to hillside Vomero, and the Alibus shuttle (around EUR 5) connects the airport to Piazza Garibaldi and the port. The Circumvesuviana is run separately by EAV, not Trenitalia, and isn't covered by national rail or metro tickets.
Practical tips
- The Circumvesuviana line to Pompeii and Herculaneum draws the most reported pickpocketing of anywhere in Naples — board at Porta Nolana rather than the more crowded Garibaldi platform if you can, or pay a bit more for the reserved, air-conditioned Campania Express aimed at tourists.
- Carry cash: smaller pizzerias, the Pignasecca market and Quartieri Spagnoli shops often have unreliable card readers or cash-only policies.
- MANN (the archaeological museum) is closed on Tuesdays.
- Pompeii's archaeological park caps daily visitors with mandatory timed-entry tickets sold only via the official Vivaticket site — these can sell out weeks ahead in July and August.
- Crossing the street works differently here: traffic, especially scooters, doesn't reliably stop at zebra crossings, so step out at a steady, predictable pace and make eye contact with drivers.
- Ask for a menu with printed prices before ordering, and check the bill — undated 'specials' with no listed price and unrequested service charges are the most commonly reported tourist-restaurant complaint.