Underground Naples: which tour to choose and how to buy tickets

Which Naples underground site is right for you

• Time for just one, and you want ancient history: Naples Underground, in Piazza San Gaetano.
• In Naples at the weekend and into 20th-century history: the Bourbon Tunnel, near the Plebiscito.
• You want to explore on your own, with no guide and no deep descent: San Lorenzo Maggiore and the Neapolis Sotterrata excavations.
• Early Christian art and a real neighbourhood: the Catacombs of San Gennaro and San Gaudioso, in the Sanità district.
• You are staying near Via Toledo: the underground tour in the Spanish Quarter.
• On a tight budget: San Lorenzo (€9) and the catacombs (€13 for two sites) are the best value.

At a glance: prices, days and length

• Naples Underground (Piazza San Gaetano): €18, guided tours every hour from 10:00 to 18:00, every day, about 1 h 30 including the Roman theatre. More than 120 steps.
• Bourbon Tunnel: €15 for the Standard route (about an hour), €20 for the Adventure route; Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays only, always booked ahead.
• San Lorenzo Maggiore: €9, daily 9:30–17:30, self-guided with an optional €2 guided tour.
• Catacombs of San Gennaro and San Gaudioso: €13 for both, valid 12 months; guided tours every hour from 10:00 to 17:00, closed Wednesdays.
• Spanish Quarter (LAES): guided tour of about an hour, by booking, several departures a day.

Mind the names: who runs what

Names overlap underground, and booking platforms add to the confusion:

• Associazione Napoli Sotterranea: runs the route at Piazza San Gaetano 68 on Via dei Tribunali, and says it holds a concession from the State Property Agency.
• LAES (Libera Associazione Escursionisti Sottosuolo): founded in 1988, runs the Spanish Quarter route, with its entrance at Vico Sant’Anna di Palazzo 52. It also uses the name “Napoli Sotterranea” and says it is recognised by the Campania Region.
• Naples Underground SRL: a company based on Via Santa Teresa degli Scalzi that Tiqets names as the provider of its “Naples Underground: skip-the-line + guided tour” product. It is not the Piazza San Gaetano association.
• La Neapolis Sotterrata: the name of the excavations at San Lorenzo Maggiore, not the Cathedral.
• Galleria Borbonica: also sold as the “Bourbon Tunnel” or “Tunnel Borbonico”, and its own website uses the words “Napoli Sotterranea” too.

Before you pay, always check the starting address on the ticket.

The main routes, one by one

Five tours, five different stories of the city.

Naples Underground, Piazza San Gaetano

You go down about 40 metres into 4th-century BC tuff quarries that served as cisterns for centuries and then as air-raid shelters, with a small war museum. The part everyone remembers is the optional candle-lit passage. Back at street level, the tour continues into the Roman theatre hidden inside people’s homes. Full details.

Bourbon Tunnel, Monte Echia

The 431-metre tunnel King Ferdinand II ordered in 1853, dug by hand, later a shelter for thousands and a judicial impound until 1970: vintage cars and motorbikes, statues, the graffiti of those who sheltered here. Four routes, from the easy Standard to an adults-only caving tour. Full details.

San Lorenzo Maggiore, the Neapolis Sotterrata

About 10 metres under a Gothic church lies the market of Roman Naples: a paved Greek street, nine shops with an oven and dyeing vats, and a covered market hall. You explore on your own, and there is a four-floor museum above. Full details.

Catacombs of San Gennaro and San Gaudioso

Two catacombs on one ticket: at San Gennaro the earliest Christian paintings in southern Italy and the patron saint’s tomb, at San Gaudioso 17th-century burials with skulls and frescoed bodies. They are run by the La Paranza cooperative. Full details.

Spanish Quarter, the LAES route

This one also goes down about 40 metres, through cisterns of Greek origin, the Carmignano aqueduct and a large cavern used as a Second World War shelter. About an hour, by booking, with departures that include 10:00, 12:00 and 16:30. There is an alternative route for claustrophobic visitors; dogs are welcome, wheelchairs cannot go down. The official site does not publish its price, so ask when you book, and confirm the meeting point at the same time.

More underground sites for the curious

• Catacombs of San Severo, in the Sanità: a small catacomb beside the church of San Severo, home to Jago’s Veiled Son (Cappella dei Bianchi, €10). Open daily 10:00–14:00, no booking needed.
• Fontanelle Cemetery, Via Fontanelle 80: an old tuff quarry turned ossuary, tied to the cult of the capuzzelle skulls. La Paranza offers guided visits; check the official site for whether it is open and on what terms.
• Ipogeo dei Cristallini, Via dei Cristallini 133: painted Hellenistic tombs about 2,400 years old. Prices and hours vary, so check the official site.
• Acquedotto Augusteo del Serino, in the Vergini area: a stretch of the Roman aqueduct, opened for guided visits on scheduled dates; check the calendar before you go.
• Museo del Sottosuolo, Piazza Cavour: quarries and cisterns with a wartime shelter; check days and prices directly with the operator.
• The Cathedral’s archaeological area: the basilica of Santa Restituta and the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte, with 4th- and 5th-century mosaics. See our Cathedral page.

Accessibility, claustrophobia and children

With limited mobility, the options are few. The Bourbon Tunnel says it is the only site in the underground circuit open to visitors with motor disabilities, for about 60% of the Standard route from Via Morelli 61. San Lorenzo Maggiore is accessible except for the archaeological areas. The Catacombs of San Gennaro are normally barrier-free, but the wheelchair entrance is closed for work on the cliff, so ask first. Naples Underground and the Spanish Quarter tour are stairs only.

Most sites work well with children: Naples Underground has no age limit (pushchairs stay at the entrance), the Bourbon Tunnel’s Standard route suits families, and LAES takes bookings from age 7. The Bourbon Tunnel’s Adventure route starts at age 10, and Speleo Light is adults only. Everywhere is cool, so bring a sweatshirt even in summer.

How to buy tickets without surprises

The general rule: reductions and partner discounts only work through official channels, while resellers often charge the same and add free cancellation.

• Catacombs and Bourbon Tunnel: Tiqets matches the official price. GetYourGuide sells the Bourbon Tunnel from €18, a few euros more.
• San Lorenzo Maggiore: €10 on Tiqets against €9 at the desk, with an audio guide added.
• Naples Underground: €18 both at the desk and on Tiqets, but the Tiqets product is supplied by Naples Underground SRL and gives no meeting point. The official skip-the-line ticket costs more and is non-refundable.
• Spanish Quarter: on Tiqets the provider is LAES itself (€18, free cancellation up to 24 hours before); on GetYourGuide the tour is €18, so check the operator on the page.

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.

Underground Naples in two days: an itinerary

Day one, the old town (any day): in the morning the San Lorenzo Maggiore excavations, then Naples Underground on the same square. In the afternoon, the Sansevero Chapel and the Cathedral.

Day two, Friday to Sunday: the Bourbon Tunnel at 10:00, then the Royal Palace and a walk through the Spanish Quarter. Alternatively, on any day except Wednesday, spend the day in the Sanità with the catacombs and carry on up to Capodimonte.

For more tickets around the city, start from our Naples tickets page: underground Naples is only the beginning.