Things to Do in Naples: History, Food & the Bay of Naples

Naples is Italy’s most kinetic city — loud, dense, full of contradictions, and genuinely rewarding for visitors who engage with it rather than treating it as a stopover to Pompeii. The historic centre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, contains extraordinary art and architecture within a living, functioning urban fabric.

The city’s essential sights

Museo Archeologico Nazionale — One of the great archaeology museums in the world. The Pompeii and Herculaneum collections alone justify the visit: mosaics from the Villa of the Faun (including the Alexander mosaic), Roman sculpture, the Secret Room of erotic art, the Farnese collection. Allow 3–4 hours. Essential if you’re visiting Pompeii.

Spaccanapoli — The straight street that cuts through the historic centre along the path of the ancient Greek city. The churches clustered along it — Gesù Nuovo, Santa Chiara, San Domenico Maggiore — are architecturally extraordinary and generally free to enter.

Castel Nuovo (Maschio Angioino) — The 13th-century Angevin fortress on the waterfront. The interior has a small museum; the exterior and the triumphal arch between its towers are the main draw.

San Gennaro Catacombs — Early Christian burial catacombs under the hill of Capodimonte. Well-preserved frescoes and mosaics from the 2nd through 5th centuries. Tours daily.

Palazzo Reale — The Bourbon royal palace on Piazza del Plebiscito. The Royal Apartments are open to visitors; the square itself is the grandest in Naples.

Street food and pizza

Naples is where Italian street food is most alive. Key things to eat:

• Pizza fritta — deep-fried pizza pocket, invented in post-war Naples when wood-fired ovens were unaffordable
• Cuoppo — a paper cone of mixed fried seafood or vegetables
• Sfogliatella — shell-shaped pastry filled with ricotta and candied citrus, best eaten warm from a bakery
• Pizza Margherita at Pizzeria da Michele (Via Cesare Sersale) or Sorbillo (Via dei Tribunali)

Day trips

Pompeii — 30 minutes by Circumvesuviana train from Piazza Garibaldi. The Roman city buried by Vesuvius in 79 AD. Allow a full day. Book tickets online.

Herculaneum (Ercolano) — Smaller than Pompeii, better-preserved wooden and organic materials, fewer crowds. 20 minutes from Naples by Circumvesuviana.

Amalfi Coast — By ferry from Molo Beverello port to Positano, Amalfi, Ravello. Roughly 90 minutes to Amalfi. Ferries run April–October.