Naples is three cities stacked on top of each other. Underground run the tunnels and cisterns of the Greek and Roman town; at street level, the old centre still follows the Greek grid, with Spaccanapoli and Via dei Tribunali cutting straight through it; and above it all, the Vomero hill carries the Bourbon castle of Sant'Elmo and the views over the bay to Vesuvius and Capri.
Most of what visitors come for is within walking distance of the old centre: the Veiled Christ, the nativity workshops of San Gregorio Armeno, the cathedral of San Gennaro and its treasure, and pizza. The National Archaeological Museum, home of the finds from Pompeii and Herculaneum, is at the top of Via Toledo, and Capodimonte, the royal palace turned picture gallery, sits in its park on the hill to the north.
Museo Cappella Sansevero, Via Francesco De Sanctis 19
45 minutesTimed entry
A marble shroud so thin you seem to see the body through it, carved from a single block in 1753.
What it is
In a small chapel in the old centre lies one of the most famous sculptures in Italy: the Veiled Christ, carved by Giuseppe Sanmartino in 1753 from a single block of marble, with the shroud so thin you seem to see the body through it. The clay model for the statue is in the museum of San Martino, on the Vomero.
How to do it
The chapel is now a museum and visits run on 30-minute slots from 9:00 to 19:00, last entry half an hour before closing, closed on Tuesdays. Booking is required: tickets go on sale online 60 days ahead, with a few more released two days before, and cannot be changed or refunded. A full ticket costs €12, €8 for ages 18 to 26 and €6 for ages 10 to 17.
A second city cut into the tuff below the old centre, its ancient cisterns once air-raid shelters.
What it is
Under the old centre lies a second city cut into the soft yellow tuff: the channels and cisterns of the Greek and Roman aqueduct, which Neapolitans turned into air-raid shelters in the Second World War.
How to do it
Napoli Sotterranea's guided visit starts at Piazza San Gaetano 69 on Via dei Tribunali and goes about 40 metres down by more than a hundred steps. It lasts about an hour, plus 20 minutes for the remains of the Roman theatre hidden inside neighbouring houses. Tours in Italian and English start within set windows from 10:00 to 18:00, with no booking needed for fewer than ten people. A full ticket costs €18.
Good to know
One stretch is a narrow candlelit passage, which you can skip. The site is not wheelchair accessible.
Meet the Farnese marbles at the Archaeological Museum
Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Piazza Museo
2 to 3 hoursBook ahead
Much of what was found at Pompeii and Herculaneum, alongside the huge Farnese Bull, with the metro at the door.
What it is
Much of what was found at Pompeii and Herculaneum ended up here, in one of the world's great collections of Roman art, together with the Farnese family's ancient sculptures, such as the huge Farnese Bull and the Farnese Cup.
How to do it
Hours are 9:00 to 19:30, last entry 18:30, closed on Tuesdays. A full ticket costs €20, €2 for EU citizens aged 18 to 25, and the first Sunday of the month is free, though some sections close on free days. Metro Line 1 stops at Museo, at the door.
Good to know
Know before you go: the mosaic section and the Secret Cabinet of erotic art are closed until further notice, and the Alexander Mosaic is under restoration and not on display. The ground floor of sculpture and the Egyptian collection are open.
Watch nativity figures being made on San Gregorio Armeno
Via San Gregorio Armeno
1 hourFree
A steep street of workshops shaping terracotta shepherds, tiny pizzas and caricatures of the year's news makers.
What it is
San Gregorio Armeno belongs to the makers of presepi, Neapolitan nativity scenes. The workshops work all year, shaping and painting terracotta shepherds, market stalls, tiny pizzas and fish, and caricatures of the people who made the year's news, for better or worse, alongside the holy family. The church of San Gregorio Armeno, founded around 930 over a temple of Ceres where Romans left small terracotta offerings, gives the street its name.
How to do it
The short, steep street of San Gregorio Armeno joins the two straight Greek streets of the old centre, Spaccanapoli and Via dei Tribunali.
Good to know
From early November to 6 January the street is at its fullest, and at weekends it moves in a slow crowd, so go on a weekday morning.
Time needed
1 hour
Best time
Early November to 6 January for the Christmas displays
Behind a plain Gothic church, a nuns' cloister of octagonal pillars and long benches covered in brightly painted majolica.
What it is
Behind the plain Gothic church of Santa Chiara, built for King Robert of Naples and Queen Sancha in the early 14th century and rebuilt after a fire during the Second World War, is a quiet surprise: the nuns' cloister, remodelled in 1742 by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro, with octagonal pillars and long benches covered in brightly painted majolica tiles.
How to do it
It is on Spaccanapoli, a minute from Piazza del Gesù. The church is free. The cloister ticket costs €7, €4 for ages 7 to 17, sold only at the ticket office, and includes the museum, the archaeological area and a nativity scene.
Good to know
The timetable page gives Monday to Saturday 9:30 to 17:00 and Sunday 10:00 to 14:00.
