The Mini Rough Guide to Naples & the Amalfi Coast (Travel Guide eBook)

By Rough Guides

This pocket-sized travel guide to Naples & the Amalfi Coast is a convenient, quick-reference companion to discovering what to do, what to see and how to get around the destination. It covers top attractions like Campi Flegrei, The Blue Grotto, Pompeii's Villas, the Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Piazza del Plebiscito as well as hidden gems, including Piazza San Domenico Maggiore and Castello Aragonese. Our Naples & the Amalfi Coast guide book will save you time and enhance your exploration of this fascinating region. This Naples & the Amalfi Coast travel guide has been fully updated post-COVID-19.

This Mini Rough Guide to NAPLES & THE AMALFI COAST covers: Naples, Campi Flegrei, Vesuvius, Herculaneum, Pompeii, Capri, Ischia and Procida, Sorrento and its Peninsula, the Amalfi Coast, Paestum.

In this guide book to Naples & the Amalfi Coast you will find:

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EVERY TYPE OF TRAVELLER
Experiences selected for every kind of trip to Naples & the Amalfi Coast, from cultural explorations in Herculaneum to family activities in child-friendly places, like Positano or chilled-out breaks in popular tourist areas, like Villa Cimbrone in Ravello.

TOP TEN ATTRACTIONS
This Naples & the Amalfi Coast travel guide covers the destination's top ten attractions not to miss, including The Blue Grotto, Naples' Archaeological Museum, Pompeii's Villas, the Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples' Duomo and a Perfect Day itinerary suggestions.

COMPACT FORMAT
Compact, concise, and packed with essential information, with a sharp design and colour-coded sections, this guide book to Naples & the Amalfi Coast is the perfect on-the-move companion when you're exploring Sorrento.

HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL INSIGHTS
Includes an insightful overview of landscape, history and culture of Naples & the Amalfi Coast.

WHAT TO DO
Detailed description of entertainment, shopping, nightlife, festivals and events, and children's activities.

PRACTICAL MAPS
Handy colour maps on the inside cover flaps of this travel guide to Naples & the Amalfi Coast will help you find your way around.

PRACTICAL TRAVEL INFORMATION
Practical information on eating out, including a handy glossary and detailed restaurant listings, as well as a comprehensive A-Z of travel tips on everything from getting around to health and tourist information.

STRIKING PICTURES
Inspirational colour photography throughout.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Insight Guides
• Release date: May 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781839059292

Rough Guides

Rough Guides are written by expert authors who are passionate about both writing and travel. They have detailed knowledge of the areas they write about--having either traveled extensively or lived there--and their expertise shines through on every page. It's priceless information, delivered with wit and insight, providing the down-to-earth, honest read that is the hallmark of Rough Guides.

Book preview

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HOW TO USE THIS E-BOOK

Getting Around this e-Book

This Rough Guide Mini e-book is designed to inspire you and help you plan for your visit to Naples, and is also the perfect on-the-ground companion for your trip.

The guide begins with our selection of Highlights, plus a Perfect Itinerary feature to help you plan an unforgettable trip. The Introduction and History and Culture chapters give the lowdown on Naples, past and present, while the Out and About chapter is a comprehensive guide to all the best sights. You will find ideas for getting active in Things to Do, while the Food and Drink chapter introduces you to the local cuisine and gives listings of our favourite restaurants by area. Travel Essentials offers just that; practical information to help you plan your trip. Finally, Where to Stay provides a special selection of hotels for every budget.

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights in Naples are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map], tap once to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

You’ll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Naples. Simply double-tap an image to see it in full-screen.

About Rough Guides:

Published in 1982, the first Rough Guide – to Greece – was created by Mark Ellingham and a small group of friends who couldn’t find a guidebook to meet their needs. Combining a contemporary, journalistic style with a thoroughly practical approach to travellers’ needs, the immediate success of the book spawned a series that rapidly covered dozens of destinations. These days, Rough Guides include recommendations from budget to luxury and cover more than 120 destinations worldwide, all regularly updated by our team of ever curious, roaming writers. These Rough Guide Minis may be small, but they are packed with information and inspiration and offer amazing value for money.

© 2023 Apa Digital AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd.

