AskItaly Going to Napoli in August..
..what to see? Where to go? We'll be staying at a hotel on 'Via Chiaia' for 6 nights. We have planned to go to Vesuv and Pompeii/Herculaneum.
Where/what to eat besides pizza/pasta?
Beaches near Napoli?
Hoping for some good advice! Thanks
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u/italianjob17 Roma Jul 21 '15
Have you already checked our great sidebar FAQ? It's made with love.
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u/thfr Jul 21 '15
Oh, I actually read it before but completely forgot about it. I'll head over there again! My bad.
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Jul 21 '15
Where/what to eat besides pizza/pasta?
Stop for dinner in Pompeii at ADD'U' MIMI'. Leave aside the combo menus (they are not bad, they are just dumbed down so tourists don't get confused, which they do otherwise), ask for the catch of the day small fry, frittura di paranza; it's delicious (certified by the city mayor himself, who might very well be there having dinner as well). Their paccheri with aubergine are superlative and their ricotta and pear cake is the perfect dessert. Go with whichever wine pairing they suggest
Pompeii/Herculaneum
If you have only one day, ignore Herculaneum and do a more extensive tour of Pompeii instead. Most of the best things are there; Herculaneum was just a smaller country town.
In Pompeii, ignore the restaurants, bars and shops close to the main entrances, they have extortionate prices for low quality wares. Tripadvisor is actually fairly accurate for the town and it's absolutely, 100% worthy (trust me, I've tried) to walk 10 minutes more and eat well.
The excavations themselves can feel a bit confusing, if you need help absolutely ask staff members, they are the most obliging people you can imagine even if they look weathered and pissed all the time (but they aren't). They'll put you in the right direction for what you want to see and might very well open up a house that's currently closed (but safe to visit).
Respect the site. It's literally one of a kind, and everything in there is unique and irreplaceable. If there are no entrance signs, abide by them (you have no idea how many people don't). If you see people beyond a no entrance sign, don't take that as an indication you can go; they might be archaeologists or they might be rule-breaking tourists, but in any case the sign is still valid (again, you have no idea how many people do this). If something is sculpted or painted please don't touch it, even if there is nothing stopping you.
Bring plenty of water and wear hats, there are almost no roofs in Pompeii and the sun is fierce, there's a heatstroke about every other day. The café within the excavations is actually pretty good, avoid the salads but do go for the sandwiches (the pizza is passable but it's a crime to have café pizza in the Naples area). It's usually crowded as hell at lunchtime but near empty otherwise; if you can't find space inside, there's a colonnade to the left of the entrance with a high wall providing some shade, you can sit there and have lunch. Also, the water from the public fountains is all fine (I have a sensitive intenstine and I must have drank my body weight of it without ill consequences).
Hoping for some good advice!
The Naples National Archeological Museum looks like utter crap from the outside but it has an amazing collection, including some of the stuff that had to be taken out of Pompeii for conservation. It's pretty sweetly cheap too.
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u/thfr Jul 21 '15
Thanks alot! I have just heard that Herculaneum is more well preserved than Pompeii so we're thinking of herculaneum for sure but will keep your advice in mind of course.
Thanks all so far, great help/advice so far!!
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Jul 21 '15
I have just heard that Herculaneum is more well preserved than Pompeii
Strange, that's not true. If you were plopped in the middle of a street, you wouldn't be able to tell which of the two you are in by the conservation status. Source: beside having been there multiple times myself, my GF is an archaeologist working on the artwork of Pompeii, Herculaneaum and Stabia, and I just asked her.
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u/italianjob17 Roma Jul 22 '15
In Herculaneum I saw a lot of preserved wood, hard to find in Pompeii.
Ancient Stabiae villas are amazing, I fell in love with Villa San Marco.
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u/italianjob17 Roma Jul 22 '15
Paging /u/ubimaiorminorcessat /u/Doxep /u/preppydoge
Questo thread è oro per la wiki Campania
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Jul 22 '15 edited Jul 22 '15
As a previous redditor said, avoid "Brandi" pizzeria. It is not good pizza and no one I know even will go try it. Da Michele is okay I guess. There's others I would go to before that. It's very crowded and to me, the pizza isn't worth the crowds. You will find no shortage of good food though :) Enjoy your stay in Napoli. EDIT: Ignore those who say its dangerous and the mafia will get you. They won't. Yes, the mafia exists and yes, we acknowledge it exists. But they pose no real danger to tourists. As with any big city, there are places to avoid at night, such as: Piazza Garibaldi, and the quartieri spagnoli (Spanish quarter) those can both get mixy at night. That being said, the crimes committed most against tourists involve money. Such as pick pocketing or trying to get you to buy something roadside. No need to fear. Use common sense basically.
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Jul 21 '15
If you're willing to go on a two hour trip along very scary cliff side roads, Sorrento is nice place to visit.
The archeological museum in Naples is amazing. Definitely visit that.
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u/I40ladroni Jul 21 '15
I've lived around 25 years in Naples.
Only thing I can add (great job guys!) is simply doing a tour of the old city centre, there's a LOT of churchs and historical places in all of it.
And if you want to see a very good sea, take the train or car and go to Amalfi and all it's coastline.
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u/[deleted] Jul 21 '15 edited Nov 08 '19
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