See San Gennaro's chapel and treasure in the Duomo
Duomo di Napoli, Via Duomo 149
1 to 1 and a half hoursNo booking needed
The phial of the patron saint's blood that Neapolitans watch for liquefying three times a year, in a chapel free to enter.
What it is
Inside Naples Cathedral, the Royal Chapel of the Treasure holds the relics of San Gennaro, the city's patron, including the phial of his blood that Neapolitans watch for liquefying three times a year: on the Saturday before the first Sunday of May, on 19 September and on 16 December. Next door, the Museum of the Treasure, at Via Duomo 149, shows the jewels, silver and gifts given to the saint over the centuries.
How to do it
The chapel itself, with paintings by Domenichino and Ribera and Lanfranco's dome, is free to enter, with an audio guide for €5. The museum opens daily 9:30 to 18:00, last entry 17:00; a ticket with audio guide costs €15, €11 reduced, and is free under 12.
A funicular on a €1.50 ticket to the widest view in Naples, over the bay, Vesuvius and Capri.
What it is
At the top of the Vomero stand two neighbours. Castel Sant'Elmo, the star-shaped Spanish fortress built between 1537 and 1547, has the widest view in Naples from its walls, over the old centre, the bay, Vesuvius and Capri. Just below, the Certosa di San Martino, a former Carthusian monastery, holds a museum of Naples with a great cloister, the Cuciniello nativity scene of about 800 figures and terraced gardens over the bay.
How to do it
Take a funicular up the Vomero, Centrale from Via Toledo or Montesanto from the market quarter, on an ordinary €1.50 ticket. Sant'Elmo opens 8:30 to 19:30 and costs €5. San Martino opens 8:30 to 18:30, last entry 17:30, for €6, free under 18.
Good to know
Both close on Tuesdays, and Sant'Elmo may close in bad weather.
Spend a morning in the Capodimonte palace and park
Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte
Half a dayNo booking needed
A great picture gallery in a far less crowded palace, ringed by a royal park where Neapolitans walk and run.
What it is
The Bourbon kings built Capodimonte on the hill north of the old centre to hold the Farnese art collection, and it is now one of Italy's great picture galleries, in a palace far less crowded than the sights of the old centre. Around it, the Real Bosco is a royal park of avenues and woods where Neapolitans walk and run, open daily from 7:00, until 19:30 in summer.
How to do it
Buses 168, 178 and C63 climb from the centre; on foot from Museo station it is about 30 minutes. A ticket costs €15, or €12 if you enter between 8:30 and 9:30 or between 17:30 and 18:30, and €2 for EU citizens aged 18 to 25.
Good to know
The museum is closed on Wednesdays; the first floor opens 8:30 to 19:30, last entry 18:30, and the second floor to 17:00.
Time needed
Half a day
Best time
The 8:30 or late slot for the cheaper ticket; closed Wednesdays
Two levels of tombs and chapels cut into the tuff, with some of the oldest images of San Gennaro, guided by a Sanità cooperative.
What it is
The early Christian catacombs of San Gennaro are run by La Paranza, a social cooperative from the Rione Sanità, the old working-class district below Capodimonte. You walk two levels of tombs and chapels cut into the tuff, with some of the oldest images of San Gennaro.
How to do it
Guided tours of about an hour, in English or Italian, leave every hour from 10:00 to 17:00 from the entrance at Via Capodimonte 13, beside the Basilica of the Madre del Buon Consiglio; booking is required and the catacombs are closed on Wednesdays. The ticket also covers the catacombs of San Gaudioso, entered through the church of Santa Maria della Sanità, for a year.
Order a sfogliatella and coffee the Neapolitan way
Via Toledo and Piazza Trieste e Trento
30 minutes, standing at the barNo booking needed
Breakfast is a pastry at the counter: thin, crisp layers that shatter as you bite, filled with ricotta, with an espresso.
What it is
Breakfast in Naples is a pastry and a coffee at the counter. The sfogliatella comes two ways: riccia, a shell of thin, crisp layers that shatter as you bite, and frolla, a smoother shortcrust case, both filled with ricotta, semolina and candied peel. It descends from a pastry made in a 17th-century convent on the Amalfi Coast, and Pasquale Pintauro began selling it in Naples in 1818.
How to do it
Order it warm, with an espresso; the other local classic is the babà, soaked in rum. For the grand version, Gran Caffè Gambrinus, open since 1860 on Piazza Trieste e Trento, kept its Art Nouveau rooms of 1890 and served Oscar Wilde and Hemingway.
Good to know
Pay one coffee more than you drink, a caffè sospeso, which the bar gives to someone who cannot pay.
Ride down into Toledo, Naples' sea-blue metro station
Toledo metro station, Line 1
20 minutesNo booking needed
Tiles that shift from tuff ochre to a deep blue sea mosaic as you go down, all on a €1.50 ride.
