36 Hours in Naples, Italy

But if you go to Cafe Gamberius, carefully check your bill (ask for one, rather than just a total amount written a piece of paper that they may give you) and count your change...

I was born in Naples, and go back whenever I can. It is one of the best places to visit anywhere. Here are a couple of additions to this excellent article. For the best stand-up jolt of espresso I've ever encountered, go to the Bar Mexico on the Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi. The coffee there would wake the dead. For one of the most incredible statues ever sculpted, The Veiled Christ, go to the Cappella Sansevero in the Centro Storico. Unbelievable, and not to be missed.

Highly recommend Meridiana air - runs seasonally late May through end of summer - JFK to Naples nonstop a few days a week. So much easier and faster to deal with the tiny Naples airport rather than Rome.

Thanks to a scientific collaboration, I visited Naples several times. Very warm and hospitable people. The Neapolitans are entirely self-absorbed in their own cuisine. Everyone argued constantly about where you could find the best coffee, or the best pizza, which were only slight variations on the same taste. Foreign restaurants do not survive – there is only couple of Indian restaurants presently and they do not last for long.

Naples, Naples. I was just there a few weeks ago, for the second time, first time over 15 years ago, and noticed the difference, First visit, well the city was a wild city but I did like it, this second time I liked even more, but I just hope, does not become like Prague or Paris full of tourists, I like just the way it is.

As a sailor in and out of Naples in the late 1960s my most notable memory is of the "campfire girls," prostitutes who hung out around barrels aflame with wood and paper to keep warm. From the hills surrounding the city their encampments looked like a rosary bead aflame running through the city. I had a wonderful time there.

I am so ready to go!

Despite the embroidery in the article the city still sounds like a dirty and benighted place.

You need to correct further: Spaccanapoli is NOT via dei Tribunali. It is one long street with different names, it starts as Via Scura, then via Capitelli, Via B. Croce and Via S. Biagio dei librai

I went with my mother who was in her 80s. On a tram, not one young person offered her a seat, we were stalked in broad daylight by thieves with locals seeming oblivious and our friend was attacked by a thief on a motorcycle. It is a fascinating and beautiful city, the mosaics at the archeology museum are stunning and Pompei is easy to get to but beware, the safety concerns are significant.

Naples reminded me of New York City in the 1970's. Don't think I will ever go back. And I love Italy.

Naples is what you call "a decayed capital". As the article rightly points out, it was doing pretty well until 1860 when it was the capital of the Kingdom of Two Sicilies (half of Italy basically). On some cultural aspects it even rivalled Paris and Vienna. Then came Italian unification (which, traitors apart, was kinda “imposed” on the South). It favoured the North economically (Milan, Turin and Genoa especially), it gave Rome a central political role it had long lost and increased poverty and crime in the South. As Southern Italy’s former capital and most populated city, Naples paid the highest price. That’s what created Southern Italian emigration to the Americas in the first place. Ever wondered why Neapolitans, Sicilians etc. started arriving to the U.S. in the late 1800s and not before (like Irish or Germans)? Still, walking around the city you can still perceive its older glory. It didn’t happen so long ago so you can still have an idea of “what it could have been” if things hadn’t gone so wrong. Kinda like Eastern European capitals: what would they be today without the Soviet period? I hope Naples pick itself up again. Also because discrimination and hate speech in Italy towards Neapolitans, Sicilians and Southerners in general is truly despicable and shameful. Italian Americans should do more about it and put those Northern Italians back in line. Northern Italy ain't that rich nor clean by western standards.

We often fly into Naples airport and stay in Salerno. A great Base to see the area and a nice town in its own right. Good restaurants and transport links to the area. Naples definitely on the up. Worth a visit. Good food, I wouldn't drive there though!! Like any large city, just be sensible. Absolutely great people in the Campagne area. But a little crazy!!

My partner and I were there just in May. We went on a bike tour through the city, walked, enjoyed all the sights and people. Be careful though, he is 63 and was pushed from behind and his Rolex stolen by a guy who jumped off a motorcycle driven by another guy. It was very frightening. We felt foolish for walking in a quiet area and wearing an expensive watch.