Table of Contents

10 Things Not To Miss

A Perfect Day In Naples

Overview

Colourful Campania

Fiery Citizens

History and Culture

Normans And Germans

Spanish Viceroys

Revolution And Unification

Modern Times

Out and About

Naples

Royal Naples

Port and Castel Nuovo

Chiaia

Centro Storico

Around Corso Umberto I

Archaeological Museum

The Catacombs and Capodimonte

Vomero

Posillipo

Campi Flegrei

Pozzuoli

Baia

Cuma

Vesuvius

Herculaneum

Exploring Herculaneum

Pompeii

Around the Forum

Revealing Villas

Brothels and baths

Theatres

Commercial Pompeii

Capri

Capri Town

Coastal Strolls

Anacapri

The Blue Grotto

Ischia and Procida

A Circular Tour of Ischia

Procida

Sorrento and its Peninsula

Exploring the Peninsula

The Amalfi Coast

Positano

Amalfi

Ravello

Paestum

Things To Do

Sports

Shopping

Entertainment

Nightlife

Food and Drink

Pasta

Pizza

Regional Specialities

Coffee

Wines

To Help You Order

Menu Reader

Where To Eat

Naples

Capri

Sorrento

Positano

Amalfi

Ravello

A–Z Travel Tips

A

Accommodation

Airport

B

Bicycle Hire

Budgeting for Your Trip

C

Camping

Car Hire

Climate

Clothing

Crime and Safety

D

Driving

E

Electricity

Embassies and Consulates

Emergencies

G

Getting There

Guides and Tours

H

Health and Medical Care

Holidays

L

Language

LGBTQ+ Travellers

M

Maps

Media

Money

O

Opening Hours

P

Police

Post Offices

R

Religion

T

Telephone

Tickets

Time Zone

Tipping

Toilets

Tourist Information

Transport

V

Visas

W

Websites and Internet Access

Y

Youth Hostels

Where To Stay

Naples

Capri

Ischia

Sorrento

Positano

Amalfi

Ravello

10 THINGS NOT TO MISS

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1. The Blue Grotto

Capri’s most celebrated attraction has been on the tourist itinerary for nearly 200 years. For more information, click here.

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

2. Naples’ Archaeological Museum

An unrivalled collection of ancient sculpture, mosaics and paintings. For more information, click here.

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3. Pompeii’s Villas

Casa del Fauno is a classic example of the town’s wonderfully preserved Roman residences. For more information, click here.

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4. The Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte

One of Italy’s finest picture galleries. For more information, click here.

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5. Naples’ Duomo

At the heart of the ancient Centro Storico. For more information, click here.

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6. Positano

One of the most beautiful villages on the Amalfi Coast. For more information, click here.

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7. Villa Cimbrone in Ravello

This clifftop town captivated Wagner, D.H. Lawrence, Greta Garbo and many others. For more information, click here.

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8. Naples, birthplace of the pizza

Still the best place on earth to sample the genuine article. For more information, click here.

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

9. Herculaneum

Its ruins have yielded even more treasures than Pompeii. For more information, click here.

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10. Piazza del Plebiscito

This vast semicircular square is home to the massive church of San Francesco di Paola. For more information, click here.

A PERFECT DAY IN NAPLES

9am

Breakfast. Head out for a cappuccino and cornetto in Caffè Scaturchio, on Piazza San Domenico Maggiore in the Centro Storico.

10am

Cultural immersion. Take a morning walk through the Decumani and Spaccanapoli, visiting the attractive local churches, museums, galleries and shops.

12.30pm

Early lunch. Indulge in traditional wood-fired pizza at Pizzeria di Matteo (for more information, click here), for a taste that is truly Neapolitan.

2pm

Roman revival. Walk up to the magnificent MANN archaeological museum, home to the Farnese statue collection and the treasures of Pompeii, Herculaneum and the Phlegraean Fields.

4pm

Royal ice. Hop on a bus to Piazza Trieste e Trento, stopping for cake or ice cream at the sybaritic Gran Caffé Gambrinus (for more information, click here), before heading across the square to see a couple of the city’s most prominent attractions: the Palazzo Reale and Castel Nuovo.

6.30pm

Vomero vista. Walk along Via Chiaia – the city’s trendiest shopping street – to the funicular and head up the cliff. Find a neighbourhood bar and settle down with a Campari or martini to watch the sunset across the bay.

8pm

Evening at the opera. If it is the opera season and you are extremely lucky, perhaps you will get tickets for the Teatro San Carlo, one of the world’s great opera houses. You can also take a guided tour to learn about this spectacular building and its perfect acoustics.

8pm

Fine dining. Alternatively, enjoy the best of Italian food at one of the city’s fabulous restaurants, such as Amici Miei (for more information, click here), for a lingering dinner.

10pm

Jazz club. Finish off your evening at Cammarota Spritz (for more information, click here), followed by a stroll along the Lungomare, listening to the moonlit waves whispering of Santa Lucia (a song dedicated to this area in Naples).

OVERVIEW

Naples is a theatre. Its buildings are arranged on hillsides like box seats encircling a stage. And what a set: viewed from the heights, a castle seems to plunge like a ship into the waves of a blue sea; there’s a sail or two on the water; the coastline curls past the purple cone of Vesuvius towards Sorrento’s cape, and Capri floats in a distant haze. Add a little mandolin music and the curtain goes up on Act I. The good news is, the curtain never comes down.

For all its social problems, Naples is a city of incredible beauty and vitality. The noise, chaos and dilapidated areas are impossible to ignore, but for each crumbling tenement block there’s a magnificent Baroque church or ancient monument. The food, particularly the pizza, is unforgettable. However, the main attraction is the street theatre laid on by the exuberant Neapolitans. Nothing beats just losing yourself in the crowded ancient streets and absorbing all the sights, smells and sounds. And when you’ve reached sensory overload, you can escape to the islands and coastal resorts, which are never more than an hour away.

Divided opinion

Writer Peter Nichols once declared: ‘Neapolitans still reproduce what must be the nearest equivalent to life in classical times. Naples is one of the great tests. Some people hate it and some people love it.’ He added: ‘I think that people who do not like Naples are afraid of something.’

From dramatic Naples it is just a short ferry ride to Capri, Ischia and the Amalfi Coast. Most holidaymakers hurry straight to the docks and only glimpse Naples in transit to these siren lands, or on a day’s excursion to Pompeii and Vesuvius. They forget that Naples is one of Europe’s oldest and greatest cities, the capital of an ancient kingdom and the one-time goal of all would-be sophisticates making the Continental ‘Grand Tour’.

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A view of Mount Vesuvius

The vitality behind the poverty and the beauty amid the