I still remember the first time I arrived at Napoli Centrale station in 2012, I was like: “Where am I?” The second I stepped out of the train station, Naples hit me with a full-on sensory assault. The buzz of traffic is constant with scooters weaving through impossibly narrow alleys, cars honking, and people chattering a mile a minute. The streets are tight, squeezed between ancient buildings with laundry hanging from balconies, their walls covered in centuries of life, and yes, a whole lot of graffiti.

The city looked dirty and chaotic! I didn’t feel safe, actually, I was kinda scared and not impressed. But then I started exploring the city and …. My opinion changed! Stay tuned because today we will tell you why we love Naples so much and why it is one of our favourite cities in Italy!

Hi, I am Rick, and I am Andrea. We live in Italy. We travel around the country frequently, and we’re eager to share our Italian expertise with you, so you can enjoy Italy like a local. Today, we will tell you all you need to know about Naples, Italy, and why it is worth visiting!

Where is Naples, and how to get there

If you look at a map of Italy, you can see that Naples is located in southern Italy by the Tyrrhenian coast, 225km south of Rome, 475km south of Florence, and 725km south of Venice. Naples is the capital of the Campania region. 

To get to Naples, the best way is by high-speed train, and it’s very well connected to Rome, Florence, and Venice. The main train station in Naples is Napoli Centrale, which is located in the city centre, a few steps away from most of the major attractions. From Rome to Naples, it takes 1 hour and 10 minutes by high-speed train,  from Florence to Naples it takes 3 hours, and from Venice to Naples it takes 5 and a half hours.  

Naples is also connected with Rome by highway, and driving from Rome to Naples takes 2 hours and 20 minutes; however, we strongly recommend not driving in Naples. Traffic in the city is very chaotic, and driving there is a challenge for everyone, even the locals. 

Naples also has a small but very well-connected airport, Naples International Airport (NAP), located about 4 km southeast of downtown Naples. The airport provides flights to destinations in Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. Several airlines fly into Naples, making it an easy-to-reach destination. From the airport to the city centre, you can take the shuttle bus that takes you to the Centrale station in about 15 minutes or to the Port in about 35 minutes. Otherwise, you can take a taxi. The taxis are metered, and fares start at approximately €13. There is also a baggage surcharge of €1.50 for each piece of luggage that is carried.

Lastly, Naples is one of the most common cruise ports in Italy, and many cruise lines have Naples in their Mediterranean itineraries. Also, the cruise port is right in the historic city centre, within walking distance from most of the best attractions in the city.

Now that we explored how to get to Naples, let’s talk about the weather in Naples

Weather in Naples

The temperature in Naples is very pleasant year-round. In the summer, it is usually pretty hot with high temperatures around 30-31 °C during the day and 20-21 °C at night. However, due to the breeze from the sea, it is never humid. In the winter, temperatures are around 14-15 °C during the day and 5-6 °C during the night. Even in December, a light jacket is all you need to walk around Naples. Spring and fall are the most pleasant periods to visit Naples, with temperatures around 20-24 °C during the day and 13-15 °C at night. However, these periods are also the rainiest, with 5-9 days of rain per month.

Let’s move on to our next topic, and we will  talk about: where to stay in Naples

Where to stay in Naples

When we visit Naples, we always like to stay in the city centre for several reasons. First, we like to walk to all the major attractions, and we deeply enjoy walking around the streets of Naples city centre. 

Second, the city centre is the best place to enjoy the many restaurants, bars, and cafes in the city. Third, the city centre, especially at night and during weekends, is incredibly alive and fun, and it is the place to be. 

Bottom line: if you visit Naples, pick your hotel in the city centre. In particular, if you like an upscale hotel, maybe with a view of the sea and Mount Vesuvius, the Lungomare and the Chiaia area are the places to stay. This area is a bit quieter than the historic city centre, but it is still within walking distance of everything. Also on the Lungomare, you will find plenty of great restaurants for dinner.  

On the other hand, if you prefer to be right in the middle of the action, the historic city centre is the place to be. However, most hotels in the area are inside older buildings, and sometimes they have small elevators and steps to climb. Also, the historic city centre can be a bit noisier than the Lungomare. 

