The capital of the Campania region is one of Italy's most controversial cities. The largest Italian city on the coast, Naples is a city of cuisine and contrasts, 1000 churches and ancient castles. Much less is written about Naples on the Internet than about Rome, Milan, Florence or Venice, and therefore BlogoItaliano prepared an overview of the route that you can see in Naples on your own in 1 day, which will help you better plan your trip to the city.
Helpful advice: Before traveling to Naples, we recommend installing a mobile audio guide around the city for the iPhone. This is a ready-made tour of the historical center, which is much cheaper than even the most budgetary live guides, but will allow you to see and learn much more than most travelers have time to do.
The application has a built-in GPS and a map of the center of Naples, on which all objects of the tour are marked, the route is thought out specifically for walking, and the audio guide itself works even without the Internet. In the trial version, you can listen to the first 5 points for free, and a full tour of 55 objects costs only 5 Euros. You can install the application on your iPhone on this page.
Our one-day walk in Naples will begin from Piazza Garibaldi at the eponymous train station and end at Sant'Elmo Castle on the hill of Vomero. The walk is designed for 7 km and also includes an acquaintance with the Naples metro (by the way, one of the most beautiful in the world) and a funicular ride.
It is important to note that the Naples metro runs from 06:00 to 23:00, but trains run very rarely - once every 10-15 minutes. The cable car to the Sant'Elmo fortress is open from 07:00 to 22:00, but the observation decks (for the sake of which you should first go up) are closed an hour before sunset.
The station square and metro station are named after Garibaldi
The funiculars have common tickets for public transport in Naples: 1.10 euros for one trip, 1.60 euros for one and a half hours, 4.50 euros for a day (2019). Inspection of museum exhibits will take at least 2 hours, and the archaeological underground complex - about 1.5 hours.
And another tasty tip: near the Garibaldi station you can find the pizzeria L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele, where the heroine Julia Roberts from the movie "Eat, Pray, Love" dines. Only two types of pizza are cooked here: Margarita and Marinaru, but the tradition of cooking has been passed down since the 19th century.
Naples - the largest of the Italian cities located on the coast
From Cavour Square to Spaccanapoli (1.5 km)
Once in Piazza Garibaldi, we will immediately go to the Naples metro and drive through the 5 most interesting metro stations - Universita, Municipio, Toledo, Dante, Museo - to Piazza Cavour.
The Naples metro really has something to marvel at: the Toledo station, encrusted with fine mosaics of all shades of blue, immerses you on the seabed, the University station impresses with the beauty of holographic images, and the Dante station introduces the lines of the great poet in neon installations.
In one of the 12 historical squares of Naples - Cavour Square - is National Archaeological Museum, where many valuable finds are stored, including the Farnese bull - the largest ancient statue that has survived to this day.
The Basilica of San Francesco di Paola recalls the famous Roman Pantheon
Here you can get into the "Secret Cabinet" with a large collection of frescoes and reliefs of an erotic nature, found near Vesuvius.
Having familiarized yourself with the museum’s collection, you should find in the maze of nearby streets Via Duomo, which will lead to the cathedral of saint january (modern name - Cathedral of the Assumption of St. Mary), built in the XIII century. Here you can see the golden bust of the heavenly patron of the city, in the "head" of which the remains of the skull of St. January are stored.
Perpendicular to Via Duomo is Via dei Tribunali - one of the three oldest streets of the city, known since ancient times.
On the opposite side of the cathedral from Via dei Tribunali is another noteworthy church, Pio Monte della Misericordia. In the art gallery located right in the church, you can find one of Caravaggio’s masterpieces - “The Seven Acts of Mercy”, as well as many other paintings of the 15th-19th centuries.
The first stones in the construction of Castel Nuovo were laid in 1279.
Other notable basilicas nearby include the church of San Lorenzo Maggiore, where you can see the frescoes of Neapolitan disciples Giotto, and the church of San Paolo Maggiore.
On the square of St. Cayetan of Tien between them, right under the ground, lies an entire ancient city: historical ruins were opened to the public 20 years ago. Here you can see the odeon, intended for the performances of the Emperor Nero during his visits to Naples.
From the underground city along the pedestrian street Via San Gregorio Armeno, you will exit to the cathedral of the same name. It was founded by nuns who, in the era of iconoclasm, fled to Naples from Constantinople. Today, there is a valuable collection of musical liturgical instruments, as well as a rich archive of manuscripts and relics of saints.
Via San Gregorio Armeno will lead to the oldest in the city street saccanapoli (which means "dividing Naples"), formed by the modern streets of Via San Biagio dei Librai and Via Benedetto Croce.
From San Severo Chapel to Castel Nuovo (2 km)
Continuing a walk around the city, it is important not to miss the San Severo Chapel, which contains a collection of tombstones of the 18th century. You can find it by turning from Spaccanapoli to Via Nilo at the Nile statue and then reaching Via de Sanctis Francecso.
Back to Spaccanapoli, we will return along the walls of the church of San Domenico Maggiore, where the University of Naples has long been located. Thomas Aquinas, Giordano Bruno, Tomaso Carpanella studied here.
In the courtyard of the monastery of Santa Chiara, you can relax from the bustle of the city.
In the Church of the Holy Angel near the Nile, located on the opposite side of Spaccanapoli street, the tomb of Cardinal Broncaccio, made by Donatello and Miquelozzo, is kept.
