Naples itinerary: 1 to 7 days
Plans for one to seven days in Naples, day by day: Mount Vesuvius, the Veiled Christ in Cappella Sansevero, Santa Chiara and the castles on the bay first, then Spaccanapoli, Piazza del Plebiscito and the Royal Palace, and the Archaeological Museum, Capodimonte and the Sanità district as you add days. Every stop has a typical visit length.
How long do you have?
Map: 3 days
Naples in 1 day
Day 1
Cappella Sansevero
A small Baroque chapel holding Giuseppe Sanmartino's Veiled Christ, a marble figure under a transparent-looking shroud.
Santa Chiara, Naples
A Gothic church and monastery complex with a cloister decorated with colourful majolica tiles.
Castel Nuovo
The Angevin castle on the harbour, with five round towers and a white marble Renaissance triumphal arch.
Teatro di San Carlo
Opened in 1737, the oldest opera house in continuous use in Europe; guided tours show the gilded auditorium.
Naples in 2 days
Day 1
Villa Poppaea
A Roman seaside villa at Oplontis in Torre Annunziata, with well-preserved wall paintings, linked to Nero's wife Poppaea.
Mount Vesuvius
The active volcano that buried Pompeii in AD 79; a path leads to the rim of the crater.
Cappella Sansevero
A small Baroque chapel holding Giuseppe Sanmartino's Veiled Christ, a marble figure under a transparent-looking shroud.
Spaccanapoli
The straight, narrow street that cuts through the historic centre, lined with churches, palaces and shops.
Castel dell'Ovo
The city's oldest castle, on a small island joined to the seafront, with free terraces over the bay.
Day 2
Teatro di San Carlo
Opened in 1737, the oldest opera house in continuous use in Europe; guided tours show the gilded auditorium.
Castel Nuovo
The Angevin castle on the harbour, with five round towers and a white marble Renaissance triumphal arch.
Santa Chiara, Naples
A Gothic church and monastery complex with a cloister decorated with colourful majolica tiles.
Piazza del Plebiscito
Naples' largest square, between the Royal Palace and the church of San Francesco di Paola.
San Gregorio Armeno
A Baroque church and convent on the street famous for its workshops making nativity figures.
Naples in 3 days
Day 1
Castel dell'Ovo
The city's oldest castle, on a small island joined to the seafront, with free terraces over the bay.
Mount Vesuvius
The active volcano that buried Pompeii in AD 79; a path leads to the rim of the crater.
Castel Nuovo
The Angevin castle on the harbour, with five round towers and a white marble Renaissance triumphal arch.
Spaccanapoli
The straight, narrow street that cuts through the historic centre, lined with churches, palaces and shops.
Day 2
Villa Poppaea
A Roman seaside villa at Oplontis in Torre Annunziata, with well-preserved wall paintings, linked to Nero's wife Poppaea.
Piazza del Plebiscito
Naples' largest square, between the Royal Palace and the church of San Francesco di Paola.
Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III
Italy's largest library in the south, occupying a wing of the Royal Palace, with papyri from Herculaneum.
Teatro di San Carlo
Opened in 1737, the oldest opera house in continuous use in Europe; guided tours show the gilded auditorium.
Cappella Sansevero
A small Baroque chapel holding Giuseppe Sanmartino's Veiled Christ, a marble figure under a transparent-looking shroud.
Day 3
Royal Palace of Naples
The palace of the Spanish viceroys and Bourbon kings on Piazza del Plebiscito, with a grand staircase and royal apartments.
Quartieri Spagnoli
A grid of narrow streets laid out for Spanish troops in the 16th century, full of everyday Neapolitan life and murals.
Santa Chiara, Naples
A Gothic church and monastery complex with a cloister decorated with colourful majolica tiles.
San Gregorio Armeno
A Baroque church and convent on the street famous for its workshops making nativity figures.
Pio Monte della Misericordia
A charitable institution's church holding Caravaggio's Seven Works of Mercy above the main altar.
Naples in 4 days
Day 1
Mount Vesuvius
The active volcano that buried Pompeii in AD 79; a path leads to the rim of the crater.
Via Caracciolo seafront
A palm-lined waterfront road from Castel dell'Ovo towards Mergellina, with views of Vesuvius and the bay, popular for a sunset stroll.
Day 2
Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III
Italy's largest library in the south, occupying a wing of the Royal Palace, with papyri from Herculaneum.
Teatro di San Carlo
Opened in 1737, the oldest opera house in continuous use in Europe; guided tours show the gilded auditorium.
Galleria Umberto I
A 19th-century glass-domed shopping arcade opposite the Teatro di San Carlo.
Castel Nuovo
The Angevin castle on the harbour, with five round towers and a white marble Renaissance triumphal arch.
