Naples | Naples Travel Suggestions - www.zzdtravel.com

Publish for free

Home

/

/

Europe

/

Italy

/

Naples

Do more with Viator

One site, 300,000+ travel experiences you'll remember.

Naples

Naples is raw, high-octane energy, a place of soul-stirring art and panoramas, spontaneous conversations and unexpected, inimitable elegance – welcome to Italy's most unlikely masterpiece.

Best Time to Visit

Best Places to Visit

Experience the real

　　The undisputed star of Piazza del Plebiscito, Naples’ largest square, is the Basilica di San Francesco di Paola, a later addition to the colonnade that formed the highlight of Joachim Murat’s original piazza (1809). A neoclassical copy of the Pantheon in Rome, the church was commissioned by Ferdinand I in...

Must-see attractions

Teatro San Carlo

　　An evening at Italy's largest opera house is magical. Although the original 1737 theatre burnt down in 1816, Antonio Niccolini's 19th-century reconstruction is pure Old World opulence. If you can't make it to a performance, consider taking one of the 45-minute guided tours of the venue. Tours usually take in...

Piazza Vanvitelli

　　Octagonal Piazza Vanvitelli is the elegant heart of the Vomero district, its cafes and gelato vendors drawing everyone from fur-clad, cappuccino-sipping signore to Snapchatting teens out for the evening. Cutting through the piazza is Via Scarlatti, the neighbourhood's main shopping street. ...

Castel dell'Ovo

　　Built by the Normans in the 12th century, Naples’ oldest castle owes its name (Castle of the Egg) to Virgil. The Roman scribe reputedly buried an egg on the site where the castle now stands, warning that when the egg breaks, the castle (and Naples) will fall. Thankfully, both are...

　　When you need a break from Naples' hyperactive tendencies, take a deep breath on its pedestrianised seafront strip. Stretching 2.5km along Via Partenope and Via Caracciolo, its views are nothing short of exquisite, taking in the bay, Mt Vesuvius, two castles and Vomero's Liberty-style villas. It's particularly romantic at dusk,...

Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo

　　The extraordinary Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo is an architectural Kinder Surprise. Its shell is the 15th-century, Giuseppe Valeriani–designed facade of Palazzo Sanseverino, converted to create the 16th-century church. Inside, piperno-stone sobriety gives way to a gob-smacking blast of baroque that could make the Vatican blush: a vainglorious showcase for the...

　　Locals know this 13th-century castle as the Maschio Angioino (Angevin Keep), and its Cappella Palatina is home to fragments of frescoes by Giotto; they're on the splays of the Gothic windows. You'll also find Roman ruins under the glass-floored Sala dell'Armeria (Armoury Hall). The castle's upper floors (closed on Sunday)...

　　In a city infamous for belt-busting temptations, this piazza-side pasticceria (pastry shop) enjoys celebrity status. While you'll find all the local classics (including a particularly luscious babà), the star attraction is the ministeriale, a dark-chocolate medallion invented in the 19th century. The ingredients of its liqueur-laced ganache filling are a...

Pizzeria Gino Sorbillo

　　Day in, day out, this cult-status pizzeria is besieged by hungry hordes. While debate may rage over whether Gino Sorbillo's pizzas are the best in town, there's no doubt that his giant, wood-fired discs – made using organic flour and tomatoes – will have you licking fingertips and whiskers. Head...

　　Envisaged as a 16th-century monument to Spanish glory (Naples was under Spanish rule at the time), the magnificent Palazzo Reale is home to the Museo del Palazzo Reale, a rich and eclectic collection of baroque and neoclassical furnishings, porcelain, tapestries, sculpture and paintings, spread across the palace's royal apartments. 　　Among...

Via San Gregorio Armeno

　　Dismissed by serious collectors, this narrow street nonetheless remains famous across Italy for its pastori (nativity-scene figurines). Connecting Spaccanapoli with Via dei Tribunali, the decumanus maior (main road) of ancient Neapolis, its clutter of shops and workshops peddle everything from doting donkeys to kitsch celebrity caricatures. At No 8 you'll...

Gallerie d'Italia

　　Originally in Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano, the Gallerie d'Italia can now be found in the nearby Banco di Napoli building, which houses a compact yet stunning collection of Neapolitan and Italian art spanning the 17th to early 20th centuries. The star attraction is Caravaggio's mesmerising swansong, The Martyrdom of St Ursula...

Complesso Monumentale di Santa Chiara

　　Vast, Gothic and cleverly deceptive, the mighty Basilica di Santa Chiara stands at the heart of this tranquil monastery complex. The church was severely damaged in WWII: what you see today is a 20th-century recreation of Gagliardo Primario's 14th-century original. Adjoining it are the basilica's cloisters, adorned with brightly coloured...

　　Whether you go for Giovanni Lanfranco's fresco in the Cappella di San Gennaro (Chapel of St Janarius), the 4th-century mosaics in the baptistry, or the thrice-annual miracle of San Gennaro, do not miss Naples' cathedral. Kick-started by Charles I of Anjou in 1272 and consecrated in 1315, it was largely...

Catacombe di San Gennaro

　　Naples' oldest and most sacred catacombs became a Christian pilgrimage site when San Gennaro's body was interred here in the 5th century. The carefully restored site allows visitors to experience an evocative other world of tombs, corridors and broad vestibules, its treasures including 2nd-century Christian frescoes, 5th-century mosaics and the...

Certosa e Museo di San Martino

　　The high point (quite literally) of the Neapolitan baroque, this charterhouse-turned-museum was built as a Carthusian monastery between 1325 and 1368. Centred on one of the most beautiful cloisters in Italy, it has been decorated, adorned and altered over the centuries by some of Italy’s finest talent, most importantly architect...

Cappella Sansevero

　　It's in this Masonic-inspired baroque chapel that you'll find Giuseppe Sanmartino's incredible sculpture, Cristo velato (Veiled Christ), its marble veil so realistic that it's tempting to try to lift it and view Christ underneath. It's one of several artistic wonders that include Francesco Queirolo's sculpture Disinganno (Disillusion), Antonio Corradini's Pudicizia...

Museo di Capodimonte

　　Originally designed as a hunting lodge for Charles VII of Bourbon, the monumental Palazzo di Capodimonte was begun in 1738 and took more than a century to complete. It's now home to the Museo di Capodimonte, southern Italy's largest and richest art gallery. Its vast collection – much of which...

Museo Archeologico Nazionale

　　Naples' National Archaeological Museum serves up one of the world’s finest collections of Graeco-Roman artefacts. Originally a cavalry barracks and later seat of the city’s university, the museum was established by the Bourbon king Charles VII in the late 18th century to house the antiquities he inherited from his mother,...

Latest stories from Naples

　　For Continental grandeur, it's hard to beat Piazza del Plebiscito. Whichever way you look, the view is show-stopping. To the northwest, vine-covered slopes lead up to Castel Sant'Elmo and the Certosa di San Martino; to the east, the pink-hued Palazzo Reale shows off its oldest facade. And to the west...

Museo Duca di Martina & Villa Floridiana

Complesso Monumentale di San Lorenzo Maggiore

Orto Botanico di Napoli

About

Terms and Conditions Privacy policy Cookie Settings Contact Us

Services

Login register

zzdtravel Travel Travel Story Cruise Attractions

Copyright 2023-2024 - www.zzdtravel.com All Rights Reserved