Naples in a Day: What to Do With 24 Hours

Naples is chaotic, beautiful, and completely itself. One day here gives you a genuine slice of one of Italy's most intense cities: the street life of the Spaccanapoli, the best pizza in the world by most accounts, and a world-class archaeological museum. It's enough to understand why Naples has a devoted following, even if it takes some visitors by surprise.

Getting In and Out

Naples Capodichino Airport is around 6 kilometres from the city centre. The Alibus shuttle connects the airport to Piazza Garibaldi (the main station) in around 20 minutes. High-speed trains from Rome take around 70 minutes; the central station (Napoli Centrale) is on the edge of the historic centre.

Morning

The National Archaeological Museum (MANN) is the best reason to visit Naples that isn't pizza. It houses the most important collection of Graeco-Roman antiquities in the world, including the entire contents of Pompeii and Herculaneum, the Farnese collection, and the Secret Cabinet of erotic art. It's extraordinary. Allow two focused hours and start here.

From the museum, walk south into the historic centre. The Spaccanapoli, a straight street that cuts directly through the old city, is the spine of Neapolitan street life. Walk east along it: the density of churches, palaces, street food stalls, and ordinary life is striking.

Afternoon

Lunch is the most important thing you'll do in Naples. This is where pizza was invented and it's still done better here than anywhere on earth. The wood-fired Neapolitan pizza, charred and soft simultaneously, bears little resemblance to its international derivatives. The famous pizzerias in the centro storico (Sorbillo on Via dei Tribunali is the most famous; L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele on Via Cesare Sersale is the most traditional) get long queues. Plan for 30 to 45 minutes' wait at peak times or arrive before noon.

After lunch, walk through the Quartieri Spagnoli (Spanish Quarter) south of the Spaccanapoli. It's a tight grid of narrow lanes, laundry strung between buildings, and shrines. It's the Naples of postcards and it's real.

Evening (if time allows)

The seafront Lungomare promenade from Santa Lucia to Mergellina is Naples doing its Mediterranean best: Castel dell'Ovo on the water, the lights of Posillipo on the hill, and Vesuvius across the bay.

For dinner, the Chiaia neighbourhood has a more polished restaurant scene than the centro storico.

What to Skip

Pompeii is one of the most significant archaeological sites in the world and deserves a full day on its own. Don't try to combine it with a day in Naples. It's 30 minutes by Circumvesuviana train.

The funicular up to Vomero and the Certosa di San Martino are worth it on a second day, not the first.

Naples is the kind of city where one day makes you want to come back and do it right. Our Naples guide covers Pompeii, the coast, and the city in full.