Overview
Older and rawer than the cities of the north, Naples piles its life into a dense historic centre that is itself a World Heritage site, loud, chaotic and intensely alive. The bay curves below the smoking volcano that buried Pompeii, and the city looks out to the islands of Capri and Ischia across the water. It rewards travellers who take it on its own terms, for the street life, the food and the wealth of ancient sites at its door.
Highlights
The historic centre packs churches, markets and the underground city into a warren of lanes, and Naples is where pizza was born, eaten best in its own back streets. Vesuvius rises over the bay, with the buried Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum on its slopes, an easy train ride away. The waterfront, the Capodimonte and archaeological museums, and boats to Capri and the Amalfi Coast complete a southern stay.