Three thousand years of kings, saints and skulls at the foot of Vesuvius.
Naples began as a Greek colony, was the capital of a kingdom for six centuries and still has the largest historic centre in Italy, a World Heritage Site since 1995. Seaside castles, Baroque churches, folk devotions to the souls in purgatory and the best pizza in the world all share the same streets. Three free routes to explore it on foot, at your own pace.
Choose your free tour
All routes are free and can be combined. If it’s your first visit, start with the mixed route.
From the Greek agora buried beneath San Lorenzo to the viceroys' palace: twenty-five centuries of Naples on a walk that runs down from the old town to the sea.
A palace raised in a single night, a facade some read as a musical score, an alchemist prince and the skulls Naples once asked for favours.
Italy's liveliest street, the alleys of the Spanish Quarter, an iron and glass arcade, the great royal square and the egg castle above the sea.
The map
The routes cross in the old town. Tap a point to see which story awaits you there.
Filled points already have a published article; the rest are in the works.
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Itineraries
We’ve planned it day by day for you: which routes to walk and in what order, what else to see and where to eat.
All three routes in one full day: the highlights, the history and the legends at dusk.
See the itinerary 2A gentler pace: the three routes over two days, plus extra sights and where to eat.
See the itinerary 3The city in depth: one route a day, extra museums and neighbourhoods, and a day for good food.
See the itineraryWhat to eat
The dishes you can’t leave without trying, and the classic spots that have been serving them for years.
Soft, airy dough, a puffed-up crust and barely a minute in a wood-fired oven: this is the pizza whose craft, the art of the Neapolitan «pizzaiuolo», UNESCO recognised as intangible heritage in 2017. At Da Michele, open since 1870, there are just two classics on offer: marinara and margherita.
Where to try it
Nothing like a bolognese: big pieces of beef and pork are cooked for hours in tomato over the lowest flame, until the sauce barely bubbles, what Neapolitans call “pippiare”. The sauce dresses the pasta, often ziti broken by hand, and the meat follows as a second course. At Tandem, just off Spaccanapoli, it’s the house speciality and the reason people queue.
Where to try it
The pizza of the back streets: dough stuffed with ricotta, pork crackling and tomato, then fried in sizzling oil. Alongside it comes the frittatina, a breaded fritter of pasta, béchamel and peas. Both are eaten standing up in the street, wrapped in paper.
Where to try it
The humblest and best-loved dish of Neapolitan home cooking: short pasta and potatoes simmered together in one pot with celery, onion and a little tomato until they turn creamy. Smoked provola goes in at the end and melts into strings. It’s no-frills trattoria food, the kind served at Nennella, just off Via Toledo, where you eat amid packed tables and waiters trading jokes.
Where to try it
A shell-shaped pastry made of dozens of crisp, flaky layers and filled with semolina, ricotta and candied fruit, best eaten straight from the oven. Its cousin, the «frolla», uses shortcrust pastry and is softer.
Where to try it
A mushroom-shaped yeast cake soaked in rum syrup until it drips. It came from France with the court cooks, and Neapolitans adopted it as their own. Scaturchio has been serving it on Piazza San Domenico since the early 20th century.
Where to try it
Short, dense and served in a scalding cup, often with a glass of water to cleanse the palate first. It is also a gesture of solidarity: the «caffè sospeso», a coffee paid in advance for a stranger, is a Neapolitan custom.
Where to try it
