Looking for things to do in Naples? Got one or two days there? I applaud you for your visionary trip-picking skills, my fine friend! Naples has far more to offer than you may think! Often not considered one of Italy's main cities to visit, missing out to the more well-known sights in Rome, Venice and Florence, Naples actually has a wealth of cultural distractions to suit any taste. And speaking of taste, the food many of the local dishes are based on ingredients grown in the rich volcanic soil, and you'll struggle to find anything finer anywhere in Italy.Add to that, Naples has a wealth of historic excursions located right on the doorstep - Pompeii, Herculeaneum, Capodimonte and Reggia di Caserta.But what's the most fun you can have? The best sights? The greatest museums? The finest food?Well, I've got you covered with this list! This is no means exhaustive, but it's a great way to get a taste of the city; a splash of its highlights. Naples is a great place, and you'll love it far more than you think you will - so let's see what the best things to do in Naples are!You simply can't go to Naples and not visit here. On the list of things to do in Naples, this should always be at the top. It contains some of the glories of the Greek and Roman eras of Italy - you know those highly impressive classical statues and busts that you see on the front of history books? Lots of those. Stunning amounts of those.You'll marvel at the quality of the work, especially that of the famous and historically important Farnese Marbles. And even better than that, the museum also holds a huge array of artefacts from the local sites of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae, preserved in the safety of the building. There's bronzes, such as the statue of the faun, which you'll recognise if you've visited Pompeii (the one on the archeological site is a reproduction), with my personal favourite being the huge and intricate mosaic of Alexander the Great.The museum also contains one of the more infamous collections in the world - the Secret Room, which basically contains ancient Roman porno. Including people having intimate relationships with goats. It's a good giggle (unless you're totally into relationships with goats, in which case okaaaaay?). A visit to the Naples area really isn't complete without a trip here, completing the insight into Roman life provided by Pompeii and Herculaneum. But it can be quite overwhelming to take in and interpret by yourself, so I thoroughly recommend booking a tour of the Archaeological Museum. It's definitely worth the money!This chapel, located just northwest of the San Domenico Maggiore church, is small but mighty, and should definitely be on your list of things to do in Naples!As well as being an historic church in its own right (be sure to pick up an audio guide for €3.50), it houses some stellar sculpture. Most famous is Giuseppe Sanmartino’s Christ Veiled Under a Shroud, an awesome example of of a sculptor being able to form the illusion of soft silk from hard marble. It really does look like soft fabric, with the face of Christ visible underneath – it’s a stunning piece of art that you really shouldn’t miss.And then there’s all the other artworks and sculptures which line the walls of the building, of equal quality, plus a couple of bizarre anatomical models created in 1760. The skeletons of a man and woman are surrounded by (fortunately fake) blood vessels, in a somewhat unusual, and slightly grim, display.It’s simultaneously one of the most glorious, and most weird, things to do in Naples. That makes me like it very, very much!Want to spend two hours skittering through tunnels 40 metres below the surface? It might sound rather different, but it’s honestly one of the most fun tours I’ve ever been on, and definitely a must-do on the list of things to do in Naples – have a look here to read about my experiences! You’ll see Greek quarries and deathtrap cisterns, remnants from the Second World War, plants growing underground, and the remains of a theatre where the Emperor Nero used to perform – indeed, you’ll stand in the corridor leading to the dressing room that he would’ve used. The highlight is taking a candle in a terracotta holder, and walking through the tiny gaps in the rock to see the ancient aqueduct, complete with flowing water and illuminated pools – it’s not to be missed.
Things To Do In Naples, Italy
