Naples

Spaccanapoli at dawn, Castel Sant'Elmo at sunset over two days

Two days in Naples covers the essentials: Spaccanapoli, the Cappella Sansevero and a pizza on Via dei Tribunali on day one, then the National Archaeological Museum and a funicular ride to Castel Sant'Elmo on day two. Book the Cappella Sansevero, home of the Veiled Christ, in advance.

Start the first morning at Gesù Nuovo and walk east along Spaccanapoli, stopping at the majolica-tiled cloister of Santa Chiara and at the Cappella Sansevero, booked in advance, for the Veiled Christ. At lunchtime turn up Via dei Tribunali and eat a margherita at the counter. In the afternoon head north into the Sanità for the Catacombs of San Gennaro, then spend the evening around Piazza Bellini, where the bars fill with students.

Give the second morning to the National Archaeological Museum, which holds the mosaics, frescoes and statues lifted from Pompeii and Herculaneum; two or three hours is about right. After lunch ride a funicular up to Vomero and walk to Castel Sant'Elmo for the view over the bay. Come back down to Piazza del Plebiscito, look inside San Francesco di Paola, and finish with a sunset walk along the seafront past Castel dell'Ovo to Chiaia for dinner.

Wood ovens on Via dei Tribunali, sfogliatelle at the bar counter

Order a margherita or a marinara in Naples, the two pizzas purists stick to, and go to Via dei Tribunali for the densest cluster of pizzerias. Breakfast is an espresso at the bar with a sfogliatella or a rum-soaked babà, and mozzarella di bufala tastes best on the day it is made.

Pizza is the reason many people come. Order a margherita (tomato, mozzarella, basil and oil) or a marinara (tomato, garlic, oregano and oil); purists rarely order anything else. Via dei Tribunali in the old centre has the densest cluster of pizzerias, and most of them are good. On the move, ask for a pizza folded in four to eat as you walk.

The region's mozzarella di bufala is at its best eaten the day it is made. Pasta sauces lean on garlic, olive oil and tomato, and anything labelled arrabbiata or fra diavolo comes with chilli. For breakfast, stand at a bar with an espresso and a sfogliatella, the ridged shell pastry filled with sweet ricotta, or a rum-soaked babà. In the evening, eat in Chiaia or the old centre and then join the crowd on Piazza Bellini or Piazza San Domenico Maggiore for a drink.

Circumvesuviana ruins and hydrofoils out of Molo Beverello

The best day trips from Naples are Pompeii and Herculaneum on the Circumvesuviana, which leaves from under Piazza Garibaldi, and the islands of Capri, Ischia and Procida by hydrofoil from Molo Beverello. Pompeii needs most of a day; Herculaneum, smaller and better preserved, fits into a morning.

Pompeii is the obvious one. Circumvesuviana trains leave from the station complex under Piazza Garibaldi and stop at Pompei Scavi, by the entrance to the ruins. Give the site most of a day and bring water and a hat in summer, as there is very little shade. Herculaneum, at the Ercolano stop on the same line, is smaller and better preserved, and easy to cover in a morning. The line continues to Sorrento, the gateway to the Amalfi Coast.

For the islands, hydrofoils and fast ferries leave Molo Beverello, a short walk from Piazza Municipio, for Capri, Ischia and Procida, while slower car ferries use the nearby Calata Porta di Massa. Capri is the busiest. Procida is smaller and calmer, with pastel houses around its harbour. In summer take the earliest boat out to stay ahead of the day crowds, and note the time of the last boat back before you leave.

San Carlo opera and the UNESCO-listed historic centre

Naples carries more cultural weight than a short visit can absorb. Its historic centre has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1995, covering 1,021 hectares, and the Teatro di San Carlo, opened on 4 November 1737, is the oldest continuously active opera venue in the world. A performance or a daytime tour is worth fitting in.

San Carlo opened decades before La Scala in Milan and La Fenice in Venice. It once held 3,285 people and now seats 1,386, so tickets for major productions go early. The theatre is attached to the Royal Palace beside Piazza del Plebiscito, which makes the two an easy pairing on the second afternoon.

The city's patron, San Gennaro, was martyred in the fourth century. On his feast day, 19 September, the cathedral on Via Duomo fills with people waiting for news that the relic of his blood has liquefied, and the old centre is crowded all day.

Two dates explain much of the city's modern pride. Garibaldi entered Naples on 7 September 1860, and the city joined the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. During the Four Days of Naples, from 27 to 30 September 1943, residents rose against the German occupation before Allied troops arrived on 1 October.

Naples is Italy's third-largest city, with about 905,000 residents in 2026 and nearly three million in the metropolitan city. The University of Naples Federico II dates from 1224, and the Naples to Portici line of 1839 was the first railway on the Italian peninsula. In 2017 UNESCO added the art of the Neapolitan pizzaiuolo to its intangible heritage list, a fact many pizzerias display on their walls.