Please sign in to post.

3 days in Naples:Struggling with itinerary

I am in the final stages of planning our trip and am going around in circles trying to figure out how to fit in all we want to see and do in Naples in 3 days/4 nights. I am usually pretty good at this but would be really grateful for any input.

My husband and I will be there from Sat May 24 in the afternoon to Tues May 27 around 1:00 pm, when we take the train to Rome. We will arrive at the Napoli Centrale train station by shared shuttle from Sorrento around 1:00pm and will then take the metro to our hotel in Toledo.

Our "must dos" include: exploring Spaccanapoli, visiting the archeology museum, doing a self guided walking tour of the Sanita neighbourhood to see the street art and architecture, visiting the royal palace and gardens of Caserta and walking around the waterfront (Lungomare, Villa Communale).
Nice to dos are: visiting Piazza Belini and Piazza Plebicito in the evening, checking out the Via Pignasecca market (hoping to find football shirts there to wear to the game) and the Galleria Umberto.

What's complicating my planning is:
- the fact that we have tickets to see SCC Napoli play on Sun May 25 but won't know what time the game is played until a week before ( I am told). I was really hoping it would be an evening thing and we would have the day to do things, but it's looking like it would either be at 9:00 am or 3: 00 pm.
- the Palace of Caserta being an all day affair which means we could only do it on day 3/Mon

Day 1: What I was hoping to do (Option A) was to jump right into the what I think is the quintessential Napoli by walking from there up Via Toledo to see the sights of Spaccanapoli, but fear we would miss out on some of it it since it will be between 1:30-4:40 when I believe many churches and shops close down for a few hours. I was also hoping to visit Pignasecca Market during that walk, which I imagine will be done by then.

Option B for our first afternoon there would be to get lunch somewhere near our hotel, visit the archeological museum and then do a self guided walking tour of the Sanita neighborhood before having dinner at Trattoria de Nella and checking out either Piazza Bellini or Piazza Plebicito in the evening.

Day 2, if we go with option B on day 1 and if the football game on day 2 is in the morning, we'd be in the same position re: Spaccanapoli as the day before. If it is in the afternoon though, we could to Sapaccanapoli in the am before the game but worry that it would feel rushed.

Day 3: I suppose we could dedicate the day to visiting Caserta
Day 4: Check out the lungomare and villa comunale before catching the train to Rome at 12:55

I would love advice about how to spend day 1 primarily, in light of all I am trying to fit in.

Thanks so much.

Posted by
501 posts

You can walk the Via Toledo and SpaccaNapoli as one or more evening passeggiata(s), I would suggest. Frees up your days. Lively and lots of shops and stands are open. Sights, like churches and museums, close. Check hours. We missed Sansevero for that reason.

When we planned for our visit last year we received incredible suggestions, particularly from acraven. Maybe it will help; hopefully it won’t overwhelm you. Her faves were bolded. See:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/naples-and-environs-suggestions-per-favore

We were in Naples for four nights, as you plan. Our trip included the archaeology museum (which was wonderful), Pompeii (I wouldn’t miss it as part of a Naples trip), Palazzo Reale, Duomo, Tesorio, and Chiesa Gesu Nuovo. One real highlight was an all day trip to Ischia. We did not get to Caserta.

Our biggest disappointment was Museo Capidimonte. The Galeria was totally mobbed since it was raining. And not all that worthwhile a sight in any event, from my point of view.

Enjoy whatever you decide upon.