Best things to do in Naples: 16 sights in order of priority

Naples is a city for Greek and Roman archaeology, Baroque churches, street life and pizza, packed into an old town that still follows its ancient street grid. Two full days cover the first eight entries on this list; a third day lets you add the hilltop museums or Pompeii.

At a glance

• How long: two days for the old town, the archaeological museum and the seafront, three with Vomero or Capodimonte. See how many days to spend in Naples.
• Closed on Tuesday: the archaeological museum, Cappella Sansevero, the Certosa di San Martino and Castel Sant'Elmo.
• Closed on Wednesday: Capodimonte, Palazzo Reale and the Catacombs of San Gennaro.
• Book ahead: Cappella Sansevero and the catacombs (compulsory), Pompeii in high season, opera at the San Carlo.
• Getting around: the old town is walked. Metro line 1 and the funiculars reach the museum, the port and Vomero. Details are in the Naples public transport guide.
• Background reading: the Naples travel guide covers areas, costs and arrival.

The 16 things to do, most important first

1. Walk the old town along Spaccanapoli and Via dei Tribunali

The historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Greek settlers laid out Neapolis in 470 BC and its rectangular grid still decides where the streets run. Spaccanapoli and Via dei Tribunali are two of its long east to west streets, with Via San Gregorio Armeno and its nativity figure makers between them.

Time: two to three hours without going inside anything. Booking: none, the streets are free. The two main streets are packed at midday on weekends, so go early or in the evening. Read more in the Spaccanapoli guide and the page on the UNESCO historic center.

2. National Archaeological Museum (MANN)

This is where most of the frescoes, mosaics and bronzes removed from Pompeii and Herculaneum are kept, next to the Farnese collection of Roman marble. The Alexander Mosaic from the House of the Faun, the Farnese Hercules and the Farnese Bull are the three pieces people come for.

Time: two to three hours. Booking: not required. The Ministry of Culture listing gives opening from 9:00 to 19:30, ticket office until 18:30, closed on Tuesday, full ticket €20 and €2 for ages 18 to 25. Plan the rooms with the archaeological museum guide.

3. Cappella Sansevero and the Veiled Christ

A small family chapel filled with 18th-century marble. Giuseppe Sanmartino finished the Veiled Christ in 1753; Corradini's Veiled Truth and Queirolo's Release from Deception stand on either side of the nave.

Time: 30 to 40 minutes. Booking: compulsory. The museum states that all visits must be booked in advance; online tickets go on sale 60 days ahead and a further batch is released two days before the date. The standard ticket is €12, ages 10 to 17 pay €6, and the chapel is open 9:00 to 19:00 and closed on Tuesday. More in the Cappella Sansevero guide.

4. Eat pizza and street food where they come from

The craft of the Neapolitan pizzaiuolo has been on UNESCO's intangible heritage list since 2017, and UNESCO counts about 3,000 pizza makers working in the city. Fried pizza, cuoppo (a paper cone of fried food) and sfogliatella are eaten standing in the street.

Time: a meal. Booking: the best-known pizzerias generally do not take reservations, so expect a queue at lunch and dinner. Choose with the guide to pizza in Naples and the street food guide.

5. Go underground

Under the old town are Greek tuff quarries that became Roman cisterns and then Second World War air-raid shelters. The Napoli Sotterranea route from Piazza San Gaetano 69, on Via dei Tribunali, goes 40 meters down.

Time: allow an hour and a half. Booking: the operator says individuals and groups under 10 do not need to reserve. Tours in English and Italian leave on the hour from 10:00 to 18:00. Check the price on the operator's site. The different underground routes are compared in the Naples underground guide.

6. Santa Chiara and its tiled cloister

The church was built between 1313 and 1340 for King Robert of Anjou and Queen Sancha, burned after an air raid on 4 August 1943 and was rebuilt in its plain Gothic form. Behind it is the cloister that Domenico Antonio Vaccaro covered in painted majolica in 1742.

Time: 45 minutes. Booking: none. The complex lists opening Monday to Saturday 9:30 to 17:00 and Sunday 10:00 to 14:00. The church is free; the cloister and museum need a ticket, with the price on the official site.

7. Certosa di San Martino and Castel Sant'Elmo

The two sit side by side on the Vomero hill and give the best view of the city: the old town split by Spaccanapoli, the port, Vesuvius and the bay. The Certosa is a former Carthusian monastery with a Baroque church and a large cloister. The castle next door is a fortress with a walkway around the ramparts.

Time: two to three hours for both, including the funicular up. Booking: none. Both close on Tuesday. The Certosa is open 8:30 to 18:30 with last entry at 17:30 and costs €6. The castle costs €5 and can close in bad weather. Combine them with a walk through the district using the Vomero guide.

8. Piazza del Plebiscito and Palazzo Reale

The largest square in Naples has the royal palace on one side and the colonnade of San Francesco di Paola on the other. The square is free and takes ten minutes; the palace holds the royal apartments.

Time: an hour and a half for the palace. Booking: none. The Ministry listing gives 9:00 to 20:00 with last entry at 19:00, closed on Wednesday, full ticket €15, €2 for ages 18 to 24 and free under 18. See the Palazzo Reale guide.

9. The seafront and Castel dell'Ovo

From Piazza del Plebiscito it is a short walk down to Via Partenope, the seafront promenade facing Vesuvius. Castel dell'Ovo stands on an islet joined to the shore. Keep walking west and you reach Chiaia.

Time: one to two hours, best before sunset. Booking: none. We could not confirm current access to the castle interior, so check the Comune di Napoli page before planning to go inside.

