View over Naples with the port, the bay and Vesuvius in the background
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Naples in 3 days

  • 3 days
  • 6.8 km on foot
  • 17 stops
  • Audio guide

Three days let you get to know Naples without rushing and step into neighbourhoods most visitors never set foot in. This is a plan for curious travellers: one route a day, with time left for viewpoints, the great museum of Pompeii's treasures, the Sanità and a morning of sea and opera. You finish with the mysteries and a bowl of pasta e patate with provola, by which point you'll know your way around.

Day 1From the bay to the heights

Begin in Piazza Dante with “From Piazza Dante to the sea”: Via Toledo, the Spanish Quarter, the Galleria Umberto I, Piazza del Plebiscito and Castel dell'Ovo, with Vesuvius straight ahead. For lunch, a Neapolitan pizza at Port'Alba or Da Michele. In the afternoon, when the sun is at its fiercest, ride the funicular from Via Toledo up to the Vomero. Take your time at the Certosa di San Martino and end on the ramparts of Castel Sant'Elmo as the city lights come on. Walk back down the Pedamentina steps if your legs allow.

  1. Morning

    From Piazza Dante to the sea: the Naples you can't miss

    Mixed · 2.7 km · 2 h 10 min

    1. Piazza DanteAn old market that Vanvitelli turned into a forum honouring King Charles of Bourbon.
    2. Via Toledo and the Spanish QuarterThe street a Spanish viceroy opened in 1536 and the maze of alleys his soldiers lived in.
    3. Galleria Umberto IA cathedral of iron and glass, built after the cholera of 1884 on top of one of the city's poorest districts.
    4. Piazza del PlebiscitoA vast square between a palace and a Roman-style temple, with a game almost nobody manages to win.
    5. Fontana del GiganteA Baroque fountain that has moved four times and is named after a statue that no longer exists.
    6. Castel dell'OvoThe oldest castle in Naples, on the islet where the city was born, and which, legend says, rests on an egg.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Neapolitan pizza at L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele. Via Cesare Sersale, 1, Nápoles

  3. Afternoon

    Certosa di San Martino

    A fourteenth-century Carthusian monastery turned Baroque jewel, now a museum holding one of the most famous Neapolitan nativity scenes, the Presepe Cuciniello. Its cloisters and terraces look out over the rooftops of the centre and the bay.

    Directions

    Castel Sant'Elmo

    The star-shaped fortress that the Spanish viceroys built on top of the hill in the sixteenth century. From its ramparts you can see the whole city, the bay and Vesuvius. It's just a few steps from the Certosa.

    Directions

Day 2Kings, Pompeii and the Sanità

Spend the morning on “From Greek Neapolis to the Bourbon court”: the Roman market beneath San Lorenzo Maggiore, the cloisters of Santa Chiara and the triumphal arch of Castel Nuovo, all the way to the Royal Palace. Head back into the old town for an unhurried lunch of ragù napoletano at Tandem on Via Paladino. From there it's a fifteen-minute walk to the Archaeological Museum. Afterwards, walk over to the Rione Sanità and lose yourself in its streets as the afternoon fades.

  1. Morning

    From Greek Neapolis to the Bourbon court

    History · 2.3 km · 1 h 45 min

    1. San Lorenzo MaggioreA Gothic basilica built right on top of the market of the Roman city, which you can still walk through underground.
    2. Piazza San Domenico MaggioreThe square of the nobles, of the kings of Aragon and of a friar called Thomas Aquinas.
    3. Santa ChiaraThe great church of the Angevin kings, which burned for days in 1943 and was rebuilt stone by stone.
    4. Castel NuovoThe castle of the kings of Naples, with a Renaissance triumphal arch wedged between two medieval towers.
    5. Royal PalaceA palace built for a king who never came, guarded on its facade by eight stone monarchs.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Ragù napoletano at Tandem Ragù. Via Giovanni Paladino, 51, Nápoles

  3. Afternoon

    National Archaeological Museum

    One of the world's great museums of antiquity: the Farnese collection of sculpture and the mosaics and frescoes of Pompeii and Herculaneum, including the Alexander Mosaic showing the Battle of Issus. Check the opening times; it usually closes on Tuesdays.

