Naples attractions

Ischia is often overshadowed by its glamorous neighbor, Capri, but this island in Italy's Bay of Naples offers many delights, including natural hot springs, beautiful scenery, excellent cuisine, and the resort towns of Casamicciola Terme and Lacco Ameno. You can visit the island from nearby Naples or Sorrento to relax in the thermal spas, explore the 21 miles (34 kilometers) of coastline, hike the peak of Mt. Epomeo, and dine at its waterfront restaurants.

Castel dell’Ovo, the imposing fortified castle on the island of Megaride in the Bay of Naples, is one of Naples’ most famous monuments. Connected to the mainland by a causeway, the castle—home to the Museum of Ethno-Prehistory—offers sweeping views over the city and Mount Vesuvius in the distance.

With its warren of narrow alleys crammed with tiny stores, barbershops, and bars, the Quartiere Spagnoli is one of the most atmospheric neighborhoods in the historic center. Tour this lively district to get a feel for life in Naples’ chaotic center, and to visit the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli and Palazzo Serra di Cassano.

Beyond the facade of pyramid-shaped stones fronting Gesú Nuovo Church (Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo) lies a brilliant baroque interior. The building’s imposing shell was part of the fortified Palazzo Sanseverino before it was converted into a church in the 16th century. Inside are three elaborate naves, 11 chapels, and religious art by Cosimo Fanzago and Luca Giordano.

The energetic city of Naples can be daunting, with its warren of scooter-clogged streets and lanes teeming with open-air vendors that stretch from the bay to Mt. Vesuvius. Luckily, you can enjoy the best of what Naples has to offer by simply concentrating on the UNESCO-listed historic center, one of the most captivating in Italy.

Naples’ Royal Palace (Palazzo Reale di Napoli) is a stellar reminder of this city’s royal history. Construction began in the 1600s when Spain’s Viceroy Fernando Ruiz de Castro ruled Naples, and the site was designed by Renaissance architect Domenico Fontana. Today, visitors can enter to take the soaring double staircase up to the royal apartments decorated by architect Gaetano Genovese.

One of the most important churches in the center of Naples, Santa Chiara is part of a larger religious complex housing a monastery and archaeological museum. Its most remarkable feature is the beautiful cloister, with elaborately painted Rococò majolica decorations covering the columns, benches, and garden walls.

The Path of the Gods (Sentiero Degli Dei) hiking trail skirts the peaks above the Amalfi Coast, rewarding you with spectacular bird’s-eye views of the coastline and Mediterranean Sea far below. There are several different possible routes, but most travelers walk it as a 1-way downhill hike from Agerola to Nocelle, where you can follow a formidable array of steps down to Positano.

The Royal Palace of Caserta (Reggia di Caserta), famous for its massive size and opulent style, is a triumph of late Italian Baroque architecture. The largest royal residence in the world, the palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, shares a number of features with the Palace of Versailles and is one of the most-visited monuments in southern Italy.

Fontanelle Cemetery (Cimitero delle Fontanelle) is one of the most unusual sights in Naples, and a unique glimpse into the city’s culture. This ossuary has been used for burials since the 16th century; in the late 19th century, a cult flourished here, in which locals adopted the skull of a deceased person and prayed for their soul.

Naples’ elegant Posillipo Hill neighborhood is bookended by two lovely public parks, both dedicated to the poet Virgil: the Parco Virgiliano a Piedigrotta at the foot of the hill and Parco Virgiliano a Posillipo at the top. Both provide a welcome respite from the bustle of central Naples and are a highlight of this residential area.

This pristine pebble beach along the coastline of Italy’s Sorrentine Peninsula is tucked in a tiny cove enclosed by steep cliffs, making it both extraordinarily scenic and refreshingly remote. As it can only be reached by land via a steep footpath, Cala di Mitigliano is a favorite swim and snorkeling spot on boat tours from Sorrento.

You can hardly turn over a spade of soil in any Italian city without uncovering centuries of history, and Naples is no exception. Beneath the teeming modern center, Naples Underground (Napoli Sotterranea) takes you through the remains of the ancient city’s infrastructure covering almost two millennia.

Capri may be the favorite among the yacht set and Ischia a popular spa destination, but the authentic atmosphere and few tourists on Procida make this sleepy island in the Campanian Archipelago a singular delight. Visit its colorful fishing village, pristine beaches, and picturesque coastline on a day trip from Naples or Ischia.

The hilltop Saint Elmo's Castle (Castel Sant'Elmo) is a stunning architectural relic that overlooks Naples and offers visitors some of the best panoramic views of the city. Hike up the hillside or take the funicular to the top to enjoy the ramparts and on-site chapel. On a clear day, expect lovely vistas across the Bay of Naples.

