Things to Do in Naples Italy

Looking for things to do in Naples Italy? Here’s how to get from Rome to Naples, museums, where to stay, and the best pizza in Naples Italy.

Things to do in Naples Italy

After a trip to Rome, Alex and I made a quick 1 stop in Naples Italy before continuing on to the Amalfi Coast. The main draw of Naples? THE PIZZA. Naples Italy is the birthplace of pizza. We could not wait to make a pizza pilgrimage to Naples! Though it was only 1 ½ days in Naples, we hit up all the highlights. If you’re in the area, we’d recommend making sure to hit up Pompeii, Capri and the Amalfi Coast. But if you have even a few days, Naples is worth the step! Here are some things to do in Naples that we enjoyed, including how to get from Rome to Naples, museums, where to stay, and of course: the best pizza in Naples Italy!

Rome to Naples

So, how did we get from Rome to Naples? Is there a Rome to Naples train? Yes! If you rented a car, you could drive, but driving in Europe is a bit crazy and requires quite a bit or pre-planning. Trains, on the other hand are fast, cheap, and relatively easy to navigate! There are dozens of daily trains from Rome Termini Station to Naples Centrale. From there, you can easily walk or grab a cab. Pro tip: If you’re planning on continuing to the Amalfi Coast from Naples, ask your hotel for the name of a taxi service the wiyll pick you up in Naples and drop you off at your hotel! It’s not terribly expensive and the luxury is worth it with all of the winding roads!

We easily fell in love with Naples; though the streets had a bit more “grunge” than Rome, they were incredibly charming. The big question we hear from people: is Naples Italy dangerous? We found that during the day, it was completely lovely. After dark the streets got a little more abandoned, so just be mindful about where you’re walking after dark.

The best pizza in Naples Italy

Naples Italy is all about pizza, since it is where pizza was invented. We were expecting a lot from Naples. And boy, did it deliver! Here’s how to find some of the best pizza in Naples Italy–and the entire world! Not an exaggeration. We’re sharing our two best pizza experiences below.

The first Neapolitan pizza we tried was from Di Matteo, a little street stand where a pizza is 1 Euro. There are no tables, so you just grab it to go.. We tried pizza marinara, crust with tomatoes and garlic (no cheese). The pizza is folded into a triangle and wrapped in paper. The crust was perfectly chewy, and the tomatoes bright and tangy. It was like holding a little piece of heaven.

The VERY BEST PIZZA IN THE WORLD is at Da Michele in Naples. Oh also, the best pizza in Naples, in our opinion. After eating artisan pizza all over Italy and the US, this is it. We’ve told friends to go to Naples just for Da Michele and they have been absolutely blown away. Fun fact: Da Michele was famously featured in the movie Eat Pray Love, if you know the scene where Julia Roberts eats pizza. And really, in all honesty, this was the best pizza we’ve ever tasted.

Da Michele serves two flavors, pizza marinara (crust and tomato sauce) and pizza margherita (tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil). We went for margarita and everything about it was absolute perfection: the tender crust, the tomato sauce that tasted more like tomatoes than biting into one, and ooey gooey mozzarella cheese. Because it’s cooked for just a few minutes in a flaming hot wood fired oven, the middle gets a bit gooey and you might need to eat it with a knife and fork. It’s all part of the fun!

The fun thing about Da Michele is that guests sit family-style, even separate parties. We had the pleasure of sitting with Enzo, a business man originally from Naples. Chatting with him as we downed our pizza together was a highlight of Naples. We even included the photo of him cutting his Da Michele pizza below in our pizza chapter of our cookbook Pretty Simple Cooking! It’s the only photo in the entire book that was not shot in our Indianapolis kitchen.

Related:  Make it at home: our perfect Neapolitan style pizza recipe!

More things to do in Naples

After you eat pizza, there’s still lots of things to do in Naples Italy! The National Museum in Naples is wonderful to see if you have time. We were able to see many of the mosaics rescued from Pompeii, which we visited on our honeymoon. If you’re staying several days in Naples, taking a train ride to Pompeii is a must! At Pompeii, you’ll see the remains of the ruins of the city after Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. You can walk around and see the buildings, streets, mosaics, and murals that survived from this thriving city and it’s truly fascinating.

(Here’s a mosaic that survived from Pompeii in The National Musuem in Naples.)

Strolling the streets in historic Naples Italy is also a must. This is one of our favorite photographs from the trip: Piazza del Plebiscito with a moody sky.

Also make sure to walk around in Naples by the water and the marina. The views of the bay with a backdrop of Mount Vesuvius are spectacular.

Where to stay in Naples Italy

In Naples we stayed at a hotel called La Ciliegina. It was a great location, and the breakfast in bed game was spot on.

You can use Naples Italy as a starting point to the Amalfi Coast from Rome! From Naples, you can ferry or bus to Positano or Amalfi, or take the ferry across the bay to Capri.

Summary

Naples is a super charming city with amazing pizza, incredible history (don’t miss Pompeii!), and easy access to Capri and the Amalfi Coast. We’d love to go back and explore. Have you been to Naples? Are you looking to go? Let us know if this post was helpful in the comments below!

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