Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Naples-Hours for Arch. Museum?

The archeological museo is open until 7:30 p.m. The Capella Sansevero is open until 6:00 p.m. You will not be allowed into the Capella Sansevero after 5:30 p.m. And, I have been told that you cannot get into the museo after 6:30 p.m.

The exhibits at the museo are not well presented in the sense that there are few labels/signs for the pieces and virtually nothing in english with the exception of an exhibit of small items from Pompei that are in the sun room. Also, the audioguide is very poor. It only covers a couple of dozen pieces and unfortunately, those pieces are difficult to identify. The pieces that are covered by the audioguide are supposed to have orange stickers, but I could only find a handful of them. I strongly recommend that you look into an english guided tour through the museo. I would contact the museo directly in advance and inquire as to how to get a guided tour in english.

You have to sign up the secret room (the sex art from Pompei and Herculeum) when you pay your entrance fee.

I spent 3.5 hours at museo and would have spent longer time had I an english written guide.

That said, the museo has a wonderful collection, including a small collection of modern art. Sadly, without a guide you will not know what you're looking at.

If you plan to visit Pompei after visiting the museo, stop by the giftshop and buy one of the Pompei books at the museo so that you can study it before going to Pompei. The books that I am referring to, have plastic overlays so that you can see what Pompei looked like during its heyday. There are stacks of them in many languages. The bookshop also offers a large selection of Pompei gift items. I found the selection to be much better at the museo than at the Pompei giftshop.

Both the museo and Capella Sansevero are closed on Tuesdays.

If you are staying near the museo, there is a nice internet cafe on Pza Bellini. It's called the Internetbar by Tightrope. You have to "join" to use the pcs, but the cost is aprox. 3 euro for one hour. They serve wine, beer and other drinks and cafe, as well as play great music, mostly latin.

Around the corner from the internetbar is Ristorante e Pizzeria Bellini, via Costantinopoli, 79/80. This is a great restaurant with a great selection of fresh seafood and of course pizza. I had a pizza, tomatoe salad, 1/2 ltr of wine, mineral water, limoncello, and pineapple for just 16 euros.

Also on Pza Bellini, across from the internetbar and just up from the restaurant is Cafe Fiorillo. Signore Fiorillo was a wonderful man. He took me under his wing during my short stay in Naples. He fed me like a grandmother would. He gave me coffee and an italian coffeemaker to take home with me. He also arranged for a driver to take me to and from Pompei. Stop by Bar Fiorillo for a cafe and a bite to eat.

All of the above mentioned places are just a few blocks from the museo.

Enjoy Naples, it's a wonderful city. But, be careful. Don't wear a lot of jewelry and keep your camera and cellphone tucked out of sight. My driver/friend Pietro was very worried because I kept sticking my camera out of the car window to take street pictures. He kept telling me that I was asking for it to be stolen right out of my hand.

I will be back in Rome in January, but I don't think that I'll make it back to Naples until next summer.