Back in May of this year Luke and I took our first trip to Italy. We mulled over different cities to visit and ultimately landed on splitting our time between the Amalfi Coast and Rome. Because we chose the Amalfi Coast, we flew into Napoli and spent some time there before making our way south.

We flew into the Naples International Airport in the late afternoon and had the whole evening to explore as well as the entire next day. Napoli and the surrounding area is quite large, but we felt like we saw what we wanted to see in that short amount of time.

We booked this AirBnb in the Centro Storico neighborhood. The Centro Storico neighborhood is known for its ornate churches and is jam-packed with trattorias, bars and local shops. The area felt very local and everyone we encountered was nice and helpful. Upon arrival to our Airbnb we were having difficulties with our door key and an old man appeared out of nowhere with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, house slippers and a robe that was barely covering his body, to help us out. He was quite the sight, lol. After he helped us out, he disappeared back into the winding alleyways never to be seen again. I would like to think that experience sums up the vibe of the neighborhood quite well.

One convenient aspect to the AirBnb we booked was that it was walking distance to the central train station, Napoli Garibaldi. We strategically planned this so we could easily get to the train station the morning of our departure to the Amalfi Coast. We purchased tickets ahead of time here for the Campania Express local train from Napoli Garibaldi to Sorrento and our total cost was €38 for two passengers, round trip. When we arrived at the train station there was some confusion on what platform we were departing from as nothing was listed for our train number. A quick check-in at the ticket counter confirmed that we’d be escorted by an employee to the correct platform with other travelers going in our same direction directly before departure. I don’t know if this is because we were taking the local express, or some other reason, but this should serve as a good reminder to always ask when in question.

Where to Stay:

I really shouldn’t be giving advice on where to stay in Napoli because of our short visit, lol. Had we been planning on spending more time in Napoli we probably would have booked a place in either the Quartieri Spagnoli or Chiaia neighborhoods as those areas were very charming, full of character and right near the water.

What to Do:

Due to the fact that we only had a day and a half of exploring, this section is going to be on the lighter side.

• Visit Castel Sant’Elmo for sweeping views of the city
• Wander around Via San Gregorio Armeno and get lost in the alleyways
• Wander around the Napoli Harbor
• Eat lunch in the Vomero neighborhood, we found a great street with a lot of restaurants and shops
• There’s a famous pizza joint that was featured in Eat. Pray. Love. but there were so.many.people waiting it would have been hours before it was our turn.