Day 3
Castel dell'Ovo
The city's oldest castle, on a small island joined to the seafront, with free terraces over the bay.
Borgo Santa Lucia
The old seafront quarter around Via Partenope, between Castel dell'Ovo and the Royal Palace.
Spaccanapoli
The straight, narrow street that cuts through the historic centre, lined with churches, palaces and shops.
Piazza del Plebiscito
Naples' largest square, between the Royal Palace and the church of San Francesco di Paola.
Royal Palace of Naples
The palace of the Spanish viceroys and Bourbon kings on Piazza del Plebiscito, with a grand staircase and royal apartments.
Day 4
Castel Sant'Elmo
A star-shaped fortress on the Vomero hill with the widest views over Naples, the bay and Vesuvius.
Quartieri Spagnoli
A grid of narrow streets laid out for Spanish troops in the 16th century, full of everyday Neapolitan life and murals.
Santa Chiara, Naples
A Gothic church and monastery complex with a cloister decorated with colourful majolica tiles.
Cappella Sansevero
A small Baroque chapel holding Giuseppe Sanmartino's Veiled Christ, a marble figure under a transparent-looking shroud.
Naples in 5 days
Day 1
Mount Vesuvius
The active volcano that buried Pompeii in AD 79; a path leads to the rim of the crater.
Via Caracciolo seafront
A palm-lined waterfront road from Castel dell'Ovo towards Mergellina, with views of Vesuvius and the bay, popular for a sunset stroll.
Day 2
Naples National Archaeological Museum
One of the world's great archaeological museums, with mosaics, frescoes and sculpture from Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Teatro di San Carlo
Opened in 1737, the oldest opera house in continuous use in Europe; guided tours show the gilded auditorium.
Castel Nuovo
The Angevin castle on the harbour, with five round towers and a white marble Renaissance triumphal arch.
Galleria Umberto I
A 19th-century glass-domed shopping arcade opposite the Teatro di San Carlo.
Day 3
Castel dell'Ovo
The city's oldest castle, on a small island joined to the seafront, with free terraces over the bay.
Borgo Santa Lucia
The old seafront quarter around Via Partenope, between Castel dell'Ovo and the Royal Palace.
Spaccanapoli
The straight, narrow street that cuts through the historic centre, lined with churches, palaces and shops.
Piazza del Plebiscito
Naples' largest square, between the Royal Palace and the church of San Francesco di Paola.
Royal Palace of Naples
The palace of the Spanish viceroys and Bourbon kings on Piazza del Plebiscito, with a grand staircase and royal apartments.
Day 4
Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III
Italy's largest library in the south, occupying a wing of the Royal Palace, with papyri from Herculaneum.
Santa Chiara, Naples
A Gothic church and monastery complex with a cloister decorated with colourful majolica tiles.
Cappella Sansevero
A small Baroque chapel holding Giuseppe Sanmartino's Veiled Christ, a marble figure under a transparent-looking shroud.
Purgatorio ad Arco
A church on Via dei Tribunali with an underground chapel where locals once adopted and cared for skulls.
San Gregorio Armeno
A Baroque church and convent on the street famous for its workshops making nativity figures.
Pio Monte della Misericordia
A charitable institution's church holding Caravaggio's Seven Works of Mercy above the main altar.
Day 5
Piazza Dante
A semicircular square by Luigi Vanvitelli with a statue of Dante, at the edge of the historic centre.
Rione Sanità
A historic neighbourhood north of the centre, with catacombs, Baroque palaces and the Fontanelle cemetery.
Museo di Capodimonte
One of Italy's great art museums, with works by Titian, Caravaggio and Botticelli in the Bourbon palace on the hill.
Naples in 6 days
Day 1
Mount Vesuvius
The active volcano that buried Pompeii in AD 79; a path leads to the rim of the crater.
Via Caracciolo seafront
A palm-lined waterfront road from Castel dell'Ovo towards Mergellina, with views of Vesuvius and the bay, popular for a sunset stroll.
Day 2
Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III
Italy's largest library in the south, occupying a wing of the Royal Palace, with papyri from Herculaneum.
Teatro di San Carlo
Opened in 1737, the oldest opera house in continuous use in Europe; guided tours show the gilded auditorium.
Galleria Umberto I
A 19th-century glass-domed shopping arcade opposite the Teatro di San Carlo.
Castel Nuovo
The Angevin castle on the harbour, with five round towers and a white marble Renaissance triumphal arch.
Day 3
Castel dell'Ovo
The city's oldest castle, on a small island joined to the seafront, with free terraces over the bay.
Borgo Santa Lucia
The old seafront quarter around Via Partenope, between Castel dell'Ovo and the Royal Palace.
Spaccanapoli
The straight, narrow street that cuts through the historic centre, lined with churches, palaces and shops.
