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/[deleted] Jul 21 '15
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
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).
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.