Loud, dirty, but also full of life. A trip to the third largest city in Italy is definitely exciting. / Naples Travel Tips: Sights, Excursions, Cuisine
And delicious! Because Naples also has a lot to offer in culinary terms. We have the best tips for a trip to Naples.
You can find Naples travel tips in our article.
If you know Rome, Venice and Lake Garda and would like to get to know Italy from a different angle, you should paint Naples thick.
With one million inhabitants, the city is the largest city in southern Italy and has a completely different flair than, for example, the capital Rome.
You either love Naples or hate them. The city is always worth a visit – but it may be that you need a vacation afterwards. We have the best tips to make your trip to Naples unforgettable.
How expensive is Naples?
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to really enjoy Naples. The metropolis is actually quite cheap.
You can get a cappuccino for as little as one euro, and really good pizza costs between four and seven euros.
Accommodation in the city center is also fairly inexpensive. Things are different in the Chiaia district, which is located on the harbor promenade. Prices are skyrocketing in this chic neighborhood.
Tips for a weekend in Naples / Stroll through the Centro Storico
The charm of the city is made up of the narrow streets, where the houses are so close together that you can often no longer see the sky between them.
It’s no different in the old town, the “Centro Storico”. Particularly charming: Between the houses, some of which are already crumbling in plaster, there are countless washing lines stretched out on which the Neapolitans dry their jeans and aprons.
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The “Centro Storico” is best visited without a plan.
However, if you just stroll through the streets and let yourself be carried away, you should be aware that the traffic rules here are different from those in Germany. Things are a little wilder in Naples.
Enjoy the view from Castel Sant’Elmo
You always get the best overview of a city from above. And especially in Naples it is worth taking a look at the surroundings.
For example from Castel Sant’Elmo, a fortress located on the Vomero hill.
The special thing is not actually the Castel, but the vantage point on the Piazza D’Armi in front of it. You can either walk up from the city center in half an hour or use the cable car that departs from the Montesanto stop.
Drink an aperitif in Piazza Bellini
Holiday in Italy without an aperitif? No option! The drink that rings in the evening tastes particularly good on the Piazza Bellini.
Incidentally, the square in the city center was named after a famous opera composer, whose monument now stands in the middle. Next to it: an old Greek city wall and of course lots of cool cafés.
Naples: Shopping at the Umberto gallery
The Umberto Gallery is much more than a shopping mile. It is at the beginning of Naples shopping promenade and is a roofed structure with a gigantic glass dome.
Even if you want to save money and not shop, you should definitely stop by here. In fact, Galeria Umberto features majestic architecture, ornate marble floors and curved glass roofs. / Naples travel tips
How dangerous is Naples? / Naples Travel Tips
Naples does not have a good reputation when it comes to security. And there are reasons for that. Because the mafia is definitely a big problem in Naples.
Most of the time, the tourists don’t notice much of it. The Camorra, as the mafia is called here, specializes primarily in white-collar crime and therefore only threatens locals.
Nevertheless, one should not have unnecessarily many valuables with oneself, because pickpockets also hang around in Naples.
It is advisable to withdraw only a small amount of money and not to carry any valuables. You should therefore refrain from wearing an expensive camera around your neck. You should also make sure that you carry your bag on the side of your body that faces the wall of the house.
These are often snatched away by passing motorcyclists.
Which area to avoid in Naples?
In particular, avoid the northern districts of Secondigliano and Scampia. But probably no tourist stumbles in there anyway, because the districts are not particularly beautiful or worth seeing.
Naples Travel Tips for daily / Climb Vesuvius
Many do not realize how easy it is to climb Mount Vesuvius. Hours of climbing and a tedious journey?
Not even close! The only active volcano on mainland Europe can be climbed in just half an hour.
From Naples you can get to the entrance of the national park either by car, by coach or by the Circumvesuviana, a regional train. From there you can walk up to the crater.
The view from the top is unbeatable and you don’t even have to fight for it.
Cross to Capri
If you’ve had enough of the hustle and bustle of Naples, Capri will become like a paradise. The dream island can be reached from the port in just 45 minutes, but it is not necessarily an insider tip. Many holidaymakers only make a short stopover in the small port of Marina Grande on Capri and explore the island by charter boat.
Our tips for the island off Naples: It’s best to take the mountain railway that leads from the port to the town of Capri.
From there you can stroll to the Piazzetta, the city’s central square. You can breathe even more island air in Anacapri, the second town on Capri. The settlement on the west of the island is significantly smaller but offers spectacular views of the bay.
By the way, if you want to take the ferry from Naples to Capri in the summer, you should buy the tickets either online or a few days in advance. In the high season it can happen that these are already fully booked.
Soak up the sun in Sorrento or the Amalfi Coast
Amalfi and Positano and with them some other small coastal towns of the Amalfi Coast belong to THE dream places in Europe.
Because a stay on the world-famous coast can be quite expensive, a day trip from Naples is recommended. With the Circumvesuviana, for example, you can travel from Naples’s main train station to Sorrento in just over an hour – without having to change trains!
The town isn’t actually on the Amalfi Coast, but it’s close and very picturesque.
You should definitely try the lemons there and the limoncello made from them. If you want, you can continue down the Amalfi Coast by public bus or boat.
Visit Pompeii
On the way from Naples to Sorrento, the Circumvesuviana passes a very special highlight, the archaeological site of Pompeii.
When Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, it buried the entire city with its then 10,000 inhabitants under its ashes.
Because it was a meter thick above the city, it could be almost completely preserved and today shows an image of an ancient city that is rarely seen elsewhere. An absolute must for archeology fans. Easily plan your trip with Naples travel tips
Naples culinary tips: You must have eaten this in Naples
What would a holiday in Italy be without Italian specialties? Of course, every visitor to the city must try Neapolitan pizza, which is considered “the best in the world”.
It is special because the dough is hard on the outside but particularly thin in the middle.
Also, Neapolitan pizza is only pizza if it is also baked in a wood-fired oven.
But in Naples there are a few other delicacies that hardly anyone in Germany knows. That’s why we have culinary tips for a few particularly delicious specialties from Naples:
Naples Pizza Fritta
Bet you haven’t eaten fried pizza yet? It is one of the absolute classics in Naples. Pizza fritta is a folded pizza, a calzone, which is then simply fried as a whole. The pizza fritta has not (yet) established itself in Germany. It’s definitely a calorie bomb, but as you know, they don’t count on vacation.
Cuoppo / Naples Travel Tips
In general, Neapolitans love fried foods. Cuoppo is also a popular street food.
Fried seafood is served in a bag as Cuoppo di Mare. But there is also the vegetarian variant Cuoppo die Terra, which contains vegetables such as zucchini and potatoes.
Because Naples is right on the sea, you shouldn’t settle for a few fried seafood, but also order pasta allo scoglio with seafood.
Baba
Babá is probably the most popular Neapolitan dessert. These are fluffy pastries made from yeast or sourdough.
The specialty is shaped like a mushroom and soaked in rum. There are several versions of Babá, but the one that comes with a lemon liqueur dip instead of rum is particularly delicious.
Amazing Naples Taste: Limoncello Baba Recipe
Sfogliatelle
How about a second dessert and sfogliatelle? The little candy is reminiscent of a puff pastry bag filled with sweet ricotta.
Particularly practical: Sfogliatelle can also be enjoyed quickly while walking. Naples travel tips
Italian Mafia raid bowling arena in Naples caught on CCTV
Capri Tips / The best travel tips for Capri
