How long in Naples?
 

Hi everybody,

I'm thinking about visiting Naples next June, so how long do you think I should stay? I'm mostly interested in exploring the city, tasting the food and doing some shopping. The only museum I'd be interested in visiting would be the Museo Archeologico Nazionale (time allowing) and I definitely want to day trip to Pompeii.

Thanks!

Hi C,

We very much enjoyed 3 nights in Naples.

((I))

Are you combining Naples with another place or three? I have only a week for a trip this spring, so I decided on 2 nights Naples and 5 in Amalfi. But if I had more time, I would spend the entire week in Naples, just exploring, shopping, eating, and taking side trips to Paestum, Solfatara, etc.

We very much enjoyed a week there last year - there was so much to enjoy in the city we never made it to Pompei, Herculaneum, Vesuvius or anywhere else. We were there end May/early June. Here's my trip report in case it's helpful - http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34830452

you can certainly fill a week in the area (!)

I, persoannly...can only take a day or two of Naples itself and prefer to relax a bit rather than stay in the hectic city...but you could just as easily base yourself there and daytrip out of the city too.

You should leave a day (in my opinion) for Pompeii...maybe do Vesuvious the same day - maybe go out to Ercolano....as others have said, Paestum is REALLY amazing and unique...you could take the ferry out to Amalfi or Positano...or spend a day in Capri...take the train out to Sorrento...lots to do!

Ekscrunchy, I'm still deciding whether to do Lisbon/Paris or Lisbon/Naples. When I do all the research, I'll be able to make a decision.

I usually plans my trips like that. For instance, this year I'd planned two trips: Turin/Sicily and Turin/Morocco. However, after doing all the research, I ended up visiting Turin/Morocco, which was one of the most interesting (kind of odd combination, I admit) trips I've ever made.

Thanks for the link to your trip report Caroline, I'm checking it right away.

Hey Guys-
I know it sounds crazy, but one of the BEST spots in Naples is Mc Donalds, believe it or not! There is a large Mc D's right across from the Piazza Dante, on Via Roma (or Via Toledo, take your choice of names). It is a two story place, with one wall of the second story being all glass. What I invariably do, is order a hamburger, or such, and go upstairs to the second story, and sit right by that big window-wall. From there, one can see Naples laid out before their eyes. The Piazza Dante is alive with humanity and activity. The hubub of traffic and people is mezmerizing. I can sit there for hours and just watch Naples going on its' daily adventures beneath me. Besides, the University is also at Piazza Dante, and one can see all the lovely young female students gracing the environment.

why so categorical that you would only see the Arch. museum? The Capodimonte is one of the great painting galleries of the world, lightly visited so you can really see the wonderful Farnese collections. A half day for that, a half day for the Arch., a day for Pompeii and a couple of days for touring the city proper, prowling around, dropping into churches, eating shopping - I would say a min of 4 days - you might shave it down from that but you will be rushed - i could see adding a couple more days too. so that there would be time for Pozzuoli, Herculaneum and a lot more prowling and eating

I wasn't particularly thrilled by the archaeological museum or the Capodimonte. I've listed my top sights in my trip report but to me the very best was the catacombs of San Gennaro.

Waldo, I agree piazza Dante is an excellent place to while away an hour or two - but I'd rather do it over a Negroni sitting outside a bar in the square itself.

I meant to add a smiley there :-) )

Caroline...tell me more about what you thought of the Naples Arch museum, please. I was there once but it was so long ago I can barely remember..

Big and dusty?

Hi,

This is the itinerary I've come up with for Naples:

day1: Arrival.
day2: Centro Storico.
day3: Museo Archeologico Nazionale and Via Toledo.
day4: Certosa di San Martino and Vomero.
day5: Royal Naples and Chiaia.
day6: Day trip to Pompeii.
day7: Departure.

According to my bookguide, Royal Naples would be the area around Piazza del Plebiscito and Piazza Trento e Trieste. In Vomero, I'm interested in strolling around Piazza Vanvitelli and Via Scarlatti since, according to my bookguide, you can do good shopping there.