My comment is the opposite of snark, so is incredibly benign, boring, bland and indeed niceness as that city nice France probably ain't. Naples not as watery as Venice, but what is? Fireworks of Naples are loud but not memorable. Slums of Naples are sight to behold if one is nostalgic for Depression USA et al. Don't take bus to mountain cities without life and accident coverages.

We were in Naples a few months ago. While admittedly the main reason for our stay was its proximity to Pompeii, we had a lovely visit. Of course there’s great pizza, pasta, pastries and espresso. The area has nice museums and an interesting mix of architecture. Is it gritty? Sure, in some places. But so is Rome, in places. I did sense an edgier vibe especially at night, but being aware of your surroundings is advisable everywhere you go. Keep in mind a good portion of the metropolitan area sits on an active caldera, and with Vesuvius nearby there’s always a chance that Naples may one day have much more in common with Pompeii.

Napoli is ideal for the experienced traveler. It has improved immeasurably since I was first there in 1994. It is a tough town. A couple of true stories....my wife, daughter (10 years old @ the time) and I hired a driver to take to and around Naples for a day trip out of Positano. When it was lunch time we invited him to join us but he declined as he stated the car (Mercedes) would be gone when we got back. 5 years ago, my wife and daughter returned and met an English couple that had just had an incredible episode on a city bus. Before entering, the man checked and secured his wallet before boarding. By the time the paid and got to their seats, he realized that the wallet was now gone. He informed the bus driver what had happened and the driver stopped the bus and announced nobody was getting off until the wallet was recovered. A few seconds later, the wallet was tossed down the aisle, the owner verified its contents were intact, and the bus proceeded.........could ONLY happen there.

I was there last year. It was definitely cleanlier than during my previous visit in 2009 (when they had a pretty serious garbage crisis). Right now the biggest Italian garbage problem is in Rome (pretty shameful, considering it's the capital). Still, Naples could improve a lot. It has much more to offer historically, culturally and culinarily than a city like Barcelona but it gets less tourists because of its lack of efficient public services and its (partly undeserved) reputation. Yes there is crime, but the risk for a normal tourist of being robbed or mugged isn't statistically higher than London or Barcelona. Definitely lower than in most major U.S. cities I'd say. Sometimes I have the impression Italians use Naples as a scapegoat. I mean the whole country has many issues with corruption, crime, poverty and the mob, but Italians act as if Naples or the South or the immigrants were the source of all evil. Pretty cowardly if you ask me. Also stupid, considering it could double its tourists and benefit the entire Italian economy if people knew the actual risk of something bad happening to you when walking around the city.

My wife and I were stationed in Naples during my best tour in the Navy. People are loving and the food cannot be matched. Get away from the tourist spots and head to the neighborhood of Posillipo. Take a funicular (Italian for large elevator) from Mergellina (area on the water). There are stunning views and restaurants only the locals know about. As they say in Italy - "See Naples and die."

Naples is a city of contradictions. Surprised there was no mention of the incredible Naples Metro where every station is a work of modern art - just unbelievable. The food is a problem - its is so good you want to try everything, but alas our stomach are finite. I was blown away by the Royal Palace of Naples, now I need to go back to see the Reggia di Caserta.

I loved the topic you wrote on. It was an amazing ride of some great work.

Having lived in Naples for many years, I would like to comment to Mike about his family's experience at customs. It was indeed shameful treatment. Hopefully it was a one-time incident, detached from current political views. I can honestly say that Naples is one of the most accommodating cities in Italy. Generally speaking, it is a city that requires time to get to know, (and love). You can feel its authenticity. And yes, Spaccanapoli is not via Toledo.

These 36 hour guides are helpful but I wish you would focus more on places to stay and local music and arts scene including opera and classical concerts, as well as nightlife and local music. There’s just so much eating you can do, (I don’t know anybody who eats as much as these guides describe), and just so many visits to museums. Some of my best visits to cities have been living like locals and have a more local flavor.

I have many well-traveled northern Italian relatives who have never visited Naples -- but I have! Spent a few days there in 2015, primarily to visit the archeological museum before seeing Pompeii and Herculaneum. While a sense of decay hangs over the city (so many abandoned churches), its former opulence is still on display in its wide boulevards, the cathedral, and other locations. Staying mostly in the historical center, we felt safe, noting a quiet police presence in the evenings. And the pizza was divine.