If you are looking for B&Bs or small boutique hotels, an up-and-coming area is the Quartieri Spagnoli. This used to be one of the most dangerous and least desirable areas of the city. In modern times, it has been cleaned, and now it is a wonderful place to experience the true spirit of the city.

Lastly, if you are looking for a more modern and business-like type of hotel, the area around Corso Umberto and the Centrale train station is what you are looking for. 

Now that we talked about where to stay, let’s talk about how to get around Naples

How to get around Naples

The best way to explore Naples is on foot, for sure. Walking around Naples is a pleasure, and you’re bound to easily get your 10000 steps a day; however, make sure to wear well-worn-in shoes and to pay a lot of attention to the ground because in some areas it is really uneven and it would be quite easy to trip. If you get tired of walking, you can use the Naples Metro. Once you stop inside the metro in Naples, you will be shocked by how beautiful and modern the metro is. Some of the stations are true architectural marvels, especially the Toledo station. For this reason, we strongly recommend you take a peek at those stations; you won’t be disappointed.

If you wish to explore the beautiful Sant’Elmo Castle or the stunning Certosa di San Martino, both located on top of a very steep hill, you can use the Naples Funicular. This old cable car is fun and quite efficient, and we enjoyed riding it a lot.

Now that we covered some of the basics about Naples, let us explore why, in our opinion, Naples is worth visiting by starting with the food

Food

Calling Naples the birthplace of pizza is an understatement; this city is its sanctuary. The classic Pizza Margherita, supposedly created to honour Queen Margherita of Italy and mimic the Italian flag, is a masterclass in simplicity. It has to be made with San Marzano tomatoes from the volcanic plains of Mount Vesuvius (for the red), Mozzarella (for the white) and basil leaves (for the green in the flag). But the crust is the real star, puffy and charred on the outside, yet impossibly thin and delicate in the middle. Eating a real Neapolitan pizza, in a tiny, no-frills pizzeria for just a few euros, will genuinely change how you think about food. 

Now, how do you pick a good pizzeria in Naples? Well, if you ask 100 people in Naples which is their favourite pizzeria, you will have 100 different answers! Every person in Naples has an incredibly strong opinion about how the perfect pizza should be. Honestly, every pizzeria we tried in Naples was delicious, and it is almost impossible to pick a bad one! 

Now, if you want to do something really fun in Naples, go and take a pizza-making class, we did it and we loved it!

The street food here is a way of life. You have to try a *cuoppo*, a paper cone overflowing with fried goodies: crispy calamari, veggies, and golden-brown rice balls. Then there’s the *frittatina di pasta*, a deep-fried pasta in the shape of a hockey puck with béchamel and cheese that is just pure comfort. And for dessert, you can’t leave without a *sfogliatella*, a delicate, shell-shaped pastry filled with sweet ricotta, or a rum-soaked *babà*.

From a perfect plate of *Spaghetti alle Vongole* (spaghetti with clams) to the freshest fried seafood, the food in Naples is tied to its soul. It’s honest, it’s bursting with flavour, and it’s just unbelievably good. The food alone makes a powerful case for visiting.

Moving on to another aspect about why Naples is worth visiting, and we talk about: Amazing sites

Amazing sites

You can start exploring Naples by walking around the historic city centre, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it’s one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on Earth. This is a place where Greek, Roman, and Baroque history isn’t locked away in a museum, but it’s the very fabric of the streets. You can walk through time here. A stroll down *Spaccanapoli*, a street that cuts the old city in half, feels like a trip through the centuries. At the end of Spaccanpoli, li you can turn in San Gregorio Armeno, where you can shop for the stunning Nativity scene figurines sold in the many shops on each side of the street. 

From there, you can head underground into *Napoli Sotterranea* to explore a hidden world of ancient Greek-Roman aqueducts that run right beneath the buzzing city.

Another site that you can’t miss is The Sansevero Chapel, home to one of the world’s most stunning sculptures: the Veiled Christ, a figure of Jesus under a marble veil so realistic it seems impossible it was carved from stone. 

A short walk away from there, you will find a moment of peace in the Santa Chiara Monastery with a breathtaking cloister decorated with brightly colored majolica tiles. 

