Piazza del Gesù and Spaccanapoli
Centro Storico · 30 min
Start at the studded stone front of the Gesù Nuovo and look east down the street that splits the old city in two. Everything this morning is on it or one block off it.
Naples · Italy · 3 days
3 days in Naples
Three days split by ground: the old center on foot with its cloister, chapel and pizza lines; a day at Pompeii with the volcano or Herculaneum after lunch; then the archaeological museum, Via Toledo, the seafront and the Vomero hill by funicular.
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Checked October 10, 2026. That’s the day we last confirmed the hours, prices and closed days.
- 3 days
- 20 stops
- 7 with a ticket
- from €60 a day
When to go
April to June and September to October are the months: warm, long evenings, Pompeii bearable. July and August pass 30 degrees and the ruins have no shade. Winter is mild and quiet, with San Gregorio Armeno at its busiest in December. The feast of San Gennaro on September 19 fills the Duomo.
Where to base yourself
Sleep in the centro storico (around Via dei Tribunali or Piazza Bellini) if you want the lanes at night and can take the noise. Chiaia is calmer, by the sea and on the funicular. Toledo and Piazza Municipio sit between the two and next to the ferry port. Avoid sleeping right by Garibaldi station.
Getting around
Walk the center; nothing on day 1 is more than 15 minutes from anything else. Metro Line 1 links Museo, Dante, Toledo and Municipio, and four funiculars climb to Vomero. An ANM single is €1.30 for one ride; the 90-minute Unico ticket that covers every operator was €1.80 before the fare rise on October 1, 2026, so check the price at the machine. The Circumvesuviana leaves from the lower level of Garibaldi for Pompeii and Herculaneum. Taxis run fixed fares on set routes; ask for the tariffa predeterminata before you get in.
Day 1
The historic center on foot
- FromYour hotel in Centro Storico
- 1
- Next door
- 2
Santa Chiara cloister
Centro Storico · 45 min
Columns and benches covered in painted majolica, lemon trees in between. Open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday only until 2 p.m.; the church next door is free and was rebuilt plain after the 1943 bombing.
€6
- 5 min · walk
- 3
Cappella Sansevero
Centro Storico · 45 min
The Veiled Christ, a marble shroud you will not believe is marble. Booking is mandatory, with timed slots online 60 days ahead that sell out days before on weekends; closed Tuesday, otherwise open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
€12
- 4 min · walk
- 4
San Gregorio Armeno
Centro Storico · 45 min
The street of nativity makers, open all year: shepherds, mangers and this year's footballers and politicians in terracotta. The church of the same name halfway up has a gilded ceiling worth five minutes.
- 8 min · walk
- 5
L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele
Forcella · 60 min
Ten minutes east in Forcella, open daily from 10:30 a.m. Two pizzas only, marinara or margherita, around €7. Take a number at the door and expect 30 to 60 minutes at peak; arrive before 12:30 p.m. or after 3 p.m. and it is shorter.
- 7 min · walk
- 6
Duomo and the Treasure of San Gennaro
Via Duomo · 75 min
The cathedral is free and reopens at 2:30 p.m. after its lunch close. The Treasure museum next door at Via Duomo 149 (9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., last entry 5 p.m.) has the saint's jewels and silver busts, audioguide included, and the chapel where the blood is said to liquefy.
€15
- 1.7 km · transit or taxi
- 7
Napoli Sotterranea or the Catacombs of San Gennaro
Centro Storico · 90 min
Underground tours leave from Piazza San Gaetano on Via dei Tribunali on the hour in English, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Greek cisterns 40 meters down and a tight candlelit passage. The catacombs are a bus ride up to Capodimonte: €9, guided only, booking mandatory, last tour 5 p.m., closed Wednesday.
- 1.8 km · transit or taxi
- 8
Via dei Tribunali at night
Centro Storico · 90 min
Gino Sorbillo at number 32 takes no reservations, so put your name on the list at the door; Di Matteo does a pizza fritta to eat standing up. Then have a drink in Piazza Bellini among the Greek walls.