Piazza del Plebiscito
Naples' largest square, between the Royal Palace and the church of San Francesco di Paola.
Royal Palace of Naples
The palace of the Spanish viceroys and Bourbon kings on Piazza del Plebiscito, with a grand staircase and royal apartments.
Day 4
Santa Chiara, Naples
A Gothic church and monastery complex with a cloister decorated with colourful majolica tiles.
Piazza Dante
A semicircular square by Luigi Vanvitelli with a statue of Dante, at the edge of the historic centre.
Naples National Archaeological Museum
One of the world's great archaeological museums, with mosaics, frescoes and sculpture from Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Day 5
Fontanelle cemetery
An ossuary in a tuff cave in the Sanità district, holding thousands of skulls and bones of plague and cholera victims.
Rione Sanità
A historic neighbourhood north of the centre, with catacombs, Baroque palaces and the Fontanelle cemetery.
Museo di Capodimonte
One of Italy's great art museums, with works by Titian, Caravaggio and Botticelli in the Bourbon palace on the hill.
Day 6
Castel Sant'Elmo
A star-shaped fortress on the Vomero hill with the widest views over Naples, the bay and Vesuvius.
Quartieri Spagnoli
A grid of narrow streets laid out for Spanish troops in the 16th century, full of everyday Neapolitan life and murals.
Cappella Sansevero
A small Baroque chapel holding Giuseppe Sanmartino's Veiled Christ, a marble figure under a transparent-looking shroud.
Purgatorio ad Arco
A church on Via dei Tribunali with an underground chapel where locals once adopted and cared for skulls.
Naples in 7 days
Day 1
Mount Vesuvius
The active volcano that buried Pompeii in AD 79; a path leads to the rim of the crater.
Via Caracciolo seafront
A palm-lined waterfront road from Castel dell'Ovo towards Mergellina, with views of Vesuvius and the bay, popular for a sunset stroll.
Day 2
Royal Palace of Naples
The palace of the Spanish viceroys and Bourbon kings on Piazza del Plebiscito, with a grand staircase and royal apartments.
Teatro di San Carlo
Opened in 1737, the oldest opera house in continuous use in Europe; guided tours show the gilded auditorium.
Galleria Umberto I
A 19th-century glass-domed shopping arcade opposite the Teatro di San Carlo.
Piazza del Plebiscito
Naples' largest square, between the Royal Palace and the church of San Francesco di Paola.
Via Toledo
Naples' long main shopping street running from Piazza Plebiscito towards the museum, crowded in the evening passeggiata, with the colourful Toledo metro station nearby.
Day 3
Castel dell'Ovo
The city's oldest castle, on a small island joined to the seafront, with free terraces over the bay.
Borgo Santa Lucia
The old seafront quarter around Via Partenope, between Castel dell'Ovo and the Royal Palace.
Spaccanapoli
The straight, narrow street that cuts through the historic centre, lined with churches, palaces and shops.
Castel Nuovo
The Angevin castle on the harbour, with five round towers and a white marble Renaissance triumphal arch.
Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III
Italy's largest library in the south, occupying a wing of the Royal Palace, with papyri from Herculaneum.
Day 4
Piazza Dante
A semicircular square by Luigi Vanvitelli with a statue of Dante, at the edge of the historic centre.
Gesù Nuovo
A church behind a distinctive diamond-pointed stone facade, with an extravagantly frescoed Baroque interior, facing a square in the heart of the old centre.
Santa Chiara, Naples
A Gothic church and monastery complex with a cloister decorated with colourful majolica tiles.
Macellum of Naples
The Roman market of Neapolis, excavated beneath the church of San Lorenzo Maggiore, with streets and shops underground.
Purgatorio ad Arco
A church on Via dei Tribunali with an underground chapel where locals once adopted and cared for skulls.
San Gregorio Armeno
A Baroque church and convent on the street famous for its workshops making nativity figures.
Museo di Capodimonte
One of Italy's great art museums, with works by Titian, Caravaggio and Botticelli in the Bourbon palace on the hill.
Day 5
Naples National Archaeological Museum
One of the world's great archaeological museums, with mosaics, frescoes and sculpture from Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Rione Sanità
A historic neighbourhood north of the centre, with catacombs, Baroque palaces and the Fontanelle cemetery.
Catacombs of San Gennaro
Early Christian burial galleries cut into the hillside, with 2nd to 5th century frescoes and the tomb of Naples' patron saint, visited on a guided tour.
Pio Monte della Misericordia
A charitable institution's church holding Caravaggio's Seven Works of Mercy above the main altar.
Naples Cathedral
The city's cathedral, with the Baroque Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro, ancient mosaics in the baptistery, and the saint's blood relic.
Day 6
Villa Pignatelli
A neoclassical villa museum on the Riviera di Chiaia, with period rooms and a garden.