Concerning museums, I've had really bad experiences with them in Italy. I've been to Vatican City twice, and twice I've hated it because it's like some sort of Catholic Disneyland packed with people to the point of barely being able to move (or see anything). The same goes for Galleria della Accademia in Florence. I'm interested in visiting the Museo Archeologico Nazionale since I've read that most of the stuff found in Pompeii is on display there, so I'm willing to make an exception to my "no more museums policy". However, I love churches.

It appears that you have mapped it out nicely. And I will be there in May so will offer a few tips on where to eat when I get home...

We visited Naples in June a couple of years ago, and I recall the archaeological museum being delightfully uncrowded--if crowds are your concern. I recall it being a little warm inside; that was my only complaint.

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/137...53249937MGgAVt

I think your itinerary looks great. We only had about half that amount of time.

The Capodimonte is very lightly visited maybe because of its isolation - on a Sunday morning I was alone with the paintings in most of the rooms, including with their wonderful Caravaggio. Its a magnificent painting collection, reminding us that the Farnese family was originally from Parma - I agree that some of the european museums are painful - the Vatican, Uffizi Louvre, d'Orsay - but this is not one of them, just the opposite. The palace which the museum is sited in also includes a stunning formal ballroom and other roomms previously used by the royal family and the park in which it sits, on top of the hill, is worth a stroll. As for the Arch museum, there are only a couple of must see rooms, the mosaic from the house of the faun (tho you can see the copy much better in Pompeii) and the Farnese marbles, Herc and a Venus are the highlights. I do urge you to break your rule and go up the hill if you like great art.

Hi eks. It's hard to put my finger on why i was disappointed by the archaeological museum. Partly, I think, I expected great things since it seems to be *the* thing most people do in Naples, even if they only do one thing - and to me it just wasn't that out of the ordinary. The main specific disappontment was that I expected a extensive displays all about Pompeii and Herculaneum, putting the finds from there in context, and there wasn't a lot. I don't know if there was less than usual due to the temporary exhibition of (I think) Roman gold. Or maybe it just that well curated ? There were endless halls full of (admittedly very impressive) Greek statues. The Egyptian section was OK but very crowded. I liked the mosaics, though. I wouldn't say don't go, but it wouldn't be one of my top recommendations.

But Castellanese, the museum is nothing like the Vatican museums & the Uffizi in terms of crowds. Only the Eyptian section was busy when we went, and that was a national holiday with free entry. In Naples generally there were some other tourists around but not a lot - nothing like Rome or Florence.

Re your overall itinerary - this is unusual for me (I'm quite a lazy traveller) but I think you are maybe allowing more time than some sights, at least, need. Most of them are quite close together. You could easily walk round 'Royal Naples' & up the via Toledo to the archaelogical museum, and tour that, in a day or less.

*Please* don't miss the catacombs of San Gennaro !

I take it you also will be fitting in churches as you go, then ? I've listed my favourites in my trip report.

We didn't think a lot of Vomero - it just seemed like a well-off suburb which could have been anywhere, and was *full* of teenagers - but we're not into shopping.

Caroline: Thanks very much for that. I am trying to decide whether to take a day away from Naples or from the Amalfi coast to visit Pompeii....Fortunately, I do not have too many "sights" on my own list for Naples, because I will have so little time....I often prefer just wandering around to visiting museums...

Hi again eks. It would be a lot easier to get to Pompeii from Naples. Are you going to Naples first ? I agree, wandering around (interspersed with eating & drinking breaks) is the best thing of all. We saw so many interesting sights just in the street in Naples, like ladies in tenements above shops lowering their shopping baskets with money & presumably a list out of the window, & pulling their groceries back up !

The little square off Spaccanapoli - piazza San Domenico Maggiore I think - was another favourite place for a Negroni.

Hi eks - when in May will you be in Naples? I couldn't get FF seats for Catania-London, so I'll be spending an extra night in Naples in the middle of May.

Another board has a poster going on about Naples being dangerous for a woman traveling alone. I take it I can ignore him?

Thursday..I plan to be there the first couple of days in the month. What about you? Truly I would not put much stock into the theme of Naples being dangerous for a woman alone. I don't think you are planning to wander alone into shady, deserted areas late at night....what do others here think about this topic??