    Directions

    Rione Sanità

    A working-class district spreading out below the Capodimonte hill, a short walk from the Archaeological Museum and the birthplace of the actor Totò. Beneath the basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità lie the Catacombs of San Gaudioso, and Palazzo dello Spagnolo boasts a double Baroque staircase.

    Directions

Day 3Sea, opera and restless souls

Start the morning in Mergellina as the bay wakes up, and stroll along the Via Caracciolo seafront to Castel dell'Ovo. From there it's ten minutes to the Teatro di San Carlo for a guided tour. For lunch, walk up to Via dei Tribunali for pizza fritta and frittatina at Di Matteo, eaten standing up and wrapped in paper. At dusk, in Spaccanapoli, comes “Deals with the devil”: Palazzo Penne, Gesù Nuovo, the Sansevero Chapel, the Statue of the Nile and Naples Cathedral. Halfway along, on Piazza San Domenico, Scaturchio is waiting with a babà. Round off the trip with pasta e patate with provola at Nennella, on Piazza Carità.

  1. Morning

    Via Caracciolo seafront

    The pedestrian lungomare running from Mergellina to Castel dell'Ovo, with the Villa Comunale gardens on one side and the bay and Vesuvius on the other. In the morning it belongs to Neapolitans out jogging; take it slowly towards the centre.

    Directions

    Teatro di San Carlo

    Opened by Charles of Bourbon in 1737, it's the oldest opera house in Europe still in use. Guided tours show you the red-and-gold auditorium and the royal box; and it's worth checking the programme in case a performance fits your trip. Check tour times ahead.

    Directions

  2. Lunch

    Try Pizza fritta and frittatina at Antica Pizzeria Di Matteo. Via dei Tribunali, 94, Nápoles

  3. Early evening

    Deals with the devil, alchemist princes and restless souls

    Mysteries & legends · 1.8 km · 1 h 40 min

    1. Palazzo PenneA palace from 1406 which, legend says, the devil built in a single night.
    2. Gesù NuovoA palace facade turned into a church, with mysterious marks carved into its diamond points.
    3. Sansevero ChapelThe chapel of an inventor and alchemist prince, home to the Veiled Christ and two skeletons with every vein in place.
    4. Statue of the NileAn Egyptian god that Neapolitans mistook for centuries for a mother nursing the city.
    5. Purgatorio ad ArcoThe church of the skulls, where Neapolitans adopted a lost soul in exchange for favours.
    6. Naples CathedralSan Gennaro's church, where three times a year the city waits for its patron saint's blood to liquefy.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  4. Dinner

    Try Pasta e patate con provola at Trattoria da Nennella. Piazza Carità, 22, Nápoles

The map

Naples in 3 days, on the map

Each route’s stops are numbered in order; the stars are the extra sights.

Mixed History Mysteries & legends Extra sight

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Before you go

Tips for Naples in 3 days

  • Check the calendar before you fix the days: the Archaeological Museum usually closes on Tuesdays and other state museums have their own closing day, so swap afternoons around if you need to.
  • Take the funicular up to the Vomero and walk down the Pedamentina, a stairway of several hundred steps with views over the centre: doing it the other way round would be a punishment.
  • In the Sanità, the Catacombs of San Gaudioso can only be visited on a guided tour; book ahead and explore by day: the area is relaxed for visitors, but it's a real maze.

Questions

Naples in 3 days: your questions

What can you do in Naples in 3 days without leaving the city?

This plan covers it all with no day trips: the old town, the Vomero, the Archaeological Museum, the Sanità, the seafront and the Teatro di San Carlo. If you'd rather spend a day at Pompeii, swap out day three and move the mystery route to the evening of day one.

How far will I walk over three days?

The three routes total about 6.8 km, plus the extras: the Via Caracciolo seafront, the museums, the Sanità and the walk down the Pedamentina. Reckon on six to ten kilometres a day, with a fair few hills.

Is the Campania Artecard worth it for three days?

It can pay off if you visit several museums and use public transport a lot over the three days. Do the maths with the tickets you'll actually buy, and check which sites are included and which only give a discount: not every place in this plan is covered.

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