All experiences 
Best Food & Drink in Naples
Must-See Venues in Naples
Buy Ticket 
More information 
All attractions in Naples
Naples
Naples: Excellence Food Tour
Naples Travel Guide: Top 10 Things to Do and See
Naples brings centuries of architecture, art and everyday culture together beside the Bay of Naples. The capital of Campania in southern Italy, this Mediterranean port grew from Greek settlements into a city shaped by Roman, Norman, Angevin, Spanish and French influences. Its UNESCO-listed historic centre preserves that layered identity through churches, palaces and streets, while its coastal setting opens views towards Vesuvius and the Sorrento peninsula.
The city's cultural reach extends well beyond its monuments. Naples helped shape opera and classical music, developed distinctive traditions in theatre and song, and remains closely associated with Baroque art, nativity scenes and pizza. Exploring it means moving between intimate chapels, monumental squares, performance spaces and the seafront.
Top 10 things to do in Naples
10. Take in the coastal views at Parco Virgiliano
Parco Virgiliano provides a broad coastal perspective from Posillipo. This panoramic public garden brings the setting of Naples into focus, making it a rewarding counterpoint to the densely built historic centre. Walk its paths for the views and a quieter encounter with the landscape that has helped define the city's identity.
9. Explore San Domenico Maggiore
San Domenico Maggiore connects Gothic architecture with the city's intellectual and royal history. Its monastery housed the original seat of the University of Naples and was associated with Thomas Aquinas and Giordano Bruno. The church incorporates an earlier place of worship, while the sacristy's royal sepulchres reveal its close ties to the Aragonese dynasty.
8. Step inside Gesù Nuovo
The distinctive rusticated façade of Gesù Nuovo survives from the palace that originally occupied the building. Inside, the church brings together work by important Neapolitan artists, including Francesco Solimena and Massimo Stanzione. The transition from palace exterior to richly artistic religious interior makes this a particularly revealing stop for understanding the city's architectural transformations.
7. Visit Santa Chiara and its tiled cloister
Santa Chiara combines a church, monastery, royal tombs and an archaeological museum within one religious complex. Its celebrated cloister features precious majolica tiles added during an eighteenth-century transformation by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro. Spend time with these decorative details, then explore the church's royal associations through the tombs of Robert of Naples and members of the Bourbon family.
6. Discover the Neapolitan pizza tradition
Pizza belongs at the heart of a visit to Naples because it expresses one of the city's most influential living traditions. UNESCO recognises the art of the Neapolitan pizzaiolo as intangible cultural heritage. Eating pizza here connects a familiar food with the local craft and culinary culture that brought it worldwide recognition.
5. Explore Piazza del Plebiscito
Piazza del Plebiscito is Naples's main square, with the church of San Francesco di Paola defining its western side. Its columned portico and circular interior recall Rome's Pantheon. The square also provides a natural starting point for a walk towards the waterfront, linking monumental architecture with the city's celebrated coastal setting.
4. Walk the waterfront towards Castel dell'Ovo
Walk from Piazza del Plebiscito towards Castel dell'Ovo along Via Cesario Console for views encompassing the Royal Palace, Vesuvius and the Sorrento peninsula. Continue the coastal theme along Via Caracciolo and through Villa Comunale, where statues, fountains, palms and stone pines bring a garden setting to the long seafront promenade.
3. Discover opera at Teatro di San Carlo
Founded in 1737, Teatro di San Carlo stands at the centre of Naples's operatic heritage. Rossini and Donizetti both served as artistic directors, and generations of major composers brought their work to its stage. Attend a performance to encounter the musical tradition that helped make Naples an influential centre of European culture.
2. See the Veiled Christ at Sansevero Chapel
Giuseppe Sanmartino's Veiled Christ is the defining work inside Sansevero Chapel, which holds sculpture and other art by leading eighteenth-century Italian artists. The chapel rewards close attention to individual works within an intimate setting. Its anatomical models add an unusual scientific dimension to a visit centred on exceptional sculptural artistry.
1. Explore the UNESCO-listed historic centre
The historic centre is the essential Naples experience: a layered urban landscape where successive cultures left their mark on streets, churches and palaces. Explore on foot to appreciate the relationships between its monuments, from medieval religious foundations to Baroque interiors. Together, these places reveal the continuity and cultural exchange behind the centre's UNESCO World Heritage status.