I would also consider a day trip to Capri if you have never been there. It is a beautiful spot. Personal favorites there were Axel Munthe's Villa San Michele in Anacapri and Villa Iovis (Tiberius's palace)

there are not very many streetlights in Naples/Spaccanapoli. But I did not feel uneasy alone there at night.

Re Carolines point about the Arch. museum, it is interesting but it just doesnt have great stuff in it - when you think about it, Pompeii was just some kind of average roman settlement - the statues and items there were mostly average, mass production not great works. An archeological museum preserves these characteristic items on display - as anthropology, not art. I found the mosaics, jars, and repro statues in situ at Pompeii much more evocative than the stuff in the museum. Do get over to see the Farnese greek statues that were dug up in Rome though - the Herc and Venus are stunning.

eks - pity, looks like we'll miss. My current plan is to spend the nights of April 9-11 in Naples, 12-17 on the Amalfi Coast (maybe an apt. rental), April 18 - May 11 on Sicily and May 12 back in Naples.

I'm not too worried abut safety, I don't expect to be on the streets after 11:00 at night. However, I did get pickpocketed at night in Rome, so I'm a little warier about big Italian cities than I might otherwise be. The poster on the other board seemed to be suggesting something more physical than pickpocketing, though, which I thought unlikely.

To Caroline Edinburgh-
I could find nothing absolutely wrong with your reasoning to spend an hour or so at the Piazza Dante, except I would do it with a Campari. However, Mc D's is great because it is elevated, so you can see more of the action. Too bad they don't serve Negroni or Campari at Mc D.

Incidentally, the absolute most astounding greatest view in this wide world, is achieved on the Via Petrarca, overlooking the Bay of Naples, with Vesuvio in the background. I go to Naples every year, and go to that site often. It's amazing, every time I go there, I'm breathless, and it's like that is the first time I've been there. The panorama is so shattering, I swear, I feel like crying because I'm so overwhelmed. I took pictures of that site several times a year, for about ten
years, and I just couldn't capture the scene. Finally, one day I GOT IT! I'm definitely not an artsy type, but the photo, the time of day, the shadows, the clouds over Vesuvio, etc. were just perfect. I blew the photo to a three foot by four foot size (fortunately, it was a film shot, and not digital), and I now have that photo framed and hanging in my rec room.

My first instinct was to say one day in Naples is ENOUGH. One full day and night walking around the historic city center, up the Spaccanapoli, wondering through up down and around the streets. People watching.
Catching the sunset at the Bay of Naples.
Eating dinner on a busy steep street near the damichele restaurant.

After reading this post I think I may need to visit Naples one more time. I never saw the catacombs, never made it to Pompeii and would some day like to spend the night in Capri.

Thursday, I know what you mean, as I had a bad experience in Palermo that now makes me more wary than I would be normally. Maybe that alone is not a bad thing, however.

Waldo: Please give me a hint here, as I cannot find Via Petrarca on my Naples Map (I am sure that the problem is with my map..) ...I wanted to mark the spot with an "x."

Find Posillipo on your map. from there, Via Petrarca runs east-west along the bay until it gets to Piazza Sannizarro. It is deceptive, because that area of Naples is built on the side of a hill, therefore on a map, Via Petrarca will appear slightly inland, because it is elevated. It runs parallel with Via Posillipo, which is shown nearer the bay. Via Posillipo affords the same view, but is at the level of the bay, so the view is less dramatic. Let me know if you find it. I have a hilareous story about Piazza Sannizzaro, if you are interested. It is something which is so far out, I believe that the only place on earth that it can happen is in NAPOLI!

Waldo: No wonder! My map does not extend far enough to include Posilipo.

Well of course we now need to "hear" your story!

And glad I will have more time for moseying around since the status of the Arch Museum has been changed from a "must" to a "maybe!"

eks - so sorry to hear you had a bad experience in Palermo! Especially as it's on my itinerary... Is there something/somewhere I should be especially careful about?

Thursday: What happened to me was really a freak thing and I guess it is like one in a million. Short story: We had just checked into our hotel after arriving on the flights from the US.

I was standing in the lobby on a Sunday which also happened to be May 1. So the city was deserted. I was at the front desk talking to the (female) receptionist and there was no one else around. A guy walked in, brandished a knife, took my wallet and robbed the hotel cash drawer and grabbed the gold necklace off the receptionist. There was lots of screaming and shreiking, to no avail.