Don’t forget to visit the Magnificent Duomo of Naples, where the Blood of San Gennaro, the saint patron of the city, is kept. 

A visit to Naples would not be complete without stopping in Piazza Plebiscito to admire the amazing Royal Palace in this majestic piazza. Also, a stroll in the Galleria, where you can stop for a fresh sfogliatella pastry, is a must. 

This is the great paradox of Naples: the stark contrast between the gritty, vibrant street life and the sublime beauty tucked away in its churches, palaces, and museums. It’s a city that dares you to look closer, and rewards you big time when you do.

There is so much more to see in Naples.

Let’s move on to another great reason to visit Naples, and we will talk about the surrounding areas

Around Naples

One of the best reasons to visit Naples is its incredible location. The city is the perfect launchpad for some of Italy’s most legendary destinations, making it an amazing home base for exploring. The public transport network of trains and ferries makes world-class day trips surprisingly easy.

A short train ride will get you to the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. If you want to know more about how to get to Pompeii from Naples.  Walking through these ancient Roman cities, frozen in time by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, is a humbling, unforgettable experience. You’re seeing homes, shops, and streets almost exactly as they were two thousand years ago. Now, if you are going to visit Pompeii and or Herculaneum, otherwise, if you don’t have the tickets in advance, or better the skip the skip-the-line tickets, you’ll likely spend hours of your holidays waiting in line to buy them.

From Naples, you can also go and explore the glamorous Capri Island. Take a short ferry ride from downtown Naples and go and explore this jet set paradise.  

Also Naples is the perfect place to go and explore the breathtaking Amalfi Coast and its picturesque towns like Sorrento and Positano, clinging to the cliffs. We did it by boat, and it was a truly unforgettable day. 

Lastly, just an hour train ride from Naples city centre, you can admire some of the best preserved Greek temples in the world. Yes, if you take the train from Naples to the small town of Peastum, you will be able to walk inside some magnificent Greek temples, perfectly preserved, with almost no tourists around. Trust us, this is probably one of the best excursions you can take from Naples.

Using Naples as your base lets you see these world-famous sites, often for a fraction of what it would cost to stay there. It turns a trip to one city into an exploration of an entire, legendary corner of Italy.

Let’s talk about another reason why visiting Naples is worth it, and it is that Naples is Fun!

Fun

One of the most important things that makes Naples worth visiting is the fact that the city is incredibly alive and fun! Walking in the charming little streets of the historic city centre or strolling on the lungomare at sunset is a total pleasure, and you will enjoy the incredible vibe that this city has. Trust us, you won’t be disappointed.

Is Naples Dangerous

Naples has the reputation of being dangerous. Even among Italians, the first thing they think about Naples is danger. The thing is, Naples is no more dangerous than any other big city with a lot of tourists in the world. Like any other huge city, there are areas of the city that are not as safe as the city centre, but tourists have no reason to go there. Also, like any other big city, it is necessary to be aware of pickpockets, especially in areas with a lot of people. Other than that, the historic city centre is just fine. Go there and enjoy!

So, after all that, the chaos, the history, the pizza, the beauty, let’s get back to the big question: Is Naples, Italy, worth visiting?

For us, the answer is a huge, yes, but with a catch. Naples isn’t for everyone. If you’re looking for a quiet, pristine, and perfectly organised vacation, this probably isn’t your city. It demands your full attention, challenges your expectations, and makes no apologies for what it is.

But if you’re a traveller who picks authenticity over polish, a history lover who wants to walk through layers of civilisation, and especially if you’re a foodie who agrees that pizza can be a spiritual experience, then Naples is more than worth it. It’s essential.

Naples is a city of beautiful contradictions: it’s chaotic but elegant, gritty but profound. It’s a place that gets under your skin and stays with you long after you’ve gone home. You just have to embrace its imperfections to appreciate its magic. Go with an open mind, a big appetite, and a good pair of walking shoes. If you do that, you won’t just visit Naples, you’ll truly experience it. And you might just fall head over heels for this one-of-a-kind city, just like we did.

If you have any questions or would like to leave your feedback about Naples, leave a comment below. We love to hear back from you and answer your questions.

Ciao