What it is
Line 1 of the Naples metro is also an art project, the Art Stations, and its best-known stop is Toledo, opened in 2012 under Via Toledo and designed by the Spanish architect Óscar Tusquets. Going down, the tiles change from ochre, the colour of the city's tuff stone, to the deep blue mosaic of the Sea Gallery, where the lighting evokes waves; Robert Wilson's animated panels of a rippling sea line the platform corridor, and William Kentridge designed the mosaics of Neapolitan street life on the mezzanine. It has been named among the most beautiful metro stations in Europe.
How to do it
All you need is a ticket: a single ANM ride costs €1.50 and lasts 90 minutes, or tap a contactless card at the gates, capped at €5.50 a day. Use it to get between the Archaeological Museum at Museo and the port at Municipio.
An evening seafront walk with Vesuvius across the water, out along a causeway to the city's oldest castle.
What it is
The seafront of Via Partenope and Via Caracciolo, much of it closed to traffic, is where Naples comes to walk in the evening, with Vesuvius across the water and Capri on the horizon. Halfway along, a causeway leads to the islet of Megaride and Castel dell'Ovo, the city's oldest castle, named for the legend that the poet Virgil hid a magic egg in its foundations, and that the city will fall if it breaks. Below its walls, Borgo Marinari is a tiny marina of fishing boats and seafood restaurants, busiest at dinner.
How to do it
The walk, the causeway and the borgo are free and open at any hour. Carry on west towards Mergellina for the view back along the bay.
Good to know
The castle has had long closures for works since 2022, so check the ministry's page before planning to go inside.
30 minutes at the table, plus the queueNo booking needed
A Naples pizzeria open since 1930 that still keeps just two pizzas on the menu: the Margherita and the Marinara.
What it is
L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele has been at Via Cesare Sersale 1 since 1930, run by the Condurro family, pizza makers since 1870. Tables turn fast and you will be expected to leave once you finish, so this is a 30-minute meal, not an evening.
How to do it
There is almost always a queue. Take a numbered ticket from the staff at the door and wait outside until your number is called; takeaway runs as a separate first come, first served line and is often quicker. It is a short walk from Napoli Centrale.
Good to know
Come at the 11:00 opening or mid afternoon. If the wait looks hopeless, Pizzeria Trianon is right across the street.
Napoli Centrale, on Piazza Garibaldi, is the station for high-speed trains from Rome, Florence and Milan; the Circumvesuviana trains to Herculaneum, Pompeii and Sorrento leave from Napoli Garibaldi, underneath it. Ferries and hydrofoils for Capri, Procida and Ischia leave from Molo Beverello and Calata Porta di Massa in the port.
Getting around
Walk the old centre. Metro Line 1 links Garibaldi with Università, Toledo, Dante and Museo, and four funiculars, Centrale, Chiaia, Montesanto and Mergellina, climb to the Vomero and Posillipo. A single ANM ticket costs €1.50 and is valid for 90 minutes; a day ticket is €5.50, and on Line 1 you can tap a contactless card, capped at the same daily price.
How many days
In must30's view, three: one for the old centre underground and above, one for the Archaeological Museum and Capodimonte, and one for the Vomero and the waterfront. Add a day each for Pompeii and Herculaneum, which are easy trips on the Circumvesuviana.
When to go
Spring and autumn are best for walking. The nativity workshops of San Gregorio Armeno are busiest from early November to 6 January, and San Gennaro's feast on 19 September fills the cathedral. Plan around closing days: the Archaeological Museum, the Sansevero Chapel, Sant'Elmo and San Martino close on Tuesdays, Capodimonte and the catacombs on Wednesdays.
Where to base yourself
The centro storico, between Via Toledo and Via Duomo, for walking to most sights. Chiaia, along the seafront, is calmer and close to the ferries and the Lungomare. Near Piazza Garibaldi is practical for early trains but less pleasant at night.
Questions travellers ask
Do you need to book the Veiled Christ in Naples?
Yes. The Sansevero Chapel only sells tickets for a 30-minute time slot, online up to 60 days ahead, with some extra tickets released two days before. Tickets cannot be changed or refunded, the chapel is closed on Tuesdays and photography is not allowed inside.
Can you see the Alexander Mosaic in Naples?
Not for now. At the National Archaeological Museum the mosaic section and the Secret Cabinet are closed until further notice, and the Alexander Mosaic is under restoration and not on display. The Farnese sculptures and the Egyptian collection are open.
How many days do you need in Naples?
Three for the city itself in must30's view, plus a day each for Pompeii and Herculaneum. With only one day, stay in the old centre: the Veiled Christ, Napoli Sotterranea, San Gregorio Armeno and a pizza.
How do you get up to the Vomero in Naples?
By funicular: the Centrale line from Via Toledo, the Chiaia line from Parco Margherita and the Montesanto line from Montesanto all climb the hill on an ordinary €1.50 ANM ticket. From the top, Castel Sant'Elmo and the Certosa di San Martino are a short walk.
.jpg){kind=link}
_%E2%80%93_majolica_cloister_%E2%80%93_tiled_benches_and_pillars.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}