What are the best things to do in Naples? We at Visit Italy have selected 10 of the must-see attractions in 2023.
Want to know 10 things to do in Naples? You've come to the right place we at Visit Italy have selected for you the must-see attractions in 2023.
You are in a veritable open-air museum. The city unfolds in a network of cobbled streets and alleys, characterised by the presence of important old buildings and new constructions, many churches and bars where you can taste real Italian espresso.
Its historical centre, so captivating and thriving with monuments, has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Sanità district, is increasingly the undisputed destination of foreign tourists. Follow our guide on things to do in Naples.
Here are 10 things to do in Naples at least once in your life
Fully visiting this wonderful city and discovering things to do in Naples means immersing yourself in its alleys and monuments, which are many, beautiful and full of history. Getting to know the culture, the people and eating their food is absolutely necessary and a must. More than a trip, it is a real experience that must be lived in the round.
If you still haven't chosen the things to do in Naples, follow our guide. We will tell you all about the city of Vesuvius, the home of pizza. The protégé of San Gennaro is difficult to recount, you have to live it, savour it. There are too many details, nuances and discrepancies to take into account.
What follows is our selection of the most beautiful and exciting things to do in Naples.
It only remains for me to wish you enjoyment!
10. Guided Tour of Pompeii
Pompeii is known worldwide for its tragedy when the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 buried the rich Roman city along with Stabiae, Oplontis and Herculaneum. But the catastrophe allowed us to discover, almost 2000 years later, a living historical testimony, an intact slice of community life in the greatest empire of antiquity. The excavations allow travellers to experience a leap back in time. Here you can fully immerse yourself in a vanished world that appears with grandeur and misery, without glitter and tricks. The excavations allow us to visit temple halls, public buildings and the dwellings of wealthy aristocrats, but also to stroll among ancient shops, inns, council houses and the lupanari, the area where the commoners lived. Particularly moving is the sight of some plaster casts, depicting the torment that the ancient Pompeians suffered from the fiery gases of Vesuvius.
9. Things to do in Naples: visit the Underground City
In Piazza San Gaetano on Via dei Tribunali is the gateway to Napoli Sotterranea. You will be led into the bowels of the city, on one of the most famous routes, it is definitely one of the things to do in Naples. Discover Greek and Roman influences and, most importantly, relive the tragic days of World War II, when some 40,000 Neapolitans took refuge underground to escape Allied bombing and German reprisals. A guided tour into the bowels of the city to experience. Tours are conducted in Italian and English. Other languages, group tours and tours outside office hours must be arranged in advance.
8. Visit Vesuvius: One-day tour
Herculaneum is world famous for its archaeological excavations of the Roman city, which according to legend was founded by Hercules and was destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. Corso Regina, which stretches from the archaeological area to Torre del Greco, is called the Miglio d'Oro (Golden Mile) because of the 18th-century villas that line it. The road to the Great Cone of Vesuvius starts at Herculaneum, one of the things to do in Naples is to visit the crater.
7. Guided tour of the Catacombs of San Gennaro, things to do in Naples
Arranged on two non-overlapping levels are the Catacombs of San Gennaro. Both are characterised by very large spaces, unlike the more famous Roman catacombs. This was possible due to the workability and strength of the tuff. It was probably an aristocratic tomb, with rooms donated to the Christian community. Expansion began in the 4th century AD after the body of St Grippino, the first patron saint of Naples, was buried in the crypt dedicated to him. It features a single nave carved into the tuff, a bishop's throne carved into the rock and an altar with an opening through which devotees can see and touch the tomb of the patron saint.
6. Things to do in Naples: see the Herculaneum excavations
The archaeological excavations at Herculaneum have revived the remains of an ancient city buried under a blanket of volcanic ash, lapilli and mud during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. The first accidental discovery came after excavations for the construction of a well in 1709. The archaeological exploration of Herculaneum began and was interrupted for many years, until in 1927, Amedeo Maiuri promoted systematic excavations. Most of the finds are in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. In 2008, a virtual archaeological museum was developed, showing the city before the eruption of Vesuvius. The site attracts an average of 300,000 tourists each year and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997 together with the ruins of Pompeii and Oplontis.
5. Admission to the National Archaeological Museum: definitely a must-do in Naples
Among the things to do in Naples once in a lifetime is the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. Due to its rich and valuable heritage of works of art and artefacts, it is considered one of the most important archaeological museums in the world and the most important for Roman painting. The museum consists of private collections acquired or donated to the city over the centuries, including collections by Borgia, Sant'Angelo, Stevens and Spinelli. There are three main nuclei: the Farnese Collection, the Pompeian Collections and the Egyptian Collection.
4. Guided tour of the Bourbon Gallery
The Bourbon Galleries are underground caverns and are named after Ferdinand II, King of Bourbon, who began their construction in 1853. He created a secret underground link between the Royal Palace and Piazza Vittoria due to the revolutionary uprisings of 1848. The location was chosen because it was close to the sea and the barracks so that in case of danger they could escape safely. The tunnel was eventually closed for economic reasons and the decline of the Bourbons with the arrival of the unification of Italy. Thanks to this secret underground passageway, many Neapolitans found refuge during the bombings of World War II. In the post-war period, the gallery served as the city's judicial depository and was used to store everything extracted from the rubble of the bombings and everything recovered from the collapses was also stored there. Today, the Galleria Borbonica is one of the most fascinating and evocative attractions and things to do in Naples, with four routes visitors can choose from.
3. Entrance to the Royal Palace is definitely one of the things to do in Naples
The Royal Palace of Naples is a historical building with its main entrance located in Piazza Plebiscito. Built starting in the 17th century, it reached its final appearance in 1858. Many architects were involved in its construction and restoration, including Domenico Fontana, Gaetano Genovese, Luigi Vanvitelli, Ferdinando Sanfelice and Francesco Antonio Picchiatti. It was the residence of the viceroys of Spain and Austria, the Bourbon dynasty and the Savoy dynasty after the Unification of Italy in 1861. Ceded by Victor Emmanuel III in 1919 to the state property, it is mainly used as a museum complex, especially the royal flats, and is home to the National Library.
2. Things to do in Naples: visit the City of Science
Città della Scienza is an area dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of science, located in the Bagnoli district. It is the first interactive science museum in Italy aimed at the dissemination and promotion of scientific culture and cultural tourism. Promotional activities take place through meetings with professionals in the field, exhibitions, workshops, interactive projects, direct experimentation of natural and technological phenomena involving people of all ages.
1. Guided tour of the Catacombs of San Gaudioso
Have you ever visited the catacombs of San Gaudioso? Septimius Sergius Gaudiosus, was bishop of Abitine in Tunisia, and arrived in the Neapolitan town by chance. His arrival happened because, after the Vandal invasion, he did not want to convert to Arianism, so King Genseric ordered him to leave, on a ship without sails and oars, together with the other Christian exiles. Upon his death, he was buried in the extra moenia cemetery area and immediately became an object of worship. From there, the early Christian catacombs began to expand, later to become the Catacombs of San Gaudioso.