o A_Brit-- FANTASTIC!!!! Those photos of Marechiare make my eyes tear up. How I wish I were there now! I have to really commend you on those photos-all of them. I am familiar with practically every photo site there. My wife and her Italian family tell me that I know Naples better than any of them. When we're visiting Naples, every morning, weather permitting, I go for a walk wherever my feet take me in Naples. My wife's sister lives in central Naples, and from there, I generally walk down the Corso Umberto to the Castel Del Ovo and then go wherever. I've walked all over the place.I speak fluent Italian, but in the Sicilian dialect. I meet many people on the streets, and when I start speaking, they have absolutely no idea where I'm from. I try to mix in the Neopolitan accent in my speech, so that really throws them. When I finally tell them I'm American, they are really amazed. I'm writing too much--that's how it is when I write about Naples!

To A_Brit-- I forgot to mention the GREAT photo of La Fenestrella di Marechiare, THE WINDOW I spoke of.

From your short list, I think the Meuble Santa Chiara is a top choice for hotel location. When one is VISITING (as opposed to a full time resident), pleasant strolling, great architecture, many nearby places to eat out, etc., are prime considerations. There are also quite a few nearby attractions (mostly don't miss churches). Plus it's cheap. If the rooms look nice enough for you (they appear to be small but clean), I would choose it.

To A_Brit--I just had to look through your Naples photos again (I'm sure I'll be looking at them regularly in the future), and when I got to those of the Galleria, I remembered a story. I don't know if it's true or not, but it makes for good print. The Galleria took a few years to build, and in its' course, not a single accident happened, not an injury or a death. On the day of its' grand opening, the architect took his last inspection of the glass paneled roof, and lo and behold, the poor guy slipped and fell to his demise! Poor guy. At least he had a brief glimpse of his building triumph!

Thank you everyone!

ekscrunchy - I've read your report twice! It's part of why I'm so excited about the region.

Peter - beautiful photos, gorgeous city. I love the color and the chaos. It helps me think about which lens I want to bring. I don't plan to lug lenses, I'll just have one and I'm thinking it should be somewhat wide to really capture the urban scene.

Waldo - I told my husband about your pizza place at dinner tonight. We're going there.

bardo1 - I have reservations on both the Santa Chiara one and the Bellini. I keep second guessing myself on this minor decision so your input is much appreciated. We never spend time in city hotels and cheap means more money for food and wine. I would like to have someone who can make dinner reservations for me so I'll look at the descriptions and reviews.

Thanks to you, and Waldo, too!

Wide indeed, almost 'the wider, the better'...

Bit nerdy, but these show how I used the zooms on various cameras I took for successive visits to Rome, where conditions are fairly similar:

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/image/123183635

Peter

Just a suggestion on where to go to eat - try to find Trianon - it is one of the 2 oldest pizzerias in Napoli and as expected, the pizza is fantastic. It is tucked away in one of the busy little streets, so do ask your local hotel concierge. And as always, when in Napoli - don't wear any jewellery!!! or expensive watches!!! Don't go for too cheap a hotel - we had a really ramshackled one and was cheap!