While you are in the beautiful Napoli for our wedding, it is worth to explore the city and the coast. We recommend to combine the weekend trip with a vacation to use this time as much as possible!
Monuments
Spaccanapoli is the straight and narrow main street that traverses the old, historic center of the city of Naples. The name is a popular usage and means, literally, “Naples splitter”. Spaccanapoli is the main promenade for tourists as it provides access to a number of important sights of the city like Santa Chiara, Church of Gesù Nuovo or San Domenico Maggiore. When you are there make sure to visit a street filled with artisan shops selling
handcrafted pastori, or nativity-scene figurines (Via San Gregorio Armeno). Spaccanapoli is where you will find Pizzeria Sorbillo.
Quartieri Spagnoli were created in the 16th century to house Spanish garrisons, hence the name, whose role was to quench revolts from the Neapolitan population. Especially here you will notice the deep love for Diego Maradona that Neapolitan people have. Naples has homaged – and in reality continues to do so today in the city – Maradona by portraying him everywhere: statues, t-shirts, flags, paintings, works of all
kinds and among them the big mural on a facade of a palace in via Emanuele de Deo done in 1990. We do not recommend to drive there with a car.
Underneath Naples lies a series of caves and structures created by centuries of mining, and the city rests atop a major geothermal zone. There are also several ancient Greco-Roman reservoirs dug out from the soft tufo stone on which, and from which, much of the city is built. Approximately one kilometre of the many kilometres of tunnels under the city can be visited from the Napoli Sotteranea, situated in the historic centre of the city in Via dei Tribunali.
This system of tunnels and cisterns underlies most of the city and lies approximately 30 metres below ground level. During World War II, these tunnels were used as air-raid shelters, and there are inscriptions on the walls depicting the suffering endured by the refugees of that era. https://www.napolisotterranea.org
There will be many religious places to see in Naples, but in our opinion the Santa Chiara is one of the most beautiful one. The complex includes the church of Santa Chiara, a monastery, tombs and an archeological museum. It is just on the way to Spaccanapoli and on the opposite side you have Church of Gesù Nuovo. https://www.monasterodisantachiara.it
Another must see place is Capella Sansevero, which features a sculpture of Cristo Velato. The artistry behind the Veiled Christ sculpture is breathtaking and you will for sure gasp for how realistic it looks. The chapel also displays two early examples of what was long thought to be a form of plastination (human metallization) in its basement. Previously, historians have surmised that the corpses could have been created by injecting the hardening
substances directly into the veins of living subjects. However, recent analysis shows the “blood vessels” are constructed of beeswax, iron wire, and silk. According to superstitions you shouldn’t visit the Chapel before you graduate as it is bad luck. https://www.museosansevero.it
If you have more time we recommend visiting Capri, the island reachable by boat from Napoli Port. There are couple of agencies offering boat connections located in Port Naples, one of then is SNAV or Caremark. Make sure to be at least 15 minutes before the departure!
In Capri you have couple of options on how to visit. Definitely take funicular railway from Marina Grande to Piazzetta di Capri (upper part of Capri located on the mountain) to
see a beautiful landscape, visit narrow streets filled with artisan shops, luxurious hotels and boutiques. We recommend visiting Capri from the sea view. This allows you to see plenty of attractions that are not accessible from the land, for example The Blue Grotto, Faraglioni – three towering rock formations in the sea or beautiful beaches. Here you will have also plenty of options, either go with a schedule trip from one of the companies that offer boat tours (prices from 20€ per person) or go with a private boat tour (prices from 200€ per boat , 2-7h). For more information visit this website that can help you plan your stay at Capri better (https://www.capri.net).
If you are at Napoli Port, even without going to Capri you should visit Castel Nuovo (Castel Maschio Angioino). Then you can continue your walk via Vittorio Emanuele III and pass through monuments like Teatro di San Carlo, Galleria Umberto I, stop for a pizza frittata at Antica Pizza Frittata da Zia Esterina Sorbillo and later see Palazzo Reale di Napoli and Piazza del Plebiscito. Following the main road will get you to the coast of Napoli and you will reach Castel dell’Ovo.
In vicinity there is a Monte Echia Lift that will take you to a panoramic view from Capodimonte to Vesuvius, from Sorrento to Capri, from Castel dell’Ovo to Posillipo. The site has an exceptional historical value being the place of foundation of the City and the ruins of the Villa of Licinio Lucullo are clearly visible. Cost of the ride is € 1.30 one way per person.
Also 45 minutes by train from Piazza Garibaldi will get you to Caserta, where the Royal Palace (Reggia di Caserta) is situated. It is a beautiful construction, commissioned by Bourbon dynasty, with decorated in baroque style palace and huge gardens.
We highly recommend to book everything online in advance as tickets are often sold out and it is just easier to do so via website.
What to eat?
You are in the capital of food, so trying some delicious meals is a must. Wherever you go the food will be amazing, but we wanted to give you our personal favourites.
For Pizza we recommend trying Pizzeria Sorbillo, Pizzeria Starita. Make sure to try pizza fritta, especially good at Pizzeria Antica da Zia Esterina. Here we also have to mention Antica Pizzeria da Michele (via Cesare Sersale 1, w
Pro tip: Especially in pizzerias you will have to wait up to 30-60 min. They will take your name and number of people or give you a ticket. When the time comes you should hear your name or the number on the ticket. So prepare yourself with a lot of patience, group of friends/family to talk to and maybe visit a nearby bar for a cocktail!
Fresh fish and seafood is a staple in Napoli, therefore Pesceria Azzurra, which by day is a fish shop and by night transforms into a restaurant.
Meatlovers! A must try is ragù, which is a meat sauce that is commonly served with pasta. The most typical is ragù alla bolognese (Bolognese sauce, made with minced beef), but here you will have other type – ragù alla napoletana (Neapolitan ragù, made with a variety of pork and beef meats which may include sausage). A good place is Tandem ragù restaurant (via Giovanni Paladino 51).
For pastries: Leopoldo-Casa Infante (via Toledo 258, via Chiaia 189, Piazza degli Artisti 4/5, Piazza Vanvitelli/Via Scarlatti 84), Capparelli pastry shop (via dei Tribunali 327) or Antica Pasticceria Carraturo (via Casanova 97), where you should taste sfogiatella, babà al rum, zeppole di San Giuseppe, graffa and other neapolitan sweets. The new kid on the block in Neapolitan pastries is fiocco di neve (Pasticceria Poppella, via Arena della Sanità 24) or nuvola (Leopoldo-Casa Infante) which are pretty similar. There is a big debate over Who have done it better? Who was first? and Is there any difference between them?