Naples is the great city of the bay: baroque squares, tufa alleys, majolica cloisters, first-rank museums and a depth of history unmatched in Europe. It is an hour by train from Sorrento, and it deserves far more than a smash-and-grab visit.
Getting there from the B&B
Sorrento station is a two-minute walk from via Marziale, and it is the terminus of the Circumvesuviana line: you leave with a seat.
The Naples line takes a little over an hour and terminates at Porta Nolana, calling at Napoli Garibaldi — the stop to use, because it connects with the main railway station and the metro. Trains run frequently through the day, but the last evening services are early: if you are having dinner in Naples, check the return time before you sit down.
The train is by far the best option. Driving adds traffic, restricted-access zones and the parking problem, and saves almost no time.
A day in Naples
The classic route, all on foot starting from Garibaldi:
- Spaccanapoli and via dei Tribunali, the straight cut through the old centre, with San Gregorio Armeno and its nativity-figure workshops.
- The Cappella Sansevero, for Sanmartino's Veiled Christ. Entry is capped: buy online, often days ahead.
- Napoli Sotterranea, the network of Greek-Roman cisterns beneath the centre. Booking advisable here too.
- Piazza del Plebiscito, the Galleria Umberto I and the Teatro San Carlo.
- The National Archaeological Museum if Pompeii interests you: almost all the best mosaics, frescoes and bronzes from the excavations are kept here, not on site.
That last point is the advice we give most often. Visitors who see Pompeii and then the MANN understand Pompeii twice as well. Those who only walk the excavations see houses stripped of their contents.
Pizza
Naples is the city of pizza, and the historic pizzerias in the centre have long queues, especially in the evening and at weekends. Two strategies work: go early, around 7pm, or walk a few blocks away from the most photographed signs — the average standard across the city is extremely high even where nobody is queueing.
When to go
Naples works all year. Spring and autumn are ideal; in summer the old centre is hot and crowded, but the museums are air-conditioned and the churches are cool.
Our advice
Leave early and come back late: with an hour of train each way, setting off at eight rather than ten buys you two extra hours in the city.
Travel light and keep bags in front of you in crowded areas, as in any large city. And accept from the start that you will not see everything: Naples does not fit into a day, and it is better to pick one slice and do it properly than to run.
Maschio Angioino castle, Naples