Three Days in Naples

Welcome to Naples, Italy's most exciting and dynamic city. I have designed a three-day itinerary to make you fall in love with Naples as I have.

Here are a few things to keep in mind...

First, Naples is nothing like Florence, Venice, or Rome. It's firmly a Mediterranean city with Greek roots, and its culture may remind you more of Athens, though it has many links to France and Spain, which you will hear in the Neapolitan dialect. Naples was the capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and remains the unofficial capital of Southern Italy. 

Naples is loud and chaotic but has an outdated, exaggerated reputation for danger. Milan is the city with the highest crime rate in Italy, followed by Bologna. I'm far more concerned about pickpocketing in tourist-dense Rome or Venice than Naples. It's a big, busy city, so keep your eyes open and your handbag zipped, but I wouldn't worry any more than if I were visiting New York, Paris, or Tokyo. 

Neapolitan people are famously warm and friendly. Naples is a city that has seen so many of its citizens move abroad for economic reasons, so people understand what it's like to be away from home. An open heart and mind will make your time in Naples even richer. 

Crossing the street for the first time in Naples can be terrifying. There aren't always electronic signals, more often, people just step into the crosswalk and the traffic slows appropriately to let them pass. Here's the hack -- pick a rabbit. Wait for an older person, or someone pushing a baby carriage, and then walk when they walk. After a few times, you will feel the rhythm of Naples, and walk with confidence.

Grab a taxi or use the excellent Metro system when you no longer feel like walking. Constructed in the 1990s, it connects all districts of the city. Much of Naples's underground city was discovered during the building of the Metro, with hundreds of exciting discoveries. An entire museum is being installed at the Municipio station near the port to display the Roman boats found buried in the silt. Don't miss the Toledo Station, a glittering, contemporary homage to the Greek cisterns you'll see on Day 1, on the Naples Underground tour of the Centro Storico.