Visit Naples and Pompeii

Geplaatst op 22-09-2022

If you want to experience authentic Italy during a city trip, consider a holiday in Naples (Napoli) and the surrounding area. The messy and chaotic city lies at the foot of the Mount Vesuvius volcano and has all facets for a city trip from beautiful architecture, good gastronomy to beautiful picturesque villages in the area. Naples is a city where you can easily spend a few days enjoying the many beautiful Naples sights.

Naples Landmarks

The greatest attraction of Naples is the historic center with its narrow streets with dilapidated facades, but inside often beautiful buildings and churches. The central point of your city walk is always the Spaccanapoli, which crosses the old city in two halves. Sights at the Spaccanapoli include the Gesu Nuovo church with a very lavish interior and the Santa Chiara Monastery, photogenic for its colorful cloister. Don't forget the busy street of San Gregorio Armeno, famous for its nativity scenes and a bit further in the old town the Duomo, or the cathedral of Naples.

In addition, Naples has a very underground part. This dates back to Greek and Roman times, from where remnants of ancient buildings of the city of Neapolis are located below the city. At Napoli Sotterranea you can take a nice tour where you move through the narrow corridors of an ancient Roman aqueduct. At the large square Piazza del Plebiscito with the Palazzo Reale you can visit the Bourbon gallery underground. Then take a funicular up to the Vomero mountain where two sights are located, namely the monastery Certosa di San Martino and the impressive castle Sant Elmo, from where you have the best view of all of Naples and the Vesuvius volcano behind it. If you have time left, in the northern part of the city you can visit the Capodimonte hill with the Capodimonte museum and nearby the ancient catacombs of San Gennaro.

Surroundings of Naples

Naples is ideal for a number of day trips or excursions. Absolute top attraction is the Vesuvius volcano, which you can climb up to the crater. From Vesuvius you can then visit one of the two Roman cities, Herculaneum (Ercolano) or Pompeii. The cities have been buried under ash or lava and show beautiful archaeological excavations from Roman times. Also world famous in Pompeii are the plaster casts of the Roman inhabitants who were surprised by the descending ash. Impressed by the Roman mosaics? Then visit the archaeological museum in Naples city, where the best preserved Roman excavations are exhibited. Furthermore, from the port of Naples you can easily visit one of the three islands off the coast of Naples by ferry. The islands are all very colorful and picturesque, with the island of Capri being visited a lot. The islands of Ischia and Procida, which are just a little closer to the city, will certainly impress you