Naples Travelers Recommend

The city of Naples offers travelers plenty of ways to capitalize on sunshine with numerous cultural, historical and sightseeing options. Walking and bus tours are almost always an option in popular European cities. But perhaps the most classic way to see the sights of Naples is aboard a Vespa. These two-wheeled wonders allow travelers quick transportation to all the attractions and can help make foreigners feel more like locals. In a city that’s home to some of Italy’s favorite dishes (pizza, anyone?), food and wine-based tours prove another great way to experience the city. History lovers will appreciate the city’s close proximity to Mt Vesuvius and Pompeii. Day trips to this notorious destination offer travelers a chance to travel back in time and see not only how an ancient people lived, but what remains of this place which was once covered in ash. Those who want to go a bit further afield can opt for day trips to Capri or the picturesque Amalfi Coast.

Pompeii has attracted tourists from all over the world since its ruins were properly discovered in the 19th century. Once a vibrant port, full of wealthy Romans, Pompeii became a city lost in time after Mount Vesuvius exploded in 79 AD, covering the city and preserving its remains. Pompeii was a large town, with 15,000 residents, so there is a lot to see when walking around the ruins. Even to this day they’re still excavating undiscovered features of the town. 28 kilometers from Naples, Pompeii can be accessed by local train, which runs every 30 minutes. However, the best way to see Pompeii is by taking one of the guided tours, which offer hotel collection. Be sure to pay a visit to the large theatre, the numerous temples and the markets. As the biggest excavation site in the world, Pompeii is bound to amaze and inform you.

There are few stretches of coastline as celebrated as the Amalfi, south of Naples. Since Antiquity the azure sea, cliff-hugging towns and dramatic cliffs between Positano and Salerno have attracted eager visitors while bewitching writers, artists and filmmakers. If you’re staying in Naples, or docked there on a cruise ship, the Amalfi Coast is little more than an hour’s drive away, making it the perfect day trip. You can arrange to be picked up at the dock or from your hotel in a private chauffeured car which will whisk you away for a day of sights you’ll never forget. And because it’s a private tour, you can spend your time wherever you wish, long luxurious hours in whichever town takes your fancy. Will it be Sorrento, with its stunning views and busy port? Or Ravello, with its stately villas and beautiful gardens? Or maybe popular Positano, with its colorful houses tumbling down the hillside to greet the sapphire waters?

Day 1: Coach Trip Wind through the streets of Naples with great views from an open top bus, complete with commentary. The bus has three different routes, stopping at all of the best sights Naples has to offer, so this is the perfect opportunity to see the whole of the city in one day. Day 2: Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii Take a day trip up through the city of Pompeii, which was famously destroyed by Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. During your tour of the ruins, you’ll be taken to the Forum, the Baths and the Brothel, to give you a sense of what Roman life was like. Day 3: The Bay of Naples To get away from the busy city, try heading to the Bay of Naples for fantastic views and Roman spas. Many of the spas are built into caves next to an extinct volcano and in the past Romans used to come to bathe in the hot springs. You can also arrange boat trips to the picturesque islands along the Amalfi Coast, such as Capri and Ischia.

Naples is famously the home of pizza, that ubiquitous dish we eat so often we forget that it's something that even needed to be invented. Campania, the region of which Naples is the capital, had a perfect storm of events and ingredients that made pizza possible. The tomatoes grown in the region had just started being canned on a grand scale and the rich buffalo mozzarella made nearby was practically begging for a dish to showcase it properly. Eating pizza in Naples isn't just getting a quick meal. It's eating a piece of history. Authentic Neapolitan pizza is strictly regulated – find the real thing by looking for the “Vera Pizza Napoletana” symbol of a pulcinella holding a pizza peel in the window of any pizzeria – down to every last ingredient that can go into the dough, sauce, and more. This is pizza you eat with a knife and fork – it's notoriously wet, especially in the middle – and the flavor is out of this world.