So, you’ve got one day in Naples and want to make the most of it. What should you do? Can you see all the sights in 24 hours? In our experience, absolutely!
In this article – we share a one day itinerary for Naples based on our time exploring the city, plus a self-guided walking tour of all the best sights.
Is it worth spending a day in Naples?
Before we dive into itineraries, you might be wondering if it’s even worth spending a day in Naples. After all, of the many amazing cities in Italy you might visit, this one doesn’t have the best reputation.
You might have heard that it’s ugly, rough, dirty, etc. In our experience, only one of these is true – there was a substantial amount of rubbish (trash) on the streets when we visited. But it had stunning architecture, great food, and a bustling atmosphere that more than made up for it.
Yes, parts of it felt a bit rundown but to us that was part of its charm. The surrounding areas of Amalfi and Capri are a bit too Insta-perfect – as lovely as they are, you can’t help but wonder if you’re seeing the real Italy.
In Naples, the faded grandeur and graffiti murals were some of the things we loved most. And that’s before we’d even tried the pizza or meatballs…
So, it’s definitely worth spending a day in Naples if you’re in the region. It’s a great base for hopping over to nearby Capri, visiting Vesuvius and Pompeii, or exploring the Amalfi coast.
Would we go just for a weekend break? Probably not. For us it was a gem as part of a week-long trip to the region, but one day was plenty.
One day in Naples – Itinerary
Here’s how we spent our day in Naples…
Morning
Explore the Historic Centre (Centro Storico). The narrow streets of the old town get very busy later in the day as lots of tourists descend on the tiny area. We headed over around 9am, spent two hours wandering around and enjoyed a leisurely coffee, then moved on at 11ish when it started getting packed.
Our route took us past…
- The Cloisters of Santa Chiara (Chiostro di Santa Chiara)
- Spaccanapoli (old shopping street with traditional old buildings and famous balconies)
- Palazzo Venezia
- Piazza San Domenico Maggiore (impressive square, monument, and church)
- Via San Gregorio Armeno
We admired these sights from the outside but didn’t spend any time inside them. If we hadn’t stopped for a coffee (ok fine, coffee and pastries) then there’d easily have been time to look around them. But honestly, cafes and people watching are more our thing than churches and palazzos. There’d be plenty of time for this if you wanted to though, just ditch the coffee break.
From here we wandered south to the port, past Molo Beverello (where the Capri and Amalfi ferries leave from), to the peaceful Molosiglio gardens. A little slice of heaven away from the city traffic and noise!
We walked up the hill to the promenade and then spent an hour chilling by the sea.
Afternoon
Once we were sufficiently recharged, we continued walking west along the promenade past Ovo Castle. There were loads of trendy cafes and slick restaurants along here where you could stop for lunch. But we weren’t that hungry in the 30-degree heat so continued past them all towards Villa Comunale Park.
This is where we found the hands down best ice-cream of our entire week in Italy…
Next to one of the entrance gates on the south side is a gelatoria with the most amazing banana ice-cream known to man. You might want to consider visiting Naples just for this.
After another chill in the park, we turned east again and meandered through the street towards Piazza Plebiscito. A huge square surrounded by impressive buildings that’s worth a look.
Then we wandered around Quartieri Spagnoli, the bustling shopping district made up of patch-work streets and tiny allies that are overflowing with character. And balconies, so many balconies it’ll make you dizzy looking up at them.
This is also where you’ll find Toledo metro station, a subway art gallery that’s ranked #6 for Naples activities on TripAdvisor. But honestly, we didn’t really understand why.
The ceiling display looked more like swimming pool tiles than the glittery promo images led us to believe. Not worth buying a ticket for in our humble opinion (you can’t see much without one) but if you’re travelling by metro anyway then you might as well take a look.
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Evening
For us, the evening was all about finding some delicious, authentic Neapolitan food. We didn’t try to pack in any more sights but the Centro Storico or Quartieri Spagnoli would have probably been good shouts. Both would have had lively atmospheres and plenty of restaurant choices.
La Lazzara Trattoria was our first pick thanks to the combination of amazing reviews (4.6 stars out of 3000+ reviews!) with a budget-friendly menu. Of course, this combo meant it was in high demand and fully booked when we popped by. But it’d be easy to book through Google if you’re more organised than us (no Italian language skills required) so we’d do that next time.
Fortunately there’s no shortage of quality food establishments in Naples. We lucked out with a cosy little trattoria near our apartment – pizza, meatballs, bread, and drinks for less than 20 EUR including a tip.
And that’s our Naples one day itinerary! We definitely felt like we’d seen everything we wanted to – it wasn’t rushed and was a wonderful city to explore on foot.
Free self-guided walking tour of Naples
So, now we’ve outlined our day-long Naples walk, here’s a map of the route we took…
It starts at Universita Metro station and ends at Toledo Metro station. As you can see, this city walk is approx 10km (6 miles) and takes around 2 hours if you don’t stop.
But in reality this route took us most of the day as we stopped to look at different sites, relaxed along the way in various parks and chilled by the sea for a good hour. If you’re stopping to visit the museums, churches and underground catacombs then you’ll definitely need more than a couple of hours.
Alternatively you could use this as a 10k running route around Naples. It’s pretty flat for the most part and terrain is good (aside from the cobbles in old town, you’d need to take care in some places around there). We’d recommend going early to avoid the crowds though, you won’t be going anywhere fast otherwise…
FAQs
Got a question that isn’t covered below? Get in touch to ask us directly 🙂
Is Naples a walkable city?
Yes Naples is easily walkable in a day. A number of the main sights and attractions are located in central areas so it’s convenient to explore them all.
It’s also a safe place to walk around (putting aside the standard city risks of petty crime). There are footpaths alongside most roads so you’re separated from the traffic while walking. It’s not like wandering around in other cities of the world where you’re competing with cars and scooters. Or the footpaths just randomly disappear… (looking at you USA).
Where can I walk in Naples?
The best walks in Naples are around the Centro Storico (old town), Quartieri Spagnoli, and along the promenade.
You can also walk to the port area for ferries to Capri and Amalfi, or train station for connections to Pompeii, Vesuvius, or Sorrento.
What are the best streets to walk along in Naples?
Our favourite streets were Spaccanapoli, Via San Gregorio Armeno, and Via Partenope. The latter was a promenade with expansive sea views which has the added bonus of being much less crowded than the other two.
Where should I stay in Naples?
That depends on what you’ll be doing while you’re there. If you’re using it as a base to explore the Amalfi coast by ferry, then stay by the port. If you’re just doing Naples and Pompeii, then stay somewhere between Centro Storico and the train station.
We stayed at a modern apartment between Centro Storico and the port because we used Naples as a base for island hopping.
Is 1 day enough for Naples?
Yes one day is enough to see the main sites PLUS enjoy a Neapolitan pizza and ice-cream. Job done.
How do I spend a few hours in Naples?
If you’ve only got a few hours then we’d recommend the Centro Storico and Quartieri Spagnoli. It’s totally feasible to squeeze in the promenade area too, but might feel a bit rushed.
Suggestions for a Naples 2-day itinerary?
Two days in Naples is probably more than most people need as you can see all the main sites in one day. We’d suggest spending one day doing the walking tour outlined above and the second visiting Capri, Sorrento, or Herculaneum (depending on your interests).
