12 things to do in Naples — an Italian city on the rise

While this has resulted in a certain amount of gentrification — you wouldn’t have found chi-chi cocktail bars on every corner 10 years ago — Naples has for the most part held on to its rough-hewn charm with a tangle of narrow streets and laneways to explore.

Every part of the city is lived in, which means that whether you’re tucking into a steaming plate of clams in the Quartieri Spagnoli or taking a cooling dip in Pozzuoli, you’ll always be surrounded by locals.

The architecture is stunning, as are the neighbourhood osterie, trattoria, museums, galleries, and theatres that make it an equally vibrant cultural hub.

A myth which needs dispelling is that Naples is a dangerous place to walk around.

As award-winning investigative journalist Roberto Saviano explains, the local Mafia families have a zero-tolerance policy towards tourists being harassed — because of the unwelcome police presence it brings.

1. Discover buried treasures

A short train ride from Herculaneum and Pompeii, Naples also has its own incredibly well-preserved Roman market building, which was discovered beneath the church of San Lorenzo Maggiore (Piazza San Gaetano) and is at least 2,000-years old.

There are also treasures galore to be marvelled over in the multi-floored National Archaeological Museum (Piazza Museo), which contains everything from mosaics and bronze statues to elaborate jewellery and the “Secret Cabinet” of erotic items recovered from nearby ancient Roman sites.

2. Experience the buzz in the Spanish Quarter

Once considered something of a no-go area, the Quartieri Spagnoli has transformed into one of Naples’ most vibrant neighbourhoods where visitors join locals for the evening la passeggiata stroll.

Things are especially lively on Via Benedetto Croce with great street food, quirky hole-in-the-wall bars, buskers competing for your small change, and Tattoo — a record shop which is every vinyl lover’s dream come true.

Nearby Via Toledo is home to Pignasecca, an impossibly busy food market dating back to the 1500s.

3. Follow in the footsteps of royalty

Occupied at various times throughout the centuries by the ruling Greeks, Romans, Normans, Spanish and French, the Royal Naples district is home to some of the city’s most palatial buildings and squares.

Start at Castel dell’Ovo and then continue on to Piazza del Plebiscito, Palazzo Reale, and Castel Nuovo.

With architectural surprises around every corner, it’s worth the exertion.

4. Grab a ‘pizza’ the action

The ultimate fast food, Neapolitan pizza goes from raw to blistered in 90 seconds and is strictly of the thin-crust, wood-fired, and buffalo mozzarella variety.

Join the locals queuing outside Da Michele (Via Cesare Sersale 1), a defiantly old school establishment, where the only menu choices to be made are Marinara or Margherita and beer or wine?

Whichever pairing you go for, it’ll be the best €10 you’ve ever spent. Be warned that asking for pineapple or sweetcorn is likely to have you deposited back on the pavement again.

5. Eat like a Neapolitan

I’ll be persona non grata in Rome, Bologna, Parma, and Palermo for saying it, but nowhere in Italy lavishes as much love on its food as they do in dear old Napoli.

Must-tries include Pasta e Fagioli (pasta with beans); Gnocchi alla Sorrentina (potato dumplings with tomato, basil, and mozzarella); and Sartú Di Riso (rice rolls stuffed with chicken livers and sausage). All of these are brought to the table with a theatrical flourish at Trattoria La Campagnola (Piazzetta Nilo 22), which chalks its daily specials up on a board.

6. Worship with the locals

The only thing that Neapolitans love as much as their food is football, or calcio as it’s called in Italy.

Napoli, who’ve been flying high of late in Serie A, play their home games in the cavernous Diego Armando Maradona Stadium where fans are gripped with almost religious fervour.

Maradona, who helped Gli Azzurri end their league title drought in the 1980s, is a local icon. His image adorns many an indoor and outdoor wall.

Napoli games sell-out months in advance, so try and bag tickets online at sscnapoli.it.

7. Sip wine at sunset

Campanian wines have improved beyond all recognition in recent years, with Greco di Tufo and Fiano di Avellino the pick of the whites, and Taurasi and Piedrosso two reds that are a match for anything you’ll find in Tuscany.

A seriously cool place to sip them in is the Hotel Romeo’s rooftop Beluga Sky Bar (Via Cristoforo Colombo 45), which has jaw dropping views of the Bay of Naples and great early evening nibbles.

8. Take the funicular up to Montesanto

Opened in 1891 and carrying over 4 million passengers a year, the Funicolare di Montesanto whisks you up from the Spanish Quarter to Vomero — a bustling hilltop neighbourhood which looks directly across at Mount Vesuvius.

Its other star attraction is Castel Sant’Elmo, a 13th century fortress built by King Robert, considered the father of modern Naples.

9. Cool down in Pozzuoli

When the city becomes unbearably hot — last summer saw temperatures nudging 40 °C — Neapolitans head a few miles up the coast to the port of Pozzuoli, which sweeps dramatically down to the Tyrrhenian Sea.

The old town is at its most atmospheric in the early evening when families head out for ice cream — make sure to try the buffalo milk gelato — and then move seamlessly on to dinner with Ristorante Alos Club (Via Icaro 1), renowned for its melt-in-the-mouth Tuna Tartare.

A few minutes’ walk from Pozzuoli Solfatara railway station, the Flavian Amphitheatre (Nicola Terracciano 75) is every bit as impressive as the one in Pompeii and far less crowded.

10. Hop on a hydrofoil to the Phlegraean Islands

Smart visitors should do what holidaying Neapolitans do, which is bypass Capri and its overpriced tourist traps in favour of near neighbours Procida and Ischia where you won’t have to pay €8 for a cappuccino.

The former, is renowned for its superb seafood restaurants — La Gorgonia is currently Procida town’s hottest table — and cliff-top walks, where it’s usually just you and a few wild goats taking in the sea views.

There are plenty of goats on Ischia too, along with hot thermal springs, secluded beaches, lush green hills, fairy-tale castles, and other locations you might recognise from The Talented Mr Ripley, which was partially shot there.

11. Travel back in time to Pompeii

No amount of leafing through the guidebooks can prepare you for the magnificence of Pompeii, you’d swear you’ve travelled back to 79 AD.

Some 40 minutes by Circumvesuviana train from Naples, the best time to visit is at 9am when the gates open and the tour bus brigade are still tucking into their hotel breakfast. (prompeiisites.org)

12. Bring home Sfogliatelle

Invented in the 17th century by sweet-toothed monks at the Santa Rosa monastery in Salerno, these puff pastry shells are traditionally filled with a mixture of ricotta cheese, semolina, and lemon zest, and then buried under an avalanche of icing sugar. Your waistline won’t thank you, but your tastebuds will!