Day 2
Pompeii, then the volcano or Herculaneum
- FromYour hotel in Centro Storico
- 1
Circumvesuviana to Pompei Scavi
Garibaldi · 45 min
From the lower level of Napoli Garibaldi, the Sorrento line, every half hour, about 35 minutes to Pompei Scavi Villa dei Misteri for a little over €3; no reserved seats and busy pockets. The Campania Express (€15 one way, €25 round trip, four a day from Porta Nolana, reserved seats) runs in season only, roughly spring to the end of September.
- 2.0 km · transit or taxi
- 2
Pompeii
Pompei · 240 min
Tickets are named and capped at 20,000 a day (15,000 before 1 p.m.), with no re-entry; buy online a few days ahead in high season and bring ID. Open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. from mid-March to mid-October (last entry 5:30 p.m.) and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in winter (last entry 3:30 p.m.); the Piazza Esedra gate is quieter than Porta Marina.
€20
- 23 min · walk
- 3
Picnic inside the ruins
Pompei · 45 min
Bring a panino and fruit from a bar in Naples; the fountains inside have drinking water and the one café is by the Forum. Four hours covers the Forum, the Stabian baths, the Lupanar, the House of the Faun and the amphitheater, but the Villa of the Mysteries needs the €25 Pompeii Plus ticket.
- Getting there
Vesuvius, or Herculaneum as the shorter swap
Vesuvius · 180 min
The EAV bus from outside Pompei Scavi station climbs to the parking lot at 1,000 meters, then it is a 30-minute gravel walk to the crater rim. Gran Cono tickets are online only at vesuviopark.vivaticket.it (€10 plus a booking fee, released 30 days ahead, path closes at 4 p.m. in October); the shorter swap is Herculaneum at Ercolano Scavi, €16, no timed ticket, two hours.
€10
- Getting there
- 5
Tandem, Via Paladino
Centro Storico · 90 min
Ragù napoletano, the sauce cooked all day, with a basket of bread to mop it, a few blocks from Spaccanapoli. Small room, often a short wait; the second branch on Via dei Tribunali takes the overflow.
Day 3
The museum, Toledo, the sea and Vomero
- FromYour hotel in Centro Storico
- 1
National Archaeological Museum (MANN)
Museo · 150 min
The Farnese marbles on the ground floor, the Pompeii mosaics and frescoes above, the Secret Cabinet of Roman erotica. Open 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., closed Tuesday; the entrance has moved to the western door during building works and the Alexander mosaic is under restoration.
€20
- 20 min · walk
- 2
Toledo metro station, Via Toledo and Galleria Umberto
Toledo · 75 min
Line 1 two stops from Museo to Toledo (€1.30): ride the escalators down into the blue mosaic hall and back up. Then walk Via Toledo downhill past the Quartieri Spagnoli lanes to the glass dome of the Galleria Umberto I and out into Piazza del Plebiscito.
- 18 min · walk
- 3
Pescheria Mattiucci, Chiaia
Chiaia · 60 min
A fishmonger's counter in Vico Belledonne that serves crudo and a few plates at lunch; eat what is on the ice that morning. Ten minutes from the Plebiscito along Via Chiaia.
- 16 min · walk
- 4
Lungomare and Castel dell'Ovo
Santa Lucia · 75 min
The seafront along Via Caracciolo is closed to cars; walk it toward the castle on its island. The castle itself is closed for restoration until further notice, but the causeway into Borgo Marinari is open and the view back at Vesuvius over the fishing boats is the picture.
- 1.8 km · transit or taxi
- 5
Vomero by funicular: Certosa di San Martino
Vomero · 105 min
The Centrale funicular from Via Toledo by the Augusteo climbs in five minutes, and the Certosa is ten minutes' walk from the top. Open 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (last entry 5:30 p.m.), closed Tuesday, for the cloister, the Cuciniello nativity and a terrace over the whole bay.
