Food tours in Naples will give you the chance to know this extraordinary city thought its flavors. Here's how to organize the tasties walk ever
Naples, with the blue of the sea that blends into the color of the sky, with its millenary history that embraces art, literature, music and much more, with its vivacity and with its being perpetually suspended between modernity and tradition, is a city that never gets boring.
This is why it's also a place to be discovered and rediscovered a thousand times, in all its infinite facets. Why not organize some food tours in Naples, then? A slightly different walk to get to know all the most famous delights of the very rich local gastronomy.
Tips for perfect food tours in Naples
It doesn't matter where, how and when, food tours of Naples never disappoint, but if you want to organize everything in the best possible way, here are some useful tips.
Naples is a city very fond of its gastronomic traditions and basically in every neighborhood you will find something to satisfy your taste. However, the historic center has an undisputed charm, both for all its architectural and artistic wonders, and for all the bars and restaurants dotting it, many of which also boast an ancient history. So why not start right here? There is also the very convenient Naples Pass, which will allow you to comfortably visit more than one hundred of the major attractions of the city and its surroundings.
This area is also well connected to the rest of the city, but if you don't know the maze of alleys and streets of which its made, a good starting point is the Central Station. On the opposite side of the square, the two large arteries of Corso Umberto I and Via Alessandro Poerio join together, embracing a first, important part of the center, already full of places to taste the first delicacies.
Starting in the morning will also allow you to enjoy an excellent breakfast based on coffee and one of the many typical sweets. Either way, a good morning walk whets the appetite and prepares the stomach for lunch!
More info about the Naples Pass❯
Food tours in Naples: first stop, pizza
The most authentic food tours of Naples must obviously include, if not actually begin, with pizza. So start your walk not far from Piazza Garibaldi's main station, in that large portion of the historic center between Corso Umberto I and Castel Capuano.
Many pizzerias await you hidden in the alleys of the centre; some are famous in the world, others still to be discovered, in any case you will be spoiled for choice.
In many of them you will also find the pizza called "a portafogli", the classic, delicious Neapolitan pizza, folded into four parts, so as to become also practical street food, if necessary.
Second stop: Spaccanapoli's fry
Go on with your food tours in Naples right in the heart of the city, along that uninterrupted sequence of streets that cut the center in two and which everyone calls Spaccanapoli for this very reason. Go all the way and you'll easily find some of the most important monuments in Italy, such as the convent of Santa Chiara, or the Pio Monte della Misericordia, where a magnificent painting by Caravaggio is kept.
Here you'll also have the chance to know one of the cornerstones of local cuisine: the fry. Golden, crunchy, with a scent that alone is enough to make your mouth water, Neapolitan fried food is both from the sea and from the land, in any case it's always unmissable.
To enjoy this delicacy in total relax, in the shade of the Pietrasanta bell tower, along via Tribunali, treat yourself to a lunch break at Locanda del Grifo, a restaurant that has been able to reinterpret the great classics of local cuisine, respecting tradition. The fry, always prepared with locally sourced and top quality ingredients, is part of a rich menu that includes many Neapolitan specialties, even pizza. More info about Locanda del Grifo❯
In the middle of the city is via Spaccanapoli, a straight stretch of more than a kilometre, narrow and noisy, which divides the huge agglomeration in two. It is the heart of this babel of history.
Food tours in Naples, discovering the cuoppo
Traveling from east to west, Spaccanapoli will take you in the immediate vicinity of Piazza Dante; from here it takes just a few minutes to reach Pignasecca and the adjacent via Toledo. It's here that among colorful stalls and trendy shops, the "cuoppo" reigns supreme.
It is a simple paper cone but it contains an infinite number of delicacies. From anchovies to squid, from potato croquettes to rice balls, all in a small format, all rigorously fried!
The cuoppo has established itself over the years as the undisputed king of Neapolitan street food, and indeed what could be better than strolling through the streets of the center nibbling one delicacy after another?
Anyway, over time the cuoppo has become so indispensable that it can also be found served at restaurant tables.
A sweet break while going to Piazza del Plebiscito
Walking along via Toledo, in the direction of Piazza del Plebiscito, you will have the opportunity to enrich your food tours of Naples with some of the unmissable tradiction desserts. There are many, all to try at least once, a true paradise for gourmands.
There isn't a pastry shop where you won't find the famous babà, for example, but here you will also find famous ice cream parlors, ancient chocolate shops and beautiful historic cafés. Without forgetting of course the famous sfogliatella, a puff pastry, brought to Naples decades ago from the Amalfi coast from a local pastry shop.
The idea was an immediate success, and in fact it can be said that today the sfogliatella competes with the babà for the title of Neapolitan dessert par excellence.
Mergellina and the seafront, where the neapolitan taralli are born
Take now a few minutes to enjoy Piazza del Plebiscito, one of the most famous postcards of Naples. From here, with a short walk, you'll reach the wonderful seafront, and it's already time for the last stop on your food tour of Naples!
In fact, you will find yourself in Via Caracciolo, which will take you to the foot of Castel dell'Ovo, probably the most loved of the four Neapolitan castles.
Along the way you will enjoy not only one of the most beautiful panoramic views ever, but also the Villa Comunale and finally Mergellina, where you'll get to taste the unique flavor of Neapolitan taralli which according to tradition were born right here, thanks to the intuition of a local baker.
These fragrant pretzels, prepared with a few simple ingredients (lard, flour, pepper and almonds) are excellent as a snack to be eaten while walking by the sea, but also to accompany a drink during an aperitif.