Cutting a striking figure high atop Vomero Hill, this former monastery is now an impressive museum dedicated to Naples’ art and history from the 15th to the 19th centuries, as well as home to a spectacular Neapolitan Nativity scene. The beauty of the museum’s interior is rivaled only by the splendid views over the city and bay.

Step back into Naples’ layered history at the Basilica di San Lorenzo Maggiore, a gem of a basilica and monastery with a museum sitting above extraordinary Roman ruins. The basilica has one of Naples’ finest Gothic interiors and lies above the remains of a macellum—an ancient market that feels very much like an underground Pompeii.

With a history that stretches back millennia, it’s no surprise that the city of Naples has a number of fascinating sites hidden beneath its streets. One of the most important is the Bourbon Tunnel, or Galleria Borbonica, a massive underground passage built in 1853 that offers a unique peek into recent Neapolitan history.

Piazza Trieste e Trento is the square to see and be seen in Naples. It’s where the most fashionable Neapolitans and visitors linger over an espresso in the landmark Caffé Gambrinus after perusing the stores along Via Toledo and Via Chiaia, two of the city's main shopping thoroughfares that end in this bustling piazza.

Of the many historic churches in Naples, San Domenico Maggiore is one of the finest, with a Gothic exterior and baroque flourishes inside. In addition to the fortresslike facade and soaring interior, visitors can admire 14th-century frescoes by Pietro Cavallini in the Brancaccio Chapel and the ornate Treasure Chamber.

Naples’ Capodimonte Museum (Museo di Capodimonte) contains masterpieces from the Neapolitan and other Italian schools, as well as furniture and decorative arts, and ancient Roman sculptures. With works by Raphael, Titian, and Caravaggio, this museum is a must for art lovers and a popular stop on many private and group tours.

One of the most important gulfs in southern Italy, the Bay of Naples (Golfo di Napoli) is home to the vibrant city of Naples, the resort town of Sorrento, and the lovely islands of Capri, Ischia, and Procida. Mount Vesuvius looms over the coastline, a dramatic reminder that ruins of the ancient Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum are also located here.

Belching out jets of steam and sulfurous fumes for four millennia, the volcanic crater of Solfatara is a vivid reminder that southern Italy is a hotbed of geothermal activity, giving rise to everything from Ischia’s hot springs and Mt. Vesuvius’s puffing peak. Visit this spot in the Phlegrean Fields to witness its rumblings first-hand.

Perhaps the most elegant of the neighborhoods that make up Naples’ historic center, Saint Lucia (Quartiere Santa Lucia is set directly along the Bay of Naples and home to the city’s hotel-lined promenade. Join locals and visitors strolling along the waterfront and pop across the water to Borgo Marinari and Castel dell’Ovo.

In a city home to hundreds of baroque, Gothic, and Renaissance churches, the neoclassical Basilica of San Francesco di Paola (Basilica di San Francesco di Paola) stands out. Completed by Ferdinand I after his return to the throne—and the ouster of Napoleon and his brother-in-law—the church dominates Piazza del Plebiscito with its portico and oculus reminiscent of Rome’s Pantheon.

Italians are known for their sense of fashion but they don’t always pay retail prices for their designer duds. Outlet shopping is a popular pastime in Italy, and Neapolitans and tourists alike head to La Reggia Designer Outlet just outside the city to purchase the latest styles by labels like Armani and Prada at a deep discount.

Behind the unassuming exterior of the 15th-century Sant’Anna dei Lombardi are lavish interiors, rich with baroque paintings and Renaissance sculptures. Be sure to take in this dazzling church and monastery—complete with ornately decorated chapels and a sacristy frescoed by Giorgio Vasari—while visiting Naples’ historic center.

Located just inland from the port of Pozzuoli, the 1st-century ruins of the Macellum of Pozzuoli, also known as the Temple of Serapis, are a delight for archaeology buffs. This ancient Roman market is located in the Phlegraean Fields and its columns rise directly from a brackish pool of water, as the site has sunk below sea level.

The Amphitheater of Capua is one of the most important ancient Roman sites in Campania. Probably built in the first century BC, and second in size only to the Colosseum, the massive stadium was where Spartacus led the legendary uprising in 73 BC.

The Naples Cruise Port (Terminal Crociere di Napoli) serves as a gateway to Campania, one of Italy's most interesting regions and home to Pompeii, Mount Vesuvius, and Positano on the picturesque Amalfi Coast. Cruise liners dock in the heart of downtown Naples, making it easy to explore the city and beyond.