Things to do in Naples

Neighborhood · Historic centre

The dead-straight Greek street that splits the old city, with the Roman grid and the layered churches either side of it.

Local tip: The Cappella Sansevero, with Sanmartino's Veiled Christ, is a few metres off it and needs a timed ticket booked ahead. Via San Gregorio Armeno is the nativity-figure street and is genuinely worth seeing in October, before December makes it impassable.

Culture · Below the centro antico

Greek quarries turned Roman aqueduct turned wartime shelters, forty metres under the old city.

Local tip: Several separate operators run different sections and they are not the same tour. The narrow candle-lit passage in the Napoli Sotterranea route is genuinely tight; the Galleria Borbonica under Chiaia, with wartime vehicles left in place, is the better one for anyone claustrophobic.

Landmark · The hill above the centre

A star-shaped fortress and a Carthusian monastery on the ridge, with the whole bay and Vesuvius laid out below.

Local tip: Take one of the three funiculars up rather than walking. The Certosa di San Martino's cloister and its collection of nativity scenes are far better than the reputation suggests, and the fortress terrace is the best view in the city for the price of a museum ticket.

Nightlife · The seafront, west of the centre

The pedestrianised waterfront from Santa Lucia to Mergellina, with the city's smartest district behind it.

Local tip: The Lungomare has been closed to traffic for over a decade and is where Naples walks, runs and eats ice cream in the evening. The bars in the Chiaia lanes behind — around Via Ferrigni and Vico Belledonne — are where people actually drink.

Culture · North of the centre, below Capodimonte

A dense working district built over Greek and early Christian burial grounds, with the largest catacombs in southern Italy beneath it.

Local tip: The catacombs are run by La Paranza, a cooperative of young people from the neighbourhood, and the entrance fee funds the district's own regeneration. It is the single best-value cultural visit in Naples and the guides are from the streets outside.

Nature · North of the centre

A Bourbon palace holding one of Italy's great picture collections, in a 130-hectare wooded park above the city.

Local tip: The park is free, open daily and is where Neapolitans run and picnic — most visitors only see the gallery. The Farnese collection inside includes Caravaggio, Titian and Bruegel, and the top floor's view back over the city is worth the climb.