Quartieri Spagnoli
A grid of narrow streets laid out for Spanish troops in the 16th century, full of everyday Neapolitan life and murals.
Certosa di San Martino
A former Carthusian monastery on the Vomero hill, now a museum of Neapolitan art and nativity scenes, with a Baroque church and a cloister garden overlooking the bay.
Castel Sant'Elmo
A star-shaped fortress on the Vomero hill with the widest views over Naples, the bay and Vesuvius.
Day 7
Lake Avernus
A volcanic crater lake near Pozzuoli, which the ancient Romans believed was an entrance to the underworld.
Fontanelle cemetery
An ossuary in a tuff cave in the Sanità district, holding thousands of skulls and bones of plague and cholera victims.
Cappella Sansevero
A small Baroque chapel holding Giuseppe Sanmartino's Veiled Christ, a marble figure under a transparent-looking shroud.
Watch: Naples in 3 days
A one-minute look at the plan: every stop, day by day, with the map.
When to go to Naples
April to June and September to October are the best months for Naples, with warm weather that suits Pompeii, Vesuvius and the islands. July and August are hot and crowded at the coastal sites, and some local businesses close in mid-August around Ferragosto. Winter is mild but wetter, and the nativity workshops of Via San Gregorio Armeno are busiest in December.
Plan the rest of your trip
- Where to stay: hotels in Naples on Booking.com or Trip.com
- Skip-the-line tickets: museums and sights in Naples on Tiqets
- Tours and day trips: things to do in Naples on GetYourGuide or on Viator
- From the airport: a private transfer in Naples with Kiwitaxi
- Data on arrival: an eSIM for Italy from Airalo
- Last day: leave your bags in Naples with Radical Storage and keep sightseeing
Some of these are affiliate links: we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Tips for Naples
- Book Cappella Sansevero ahead; it is small, visits are timed, and photography of the Veiled Christ is not allowed.
- Tickets for the Vesuvius crater path are sold online for a set time slot; buy them before you go.
- The National Archaeological Museum closes on Tuesdays; it holds the best finds from Pompeii and Herculaneum.
- The Circumvesuviana train runs from Naples to Ercolano, Torre Annunziata (Oplontis) and Pompeii.
- Funiculars climb from the centre to the Vomero hill for Castel Sant'Elmo and its views over the bay.
Make it your own
Open the guide in Andiamo Places to see every stop on a map with walking directions, move places between days, check opening hours for your dates, and add your own finds. After the trip, your photos become a journal and, if you like, a printed photo book.
Guides are made with the help of AI and public sources such as Wikipedia, and may contain errors. Opening hours and prices change, so check before you go. Spotted a wrong photo, a pin in the wrong place, a missing stop or a better one? Write to andiamotravelapp@gmail.com: the e-mail opens with this guide filled in.
Photo credits
- Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III: MM, Public domain
- Borgo Santa Lucia: Giorgio Sommer, Public domain
- Cappella Sansevero: Hohenloh at English Wikipedia, Public domain
- Castel Nuovo: Little john at Italian Wikipedia, Public domain
- Castel Sant'Elmo: Darold Massaro from Santa Cruz, USA, PDM-owner
- Castel dell'Ovo: currybet, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Catacombs of San Gennaro: Dominik Matus, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Certosa di San Martino: pietro scerrato, CC BY 3.0
- Fontanelle cemetery: Dominik Matus, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Galleria Umberto I: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Gesù Nuovo: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Lake Avernus: Mentnafunangann, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Macellum of Naples: http://www.everyfoto.com, CC BY 3.0
- Mount Vesuvius: A Outra Voz (The original uploader was ChrisO at English Wikipedia .), Public domain
- Museo di Capodimonte: IlSistemone, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Naples Cathedral: Marco Ober, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Naples National Archaeological Museum: Jeffmatt at English Wikipedia, Public domain
- Piazza Dante: Mstyslav Chernov, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Piazza del Plebiscito: Baku, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Pio Monte della Misericordia: IlSistemone, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Purgatorio ad Arco: Lalupa, Public domain
- Quartieri Spagnoli: User:Stephen Sommerhalter, CC BY 3.0
- Rione Sanità: Barrosh.m, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Royal Palace of Naples: © Ra Boe / Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 de
- San Gregorio Armeno: Armando Mancini, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Santa Chiara, Naples: Vitold Muratov, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Spaccanapoli: Velvet, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Teatro di San Carlo: Jimmy G, CC BY 2.0
- Via Caracciolo seafront: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain
- Via Toledo: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain
- Villa Pignatelli: jzpresto, CC BY 2.0
- Villa Poppaea: Miguel Hermoso Cuesta, CC BY-SA 4.0
Opening hours change; check before you go. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