10. Capodimonte museum and park

A Bourbon palace on a hill north of the center that holds the main picture gallery of southern Italy. It is far less crowded than the old town because it takes a bus or taxi to reach.

Time: half a day with the journey and the park. Booking: none. The museum is open 8:30 to 19:30 and closed on Wednesday. The park around it opens at 7:00. Ticket prices are on the museum site. Details in the Capodimonte guide.

11. Catacombs of San Gennaro

Early Christian burial galleries cut into the tuff below Capodimonte.

Time: the guided tour lasts one hour. Booking: the site states that reservation is mandatory. Tours in English and Italian run from 10:00 to 17:00 every day except Wednesday. The entrance is at Via Capodimonte 13, next to the Basilica del Buon Consiglio, and the ticket stays valid for 12 months for the Catacombs of San Gaudioso.

12. The Duomo and San Gennaro

The cathedral on Via Duomo holds the chapel of the city's patron saint and the relic of his blood. The treasury museum next door displays the jewels and silver given to the saint.

Time: 30 minutes for the cathedral, an hour more for the treasury. Booking: none for the cathedral, which is free. The treasury has its own ticket. The ritual is explained in the miracle of San Gennaro.

13. Teatro di San Carlo

The opera house attached to the royal palace opened on 4 November 1737, decades before La Scala in Milan and La Fenice in Venice, and it is described as the oldest continuously active opera venue in the world. You can see it on a guided tour or, better, at a performance.

Time: under an hour for a tour, an evening for an opera. Booking: buy performance tickets on the theater's own site as soon as dates are fixed. Check tour times on the theater site. See the Teatro San Carlo guide.

14. Toledo station and the metro art stations

Line 1 of the metro has stations designed by architects and artists. Toledo, by Óscar Tusquets, opened in 2012 with mosaics by William Kentridge You only need a metro ticket.

Time: 15 minutes. Booking: none. The Naples metro guide lists the other stations worth getting off at.

15. Castel Nuovo

The towered castle facing the port is called Maschio Angioino locally. Charles I of Anjou began it in 1279; the white marble arch squeezed between two towers was finished in 1470 to mark Alfonso of Aragon's entry into the city. You see the arch from the street.

Time: 10 minutes outside, an hour inside. Booking: none. Check opening hours for the civic museum inside on the Comune di Napoli site.

16. Pompeii or Herculaneum

Neither is in Naples, but most visitors add one. Pompeii is a whole town; Herculaneum is smaller and closer. Both are on the Circumvesuviana railway.

Time: half a day for Herculaneum, most of a day for Pompeii with the journey. Booking: Pompeii tickets carry the visitor's name and entries are capped at 20,000 a day. The Pompeii-only ticket costs €20, or €25 with the suburban villas. The site opens at 9:00; last entry is 15:30 from 15 October to 15 March and 17:30 in the summer timetable. Compare them in Pompeii or Herculaneum and see how to get from Naples to Pompeii.

What to skip if you are short on time

• With one day: do numbers 1 to 4 and walk down to Piazza del Plebiscito and the seafront at the end. The one-day Naples plan gives the order.
• Skip the inside of Castel Nuovo and of Palazzo Reale before you skip the archaeological museum.
• Capodimonte is the first big museum to drop on a short stay, because of the journey, and the first to add for anyone who cares about painting.
• On a two-day trip, do one underground visit, not two.

How to group them by day

Day one, old town: Cappella Sansevero at your booked time, Santa Chiara, Spaccanapoli, the Duomo, Napoli Sotterranea on Via dei Tribunali, pizza.

Day two, museum and royal Naples: the archaeological museum in the morning, metro line 1 to Toledo, then Piazza del Plebiscito, Palazzo Reale or the San Carlo, Castel Nuovo from outside and the seafront before sunset.

Day three, the hills: funicular to Vomero for San Martino and Sant'Elmo, or Capodimonte with the catacombs. If your third day is a Tuesday, Vomero is shut; if it is a Wednesday, Capodimonte and the catacombs are shut.

A fourth day goes to Pompeii, Herculaneum or an island. See Naples in 2 days, Naples in 3 days and day trips from Naples.

What to book ahead

• Cappella Sansevero: always.
• Catacombs of San Gennaro: reservation is mandatory and tours leave at fixed times.
• Pompeii: buy the named ticket online for dates between April and October.
• Teatro di San Carlo: performances, as early as possible.
• No booking needed: the archaeological museum, Capodimonte, Palazzo Reale, San Martino, Sant'Elmo, Santa Chiara.
• If you plan three or more paid sites, read whether the Campania Artecard is worth it before buying single tickets.

For where to sleep close to these sights, see where to stay in Naples. Costs are in how much Naples costs, and the things that cost nothing are in free things to do in Naples.

Questions travelers ask

Sources

• UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Historic Centre of Naples
• Ministry of Culture: Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli
• Museo Cappella Sansevero: opening hours and fees
• UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage: Art of Neapolitan Pizzaiuolo
• Napoli Sotterranea: visiting hours
• Complesso Monumentale di Santa Chiara
• Ministry of Culture: Certosa e Museo di San Martino
• Ministry of Culture: Castel Sant'Elmo
• Ministry of Culture: Palazzo Reale di Napoli
• Ministry of Culture: Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte
• Catacombe di Napoli: Catacombs of San Gennaro
• Parco Archeologico di Pompei: timetables and tickets
• Wikipedia: Teatro di San Carlo (history)
• Wikipedia: Castel Nuovo (history)
• Wikipedia: Toledo station, Naples Metro