Visited Naples in 2017. A gritty, interesting place. If one begins to realize Rome never seems to sleep, Naples seems similar but with the sound amplified. Really enjoyed walking the city center, and the archeological museum was incredible. May have hit the only pizza restaurant where the food was so so, and the service even less....but all was forgiven at a coffee and pastry cafe the next morning. Bay of Naples a beautiful sight, as was Vesuvius and Pompeii. Traffic an experience not soon forgotten as well. Naples a great jumping off point to head South towards Salerno and ultimately Sicily....honestly a great drive....so beautiful. Or the Amalfi coast, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi, etc. One of the highlights was stumbling on the Bar Lena, near Piano d Sorrento. Run by a family, this primarily coffee bar, whose owners said come back the next night and they would make Spaghetti Carbonara and chicken with fresh vegetables from their own garden. Meal was fabulous, price was minuscule, memory...Priceless. Cheers travellers.

What a place. I wonder if it contains the same contradictions it did in the early 1980s when I lived there as a Fulbright. My apartment was on Via Cilea in the Vomero district, where the noise, congestion, and sometimes the garbage were almost too much for me to take. And yet, one morning, a taxi driver serenaded me in a beautiful tenor voice, with an aria from an Italian opera, all the way from my apartment building to the central train station. I was very young, and I don't recall whether I had the presence of mind to tip him as I should have. I also had the good fortune to attend a powerfully moving performance of "Madame Butterfly" at the San Carlo Opera House. The audience reaction was at about the same decibel level as at a soccer game. That sort of historical culture was in the blood of the Neapolitans - not something artificially imposed on them. It must have helped them cope with living in what was a nearly unlivable city at the time.

Thank you for this article. Naples is fantastic in many ways, especially it's cuisine, but if you are a woman traveling alone, it's no picnic. I got tired of the rip-off taxi drivers and being followed just walking down the street. Go and enjoy this wonderful place, but travel with another person or in a small group tour, which I never thought I'd say in a million years.

One omission is the newly opened Ristorante Januarius right across the Duomo! The food is exquisite (best melanzana parmigiana I ever had) super creative pasta and an impressive wine list curated by the owner including some “susumaniellos” a grape that was thought to be forgotten... beautiful room. Attentive staff and amazing food!

I love this under-appreciated city! Despite it's organized chaos, or because of it, there is always the un-expected around the corner. Thank you Ms. Rysman for a great article.

I'm glad to hear Naples has cleaned itself up a bit. After a walking trip on the Amalfi Coast in 2009, I spent about 4 days there. I had read that Naples was the real thing....I just wasn't quite prepared for how real. As a woman traveling alone, I never felt safe. The first night in my neighborhood hotel, a woman was attacked and robbed in her car, while she waited for her husband to check into the hotel (where I was staying. It was very scary. Even in the daytime, I was always on high alert. I spent a lot of time locked in my hotel room. The positives about Naples just didn't outweigh the negatives for me.

New York pizza is superior to Naples pizza. That is because New York pizza is made with imported mozzarella. But in Naples, they only used domestic.

We spent a week in Sorrento two years ago on an organized tour and were warned to be exceedingly careful if we decided to venture into nearby Naples on our own because of the crime directed at tourists. Sorrento, by the way, is an outstanding place to stay while exploring the Amalfi coast, beautiful, interesting, safe and central.

Thanks for a nice article about my hometown. Its neat descriptions include at least one glaring error: the via Toledo is not the street popularly known as "Spaccanapoli" (or "Naples-splitter"). Via Toledo, named after the sixteenth-century Spanish viceroy who had it built, is fairly wide and runs largely North-South, alongside the path of what were then the main city walls; "Spaccanapoli" is the popular name for a long narrow set of streets that sit on top of the ancient Greek and then Roman southern Decumanus (the main East-West street through the ancient grid plan).

A real gem, we had a wonderful time there a few years ago. Friendly, familiar with many day trips to Pompeii, can't be beat. The funny thing then was meeting people on the train who said we were the first Americans they met who actually stayed there on purpose!. Avellino is the birthplace of my Grandparents.

When does the next flight leave?

