Things to do in Naples: itineraries, prices and practical tips

Things to do in Naples in one day

One day covers the heart of the city, as long as it is not a Tuesday, when Sansevero is closed.

1. 9am, Sansevero Chapel on the first time slot, booked in advance online (€15, list price €12). Fewer people, better view.
2. 10am, Spaccanapoli and Santa Chiara: the basilica is free, the majolica cloister costs €7 and takes about 40 minutes.
3. 11:30am, Naples Underground from Piazza San Gaetano (€18, an hour and a half). Or the excavations under San Lorenzo Maggiore on the same square (€9, self-guided).
4. Lunch: pizza on Via dei Tribunali, or a food tour if you would rather be guided.
5. Afternoon: down Via Toledo and through the Galleria Umberto I to Piazza del Plebiscito and the Royal Palace (€15, closed Wednesday).
6. Sunset on the seafront towards Castel dell’Ovo.

Two days: MANN, the Sanità and Capodimonte

Day two heads north of the centre. It does not work on Tuesday (MANN closed) or Wednesday (catacombs and Capodimonte closed).

1. 9am, National Archaeological Museum (€20, 2–3 hours): Pompeii frescoes, the Secret Cabinet, Farnese sculpture. The mosaic galleries are closed until 30 November 2026.
2. On foot through the Sanità district to the catacombs of San Gennaro and San Gaudioso (€13 for both, guided visit of about an hour).
3. Afternoon at Capodimonte (€15, €12 in the last hour) and its free park.

If day two falls on a Tuesday or Wednesday, go to the Vomero instead: Castel Sant’Elmo keeps its ramparts open every day and has the best view over the bay, and the Certosa di San Martino opens on Wednesdays. From Friday to Sunday there is also the Bourbon Tunnel: compare the options in our underground guide.

Three days: Pompeii, Herculaneum or an island

On day three, leave the city. Pompeii and Herculaneum are on the same Circumvesuviana line, which starts at Porta Nolana and stops at Garibaldi: get off at Pompei Scavi – Villa dei Misteri, not Pompei Santuario. Pompeii takes a full day (€20, €25 with the villas); Herculaneum takes a morning (€16) and leaves the afternoon free, perhaps for the Royal Palace of Portici, also reachable by train and closed on Mondays. If you are going to Pompeii, see MANN first: it makes the empty houses far easier to read.

Or head out to sea: Capri and Ischia are under an hour away by hydrofoil, the Amalfi Coast by sea only in summer. Ports, companies and costs are on our Capri, Ischia and Amalfi page. If MANN and Pompeii are both in your three days, look at the three-day Campania Artecard, which also covers the train.

Prices and closing days of the main sights

Official full price, partner “from” price and closing day:

• Sansevero Chapel: €15 online (list price €12) · with a guide from €15 on GetYourGuide and €16.65 on Tiqets · closed Tuesday.
• Naples Underground: €18 · Tiqets €18 · open daily.
• MANN: €20 · Tiqets €24, GetYourGuide €26 · closed Tuesday.
• Catacombs: €13 · same price with partners · closed Wednesday.
• Bourbon Tunnel: €15 · Tiqets €15, GetYourGuide €18 · Friday to Sunday and holidays only.
• Royal Palace and Capodimonte: €15 · guided tours on Tiqets from €31.50 and €38.50 · closed Wednesday.
• Pompeii: €20 or €25 · Tiqets from €27.50 · open daily.
• Aquarium and Città della Scienza: €10 · same price on Tiqets · closed Monday.

Discounts, passes and every other sight are on our page with all Naples tickets.

Naples for free, or nearly

Plenty costs nothing:

• the seafront from Castel dell’Ovo to Mergellina, and the Borgo Marinari;
• Piazza del Plebiscito, the Galleria Umberto I and the pedestrian stretch of Via Toledo;
• the Cathedral with the Treasure Chapel of San Gennaro, and the basilica of Santa Chiara;
• the Capodimonte park, open daily from 7am;
• the Maradona mural and the lanes of the Spanish Quarter, best by day;
• the bathing area at Gaiola, with compulsory booking from May to September;
• Toledo metro station, designed by Óscar Tusquets with works by Bob Wilson and William Kentridge, for the price of a ride (€1.30).

On the first Sunday of the month MANN, Capodimonte and Pompeii are free too, but queues are long.

With children, in the rain, or at a slower pace

With children, the Aquarium on the seafront, Italy’s first public aquarium, and Città della Scienza in Bagnoli, with the Corporea human-body museum and a planetarium, both work well: €10 each, both closed on Mondays. Naples Underground suits younger visitors too (€10 for ages 5–10, €15 for 11–17), but it has more than 120 steps and a short, optional narrow passage. At state museums under-18s go free.

When it rains, MANN, Capodimonte and the underground sites save the day. For a slower day there are the Agnano thermal baths, reachable by metro, an afternoon kayaking along Posillipo, or a match at the Maradona stadium. The Maradona Museum opens daily until 9pm.

Guided tours: when they are worth the money

A guide is worth paying for where the story matters more than the entry. A food tour costs about as much as a good lunch (from €38); small-group operators selling direct start at €65.95 (see our review). At Sansevero a guided visit costs the same as the €15 official online ticket, or a little more. The Sansevero, Santa Chiara and walking tour package (€48.50 on Tiqets) includes entries worth €22 on their own: the rest pays for the guide.

They are not needed for a plain entry: at MANN or Pompeii the Tiqets ticket costs more without adding a guide. The hop-on hop-off bus (€27) is a sightseeing tour, not a way to get between museums: for that, the metro and our tips on getting around Naples are enough. Who is behind each offer: see operators and platforms.

We are an independent guide: if you book through the Tiqets or GetYourGuide links on this page we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.