Walking further along Spaccanapoli, you will find on your way the unusual Gesù Nuovo church, the walls of which are lined with stones that look like faceted diamonds. On the contrary, Jesu Nuovo should pay attention to the monastery of Santa Chiara, in which the wedding promises the newlyweds a long and happy life.
Having completed our acquaintance with the churches and cathedrals of the city, we will head from Gesu Nuovo Square along Calata Trinita Maggiore Street to Via Toledo (aka Via Roma), which contains the most fashionable boutiques and numerous shops.
Umberto I Gallery has expensive shops, restaurants and boutiques
Here you can visit Umberto I Gallery - a shopping center, the central facade of which is decorated with a compass and a zodiac circle.
San Carlo Street will lead us from Umberto I Gallery to San Carlo Opera Housewhere Enrico Caruso, Batista Roubini and other outstanding opera singers of Italy sang.
Near the theater in the castle of Castell Nuovo, you can visit the Naples History Museum and enjoy the view of the city and the bay from the observation deck.
Castel del Ovo was erected by Roger of Sicily in 1139.
From Plebiscita Square to Sant'Elmo Castle (3 km + funicular)
We will continue the rich impression of acquaintance with the city in the opposite direction from the San Carlo Theater - in the square Piazza del plebiscito.
The largest area of the city is one of the must-see places worth seeing in Naples on your own in 1 day. Here you can make a wish by facing the Church of San Francesco di Paola, and then turning 180 degrees and walking with your eyes closed to The royal palace between the monuments of Ferdinand I and Charles III.
Piazza del Plebiscito - the soul and heart of Naples
In the Royal Palace, horses are kept, taken from the Anichkov bridge in St. Petersburg and donated to the Neapolitan king by the Russian emperor Nicholas I. It is worth looking into the Basilica of San Francesco di Paolo to see the altar inlaid with lapis lazuli brought here from the Church of the Holy Apostles.
Via Via Cesario Console we reach the bay to Castell del Ovo Castle. Its unusual name is Egg Castle owes to the legend of Virgil about a certain egg hidden in the underground premises of the castle and designed to protect the city from attack.
After admiring the view of Mount Vesuvius and the Gulf of Naples, we follow along Via Pertenope to the most beautiful square in the city, Victory Square, where there is a monument to those killed in the sea and the garden of Villa Communale.
The Royal Palace - the main residence of the monarchs of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
The Garden of Villa Communale was conceived by Ferdinand IV as an analogue of the Tuileries Garden in Paris and was once only accessible to representatives of the highest nobility. Today the entrance to the garden is free, here you can see numerous fountains with figures on mythological subjects, as well as visit the oldest aquarium in Europe.
On the way to the last point of our walk, we have to return to the theater and find the Central funicular station on Via Toledo.
In total, there are four funicular stations in Naples (Centrale, Chiaia, Montesanto, Mergellina) and all of them lead to Vomero Hill to Fortress Sant Elmo and Monastery Certosa di San Martino.
Inside the monastery of Certosa di San Martino, the museum of the same name works
The main thing for which it is worth making a spectacular climb to the castle and the monastery is, of course, the observation platforms, promising amazing sunset views of the city and the bay at sunset, which will be remembered for a lifetime.
You can return to the city from the Morghen stop, from there the funicular arrives at Montesanto Station. Next to it there is a railway station and a station of the second metro line, so returning to the Garibaldi station is not difficult.
Naples Itinerary BlogoItaliano
In this article we have tried to collect for you the main thing that you must see in Naples for 1 day. But it is only a concise and extremely short version of the detailed city route that BlogoItaliano developed in 2018.
After all, Naples is a large and extremely interesting city, and even a very detailed article on the site, of course, is not enough to make a complete impression of it.
Moreover, the capital of Campania is famous for its intricate streets, and most travelers, even having a plan for exploring the city, often overlook the most important sights.
Naples - a large and extremely interesting city
Our guide to Naples is not just a route. it turnkey pedestrian and culinary plan for the whole dayto cover the most important thing in Naples, saving 150-200 Euro on excursions with an individual guide.
The route will help you save a lot of time for preparation and take even more from the city than many Italians manage to do.
Here is what you will find inside the route:
- Page 5 tells how to download a step-by-step route map to a smartphone or tablet so that you can use it without the Internet.
- A detailed itinerary recommending places for breakfast and lunch and what you should definitely try in Naples - pages 6 through 36
- 7-seat atmospheric dinner recommendations - pages 37-38
- A selection of hotels in different price categories for those who plan to visit for several days - page 39
- Free Tours in Naples - Page 40
- Budget Bus Walking Tours - Pages 41-42
- Contacts of the proven organizer of Russian-speaking excursions in Naples, if you want to supplement your impressions with a live guide - page 43
The total route consists of 43 pages, but each of which is filled with valuable information.
The kit also includes detailed map in Google Maps and tags for Maps.meso that you can transfer the card with all marked objects to your smartphone and avoid roaming costs.
In addition to Naples, BlogoItaliano also has the most detailed itineraries in Rome, Venice, Milan and Florence. You can familiarize yourself with their detailed description and order any of them on this page.
We also recommend subscribing to our free e-mail course for travelers to Italy, where you will find many valuable tips and tricks on how to take more from your trip.
Required save this article to your social network, because in your trip to Naples, information about what to see in the city will come in handy more than once.
Photos by: Mauro Cacciola, Armando Mancini, hkpuipui99, Global Jet.