I spent a couple of days in Naples and it was a welcome break and contrast to the hordes of selfie stick welding tourists in Rome. I really enjoyed the grittiness of the city as well as its authenticity. I particularly like Pizzeria Da Michele. Enjoy it while you can. I imagine the hordes of tourists are not far off.

Sorry, but Via Toledo is NOT Spaccanapoli, but rather the western end of the straight and narrow main street that traverses the old, historical center of the city. Formerly a Roman decumani or east-west main road. Today, the street officially starts at Piazza Gesù Nuovo and is officially named Via Benedetto Croce. Moving east, the street changes name to Via S. Biagio dei Librai and then crosses Via Duomo (named for the Cathedral of Naples) and moves beyond the confines of the old center of town. Via Toledo runs north-south.

One of my favorite cities. Stunning place.

The Via Toledo, a north-south street, is not "Spaccanapoli." Spaccanapoli denotes a well-defined east-west axis whose sections, nowadays and in the past, have different names. Ranged along it are important churches (among them the Gesù Nuovo, S. Chiara, S. Domenico, and S. Angelo a Nilo) and palaces (including some from the Renaissance; Naples is filled with exceptional Renaissance architecture and sculpture), and the Piazzetta Nilo.

It would be fascinating to know whether travel guides ever track the impact of their recommendations on the places they recommend. If they highlight an unpretentious neighborhood caffè in Naples, for example, do the guide-writers ever return a year later to evaluate the effect their recommendation has had on the character of that place? Would they still recommend that caffè after finding out that the place is now crammed with tourists, the employees now overworked and cross?

If you love Florence, you'll like Naples. Tourism campaign: done! :)

Via Toledo is not the "Spaccanapoli". The Spaccanopoli runs perpendicular to Via Toledo on an east west axis and parallel to Via Tribunali and is officially called Via Benedetto Croce, though it's name changes as it moves east away from Piazza Gesu Nuovo where it begins. It's a very narrow street that looks like a crack in the city when viewed from above. The Spaccanapoli is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Via Toledo is a shopping street.

I have been to Italy a half dozen times or more, toured extensively, and did not appreciate Naples nearly as much as other cities. Loved the day trip to Herculaneum, but the city itself was extremely dirty and there was a greater sense of desperation on the streets.

A very nice tribute to Naples. Just a quick, yet important, correction. While Via Toledo is considered the principal shopping street, it is not Spaccanapoli. Spaccanapoli (split Naples) is the common nickname for the street that does indeed split the historic (originally Roman) section of Naples, but it's Via Benedetto Croce and Via San Biagio dei Librai in another section.

I haven't been in quite a long time, and the article does indeed point out some of the wonders of the city. But what is lodged firmly in my memory was the filth and garbage that was everywhere save the key tourist areas. Perhaps that has changed and it's all sparkling. But what I read now about Rome and its mounting trash woes makes me think the problem is more prevalent and widespread than bubbly travel articles will admit.

I love Italy. Have stayed long term mostly in Verona and Roma. Can not wait to get back and explore more of that beautiful country. With that said, Pompai is very close to Naples and was advised by “everyone” including my local tour guide at the Vatican to steer clear of Naples due to the high crime and horrible driving of the locals. Many Italian drivers straddle the middle of the lanes while driving fast which was scary enough as a foreigner with a car hire. However Naples drivers brought it to a whole new level of speed, horn honking, getting an inch away from your bumper, cutting you off, shaking their fists, and aggressive spirit. Meh, Naples not so much.

We arrived in Naples, Italy last month. We were yelled at by a male, white, bearded, Italian customs (?) officer, who was armed and had his hand on his gun the whole time he barked numerous questions at us. He did not say a word to any of the other all white passengers, just us—we are a black American family. He even required that my wife, 16 year old daughter and I allow the drug sniffing dog to walk all around us. It was very, very humiliating and traumatizing!! All we had was our smiles, no drugs. I am a lawyer and my wife is a doctor. When we were leaving to come home, we were held up for an hour when we were trying to submit our receipts for tax refunds. Luckily, the United Airlines woman came with us and had to argue with the customs guy for 20 minutes in Italian to resolve things. Black Americans, be on your guard at all times when in the Naples Airport, smile thru it all. Once we left the airport, everything was great.