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The pastel houses and fishing boats of Marina Corricella on the island of Procida
The long canal of the Royal Park of Caserta running towards the Grand Cascade
The Second Temple of Hera at Paestum, its Doric columns intact under a clear sky
The walled village of Terra Murata and Palazzo d'Avalos above the harbour of Corricella on Procida

Things to do in Campania: Naples, Amalfi and beyond

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Photo: Velvet, CC BY-SA 4.0

Reggia di Caserta, Caserta

Walk the royal palace and water gardens of Caserta

Check dates and prices

Photo: Carlo Pelagalli, CC BY-SA 3.0

Paestum, Capaccio Paestum

See three Greek temples standing at Paestum

Check dates and prices

Photo: Norbert Nagel, CC BY-SA 3.0

Procida, Gulf of Naples

Spend a day on Procida, the island most visitors skip

Photo: Ekrem Canli, CC BY-SA 4.0

Campania wraps around the Bay of Naples and the Gulf of Salerno, and almost everything most visitors come for sits within a couple of hours of Naples: the city itself, the buried Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum under Vesuvius, the island of Capri and the cliff towns of the Amalfi Coast. Each of those has its own page with the experiences worth booking.

This page covers three places people plan a separate day around: the Bourbon palace of Caserta, north of Naples, with its 1,200 rooms and long water gardens; the Greek temples of Paestum, south of Salerno, among the best preserved anywhere; and Procida, the smallest of the bay's three islands, which most visitors still skip on the way to Capri.

Places in this region

3 things to do in Campania

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The long canal of the Royal Park of Caserta running towards the Grand Cascade

Walk the royal palace and water gardens of Caserta

Reggia di Caserta, Caserta

Most of a dayBook ahead

A 1,200-room royal palace and behind it a straight canal of pools and fountains climbing towards the Grand Cascade.

Check dates and pricesSmall-group palace tour with shuttle to the English Garden
The Second Temple of Hera at Paestum, its Doric columns intact under a clear sky

See three Greek temples standing at Paestum

Paestum, Capaccio Paestum

Half a dayGo alone or with a tour

Three Doric temples still standing almost whole on the plain south of Salerno, and a painted tomb of a young man diving.

Check dates and pricesTemples and museum with an archaeologist, tickets included
The walled village of Terra Murata and Palazzo d'Avalos above the harbour of Corricella on Procida

Spend a day on Procida, the island most visitors skip

Procida, Gulf of Naples

Half a day to a dayNo booking needed

The small, lived-in island of the bay, with a walled hilltop village and a fishing harbour of pastel houses from Il Postino.

Plan your trip

  • Which places to pick

    Naples is the hub: base yourself there for the city, Pompeii, Herculaneum and Caserta, all on local trains. For the Amalfi Coast and Capri, a few nights in Sorrento, Positano or Amalfi save hours of transfers. Paestum is a day trip from Salerno or the Amalfi Coast; Procida is an easy half day from Naples.

  • Getting around

    Trains from Napoli Centrale run north to Caserta and south past Salerno to Paestum. The Circumvesuviana, from Napoli Garibaldi, serves Herculaneum, Pompeii and Sorrento. Ferries and hydrofoils link Naples with Capri, Procida and Ischia, and in the warm months Salerno with Amalfi and Positano. Driving the Amalfi road in summer is slow and parking is scarce.

  • When to go

    Late April to June and September to mid October give warm weather without the August crowds. Many Amalfi Coast and Capri hotels and beach clubs close from November to Easter, and ferries thin out, while Naples, Caserta and the archaeological sites stay open all year with shorter winter hours.

Questions travellers ask

How do you get from Naples to the Royal Palace of Caserta?

By train from Napoli Centrale to Caserta. The station stands directly opposite the palace: leave on the Piazza Carlo di Borbone side and cross the square. The palace is closed on Tuesdays.

Is Paestum worth a day trip?

Yes, if Greek temples interest you: three Doric temples from the 6th and 5th centuries BC stand in a field next to a museum with the painted Tomb of the Diver. Paestum station is right outside the ancient walls, south of Salerno, and the ticket is valid for three days.

Procida or Capri?

They are different trips. Capri is about its cliffs, villas and boat tours, and it is crowded in summer. Procida is a lived-in fishing island of coloured houses and small beaches, closer to Naples, with no big sights to queue for. With one day, see Capri; with two, add Procida.

Other places to go

Things to do in Italy

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