zeppole, thank you for posting the Madova link.

I love Naples, for many reasons. The main one is the volcano and the consequences of the volcano. You must go and see Pompeï. You can go with a train (25 mns). It is fabulous to see the city at Roman Time. Also Herculanum because you can see a whole magnificent villa. And Capodimonte museum with all the sculptures and objects found in the two sites' houses, etc. The harbour in the evening for dining (magical!). and a walk tour or with bus in the city. The opera and the cafe in front... etc. etc.

francinecarpon, thank you for your input!

Hi: I have done the underground tour. It meets at the Cafe Gambrinus, which by the way is a delightful place for a coffee and located in shopping area, gypsies on the street, lots of flavor.
Well worth it and interesting however: it is a lot of uphill walking to get to entry, then you descend down in slow manner hitting several chambers and narrow and I mean narrow passageways. The Killer is the appx 17 flights of stairs back up all at one shot. Also If you have claustrophobia, you might want to skip this tour. It is mainly in italian of which I have a working knowledge of but what I didn't understand there was someone in the group who kindly explained and not understanding any should not be a problem.

Thank you JoanneH. I'm thinking on doing the Catacombe di San Gennaro rather then the Napoli Sotterranea tour.It seems to me that isn't much to see with the undergound tour other than several chambers with narrow passages and some climbing.

I spent over 3 years in Naples, Italy when I was in the Navy. For an off the beaten track place to go I would suggest Baia and Cuma if you love Roman ruins' but not the large number of crowds. At Baia you can take a glass bottom boat trip over some sunken ancient Roman villas', go for lunch at a nice beach front restaurant and later climb the hill and visit some ancient Roman baths'. Baia was like a Amalfi Coast minus the huge crowds and made for a nice day exursion. At Cuma you can visit the Sybils Cave, but you will need a car. At Baia you take a train from the Port area of Pozzouli. In the downtown area of Naples you should check out the Gay Odin Chocolate Factory for a good chocolate fix. Also, if you are into beaches take the ferry from Pozzouli Port to Ischia for a relaxing fresh seafood lunch and a day on an uncrowded beach. It is especially nice and really uncrowded in September and October. It gets cold in November and rains most of December.

Catharine_Bevona, thank you for your suggestions. Baia sounds like the kind of excursion I would really appreciate and enjoy.

That whole area is fascinating... but don't rush past Pozzuoli too quickly!

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/flegrei

If you get as far as Cuma or Miseno, look out to sea - and that will be Ischia, our home, on the horizon!

Indeed very nice in both September....
http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/pics_sept

and October...
http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/recoct

....however, after the 8+ years we've now spent on the island, I can assure you it's not actually all that cold in November...
http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/pics_nov

...nor especially rainy in December...
http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/ischiawinter

Probably none of those are places you'll get to this time, but you can always come back again?

Peter

Peter,
Thank you for sharing your wonderful pictures. I do hope we can find the time to see Pozzuoli. If not we will need to return and spend more time in Naples and the Amafi coast. Also, I want to thank you for your suggestions. Best regards!

To A_Brit- Why don't you adopt me, so that I can come live with you. I'll call you Daddy!

I did not read this entire thread, but for men, the tailors in Naples are considered the best in Italy.

Ties were already mentioned, but men's shirts are also a great upscale purchase. This is one of several esteemed addresses for men's shirts:


http://www.finamore.it/index_ita.html

Here is another:

http://www.annamatuozzo.it/

ekscrunchy, Thanks! Wow I will make a point to visit the shops you mentioned.

Just a little thing....

Very tediously, you may find that Firefox will only get you the old edition of the excellent "Qui Napoli" magazine - for July/August.... whose details of course date back to June!

If that's happening to you, to download the next one (September/October), try using the same link as above - but a different browser, such as Internet Explorer.

Peter

Thank you Peter, I did open the Qui Napoli link above and was able to print it. I will check it again to see the updated issue.

ttt.

Apologizes for bumping up an old thread, but I definitely need to bookmark all this amazing information.

Bookmarking

Great thread!