Naples has spent years shedding its rough reputation, and a veteran travel writer who has been visiting for three decades says the city is now safer, cleaner and more visitor-friendly than ever — while somehow staying Italy's most seductive. With a Rocco Forte hotel and the America's Cup both slated for 2027, the pressure to go sooner rather than later is real.
A well-packed long weekend covers a lot. Day one is the classic centre: espresso standing at the bar at Gran Caffè Gambrinus, a peek inside the Palazzo Reale and the Teatro San Carlo opera house, then a wander up Via Toledo to the Pignasecca market. The Art Stations project means even metro rides double as gallery visits — Toledo station's vast mosaic is the star, and a ticket costs under €2. Lunch can be a queue-and-feast affair at Trattoria da Nenella, where deep-fried anchovies and meatballs cost next to nothing.
The afternoon belongs to Spaccanapoli, the ancient Roman street grid where Santa Chiara's majolica-tiled cloister, the crowded Cappella Sansevero (home to the astonishing 1753 marble Cristo Velato) and the Duomo's gilt Cappella di San Gennaro all sit within a short walk. Caravaggio's Seven Acts of Mercy, a Banksy stencil and the excavated Greco-Roman city beneath San Lorenzo Maggiore round out the layers.
Day two shifts to the sea. Start at Castel dell'Ovo on the waterfront, drift through the boutiques and cobbled lanes of Chiaia (Marinella for silk ties, Pescheria Mattiucci for a seafood lunch at the counter), then choose between a beach afternoon in Posillipo or the funicular up to Vomero for the Certosa di San Martino and its sweeping bay views. Aperitivo hour turns Chiaia into a nightlife quarter — retro-glam Antiquario pours a serious Negroni.
The third day dives into the Sanità, a once no-go district that's now essential: sfogliatelle at Pasticceria Popella, the Baroque 'flying staircase' of Palazzo dello Spagnuolo, the restored 2,400-year-old Ipogeo dei Cristallini and the skull-piled Cimitero delle Fontanelle. Book ahead for Ciro Oliva's Concettina ai Tre Santi, a pizza institution with ever-changing tasting menus. Save room for the Archaeological Museum — the Pompeii and Herculaneum mosaics, bronzes and frescoes are among the finest ancient collections anywhere — then finish with handmade gloves at Omega (est. 1923) or a rooftop drink at Grand Hotel Parker's, where Domenico Candela holds two Michelin stars.