€6
- Next door
- 6
Largo San Martino at sunset
Vomero · 30 min
The free belvedere in front of the Certosa looks straight down Spaccanapoli to the port and across to Vesuvius. Stay until the lights come on in the lanes below.
- 17 min · walk
- 7
Umberto, Chiaia
Chiaia · 90 min
A family restaurant since 1916, ten minutes on foot from Piazza Amedeo: spaghetti alle vongole veraci, then a pizza if you still can. Book a table online, since the room fills by 8:30 p.m.
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Pins are approximate. Tap one for the stop; the directions links open Google Maps.
The practical bits
From the airport
From Capodichino airport, the Alibus runs every 15 to 20 minutes from 5:30 a.m. to midnight: about 20 minutes to Piazza Garibaldi and 35 to the port at Molo Beverello, €5, paid on board, by contactless tap or in the Unico app, and the ticket covers 90 minutes of city transport. Taxis to the center run a fixed fare posted in the cab. From Rome, the Frecciarossa reaches Napoli Centrale in about 70 minutes.
What a day costs
About €60 to €90 a day per person. A pizza is €7 to €10, a trattoria dinner €25 to €35 with wine, Pompeii €20, the museum €20, the chapel €12, and a day of metro and funicular rides a few euros. The Pompeii day adds the Vesuvius ticket, the bus and the train, around €25 together.
Where to stay
Got a day to spare?
Worth knowing
- Tuesday closes the Sansevero chapel, the archaeological museum and the Certosa di San Martino; the catacombs close Wednesday. If a Tuesday falls in your three days, make it the Pompeii day.
- Book in this order: the Sansevero slot (60 days out), the Vesuvius slot (30 days out), then Pompeii. The volcano is the one that sells out.
- Pizza lines move faster than they look, but nobody takes a booking. Go at opening or after 3 p.m., put your name on the list, and order a marinara too.
- Keep your phone zipped away on the Circumvesuviana and around Garibaldi; it is the one place in the city where pockets get picked.
- Scooters use the sidewalks and the lanes have no curbs. Cross with eye contact and a steady pace; stopping halfway is what causes trouble.
Things you can ask once it’s in the app
Plans change. Ask Chat and it proposes a reshuffled day you can apply, or just answers the question.
Day 1 lands on a Tuesday, what do I swap for the Sansevero chapel?Find me a Vesuvius slot that fits a 9 a.m. entry at PompeiiWe have kids under ten, is Herculaneum a better afternoon than the volcano?Rain on day 3, keep it indoorsWhich pizzeria near our hotel has the shortest line at 1 p.m.?
Questions
What would a fourth day add?
Procida or Capri by hydrofoil; a fifth day, the palace at Caserta or the Amalfi coast. Three days covers the old center, Pompeii and the sea side at a real pace.
Do I need to book Pompeii?
Not strictly, but tickets are named and capped at 20,000 a day with 15,000 of them before 1 p.m. From April to October buy online a few days ahead, or arrive after 1 p.m. when the line is gone.
Which day works in the rain?
Day 3: the archaeological museum, the Toledo station, the Galleria and the Certosa are all indoors. Waystop can save a rain version of that day that puts the Palazzo Reale where the Lungomare walk is.
Is Naples safe?
Yes, for a visitor who behaves like one anywhere else. The risk is petty theft on the Circumvesuviana and around the station, and scooters in the lanes. Walk with purpose and keep the phone out of the back pocket.
Before you go
Nearby
Same country first, then the cities people tend to pair with Naples. Want two or three in one go? String them together in the trip builder.
Your version
Now make it fit your trip.
Add your dates, your hotel and who’s coming, then ask Chat to change anything: it proposes the edit and you tap Apply. Want a long lunch instead of a museum? Just ask. Every place is checked against Google Maps before it lands on your day, and Chat can tell you when to leave for the next stop. Going on to another city? Build a multi-city trip.