The police came and were very nice, giving me a tour of the city en route to the police station, showing off how fast they could drive their car, careening around corners and driving the wrong way along narrow streets with the siren going...

After they let me phone the cc companies, they told me that had some advice for me: They cautioned that Palermo was as bad as Falluja (!!!) and next time I ought to visit their hometown where this sort of this would NEVER happen. And the hometown of the two cops was...you guessed it:
NAPLES!!!!

I'll be in Naples for three nights in early July, so I'm glad to see this info. Caroline, I think I've read your report but need to look at it again!

ek, I love that story about the cops. I look forward to your restaurant recommendations for Naples. :-d

This you gotta believe, I swear it's the truth.
My wife was raised in Naples, but she's an American citizen, born in New York, while the rest of her family (three brothers and five sisters plus mom and dad), are all Neopolitans. By that token, all of her family lives in Naples. We visit a few times a year. My son is an airline pilot, so we fly just by paying the tax. One saturday night in Napoli, my wife's brother, Mario, told us he would take us to his favorite pizza place, located at Piazza Sanizzaro. The piazza is circular in shape, with a bunch of restaurants and other stores making up the outer ring of the circle. This one pizza place my brother in law likes, was jammed this night, with tables extending past the sidewalk, into the street, not to uncommon in Naples. In the center of the Piazza is a fountain, with trolley tracks around the fountain. When we got there, the host said he would give us a table on the street, so he had a couple of waiters bring a table and chairs FAR out on the street, CLOSE TO THE TROLLEY TRACKS! He arranged the table and chairs in such a way that I was sitting almost on the trolley tracks, maybe two feet away from the tracks. I told him he was nuts, and I wouldn't go for that. My brother in law told me not to worry, he convinced me that all would be OK. I was reluctant, but I listened to him. So there I was sitting almost on the trolley tracks, figuratively wetting my pants while I was cautiously eating my pizza (which was pretty good). The TROLLEY THEN COMES ALONG!! "DING, DING! What the heck is going on, what do I do??? The trolley STOPS, I move my seat, the TROLLEY GOES BY as if nothing ever happened! I sit down and resume eating my pizza, as if nothing strange ever happened. This went on for a couple of times. This was a regular practice in Naples. They have now forbidden it, but it sure was a blast. Only in Napoli!

Fabulous story, eks! Like all great travel stories, lousy to live but great to tell! I'll actually be in Palermo May 1st this year. I'll try to remember to keep my credit cards in my money belt that day.

Waldo..you are not kidding about that happening "only in Napoli!!" I thought you were going to say that one of the trolley passengers grabbed a slice from your pie!!

By the way, have you read the book, "Falling Palace: A Romance of Naples," by Dan Hofstadter?

Another great view is from the Renaissance Naples Hotel Mediterraneo. I stayed on the 8th floor and had a fantastic view of the Bay of Naples also Mt. Vesuvius and the castle Castellano.
You can go to the top floor to get the great view.

Sorry I meant the castle Nuovo.

Speaking about trolley passengers, I have another story. I was on a trolley, travelling on the Fuora Marina towards my brother in law's home, and the trolley was very crowded, which is normal. I was minding my own business, when an argument erupted between a high school (I guess) young girl and an eldery gentlemen. They got at it pretty hot and heavy, and I thought it was going to get violent. The trolley driver wisely stopped the trolley and waved to a policeman and told him, I guess, what was going on. The cop came aboard the trolley, and asked everyone to show their cancelled tickets. You never saw a mass of humanity evacuate the trolley so fast. I was the only passenger left on the trolley! The cop, the driver and I had a big laugh! No one cancels their tickets on the Naples mass transit. I wonder how the system survives.

I love those stories! How wonderful that you are able to have an insiders view of what sounds like a fascinating city!

On the subject of Naples, here is another recent book by Roberto Saviano that I believe is creating quite a stir in that city and has been published in the US recently:



http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/bo...mp;oref=slogin


OR, if you cannot read that link to the New York Times:



http://www.amazon.com/Gomorrah-Rober.../dp/0374165270

I have several stories in relation to my trips to Naples.