Two days in Napoli, Italy’s unloved city
Is Napoli Italy’s least popular city?
I tend to answer this question with yes. It’s not only that many associate the city with the mafia or the waste management problem the city had for decades. I know a lot of people, who have visited Napoli (Naples in English) in recent years, and said they would never come back.
They all criticized Napoli for different reasons. Some said that they had the impression that they got constantly ripped off by the locals. Others said the city was dirty, ugly and too hectic. Generally, I always had the feeling that negative feedback was much more likely when people told me about their experience in Napoli.
However, it’s not just the people I know. You can also read many unflattering things about Napoli in the internet. For example, a woman called the city on TripAdvisor the “armpit of Italy”, which led to a quite emotional debate. Also, I read a travel journalist’s recommendation to head directly to Sorrento after you arrive at Napoli’s airport, as Napoli was such an awful city…
But what fascinates me the most is that even many Italians seem to badmouth the city whenever they can. Some of them mention the rude Neapolitans. Others even claim that Napoli does not belong to Italy, as if they were ashamed of being from the same country as Napoli.
As you can see, Napoli receives a lot of negative comments from tourists and Italians as well. It was time to find out if Napoli is really that bad.
The City of Naples
In July 2020, together with a friend I spent a weekend in Napoli. Since we arrived on a late Friday afternoon and had to return to the airport shortly after noon on Sunday, we had a little bit less than 48 hours in the city. However, this gave us enough time to see most of the city’s highlights.
Admittedly, I soon realized why Napoli does not appeal to many people. Those who are used to Rome, Venice or Florence and expect a similar city in Napoli will be disappointed. After all, the city is not a “gigantic museum” like the mentioned cities.
Napoli is hectic and yes – also dirty. You have to imagine many narrow and sometimes dark alleys with many people in it, especially in the Centro Storico and in the Quartieri Spagnoli. Many houses, whose facades are decorated with hanging laundry, have seen better times. And as I said, you can see a lot of garbage on the streets, although less than I expected. At least, it did not seem that the waste management problem still exists.
The traffic is another factor that probably scares off many visitors. Recently, I read a quite accurate quote: In Milan, traffic lights are instructions; in Rome, they are suggestions; in Naples, they are Christmas decorations. And it is true. The cars drive through the streets at an insane speed and even in the narrow alleys of the old town you have to be careful not to be hit by a motorcycle.
Crossing a street becomes a dare, therefore. The traffic reminded me of a mixture of Vietnam and Iran. Like in Vietnam you just have to cross the road somehow, because you can’t assume that the cars will stop when the traffic light is red. But while the motorcycles and cars in Vietnam avoid the pedestrians, you cannot count on that in Napoli. Here it is more like in Iran: if you cross the street and a car speeds towards you… well, then you’ve had bad luck.
Nevertheless, if you can handle these “disturbing factors”, you will experience an awesome city. I didn’t find Napoli ugly, as some people claim it is. First of all, the city has an architecture that reminded me of Portugal (think of many colorful houses), and on the other hand, there are also some very charming places in Napoli. These places are also less hectic as the Quartieri Spagnoli or the Centro Storico.
For example the Castel Sant’Elmo, west of the Centro Storico, that you can reach in approximately half an hour on foot and with a funicular. The castle itself is nice, but the view over Naples is even more beautiful.
Of course, you will also see the Vesuvius in all its glory from up there. The active volcano, universally acknowledged to be an extremely dangerous volcano, is so to speak the landmark of Naples. It is even possible to climb Vesuvius and see its crater plus you will get a fantastic view over Naples.
We decided against it for two reasons. First, we didn’t have enough time for it (you have to invest at least half a day, probably even more). And second, the crater does not look very rewarding. If you have already seen a volcano with flowing lava from above (like I did once), the crater of Vesuvius, which looks more like a big mud puddle, does not look very interesting.
So the Castel Sant’Elmo was sort of a compromise, because we could see Naples from above there without having to invest a lot of time.
On your way back to the city center, you should in any case use the Pedamentina San Martino. This system of stairs consisting of 414 steps connects Castel Sant’Elmo with the Quartieri Spagnoli below. You will also get rewarded with a great view on your way down. Theoretically, you could also walk up the stairs and take the funicular back. But why would you make this effort?
Fortunately, the Castle Sant’Elmo is not the only beautiful place to visit in Napoli. Other nice places that are definitely worth a visit are for example the Piazza del Plebiscito…
…the Galleria Umberto I…
… and the Via Carraciolo, the promenade next to the ocean.
The good thing about Napoli is that you can explore the city on foot and don’t have to rely on taxis or public transport. But anyway, you should in any case have a look to one subway station: of course the Toledo subway station that appears to be quite futuristic and is definitely one of the most beautiful subway stations in Europe.
By the way, taking a good picture there is easier than you might think. There are only crowds of people when a subway arrives, otherwise the station seems to be quite empty for several minutes.
The Food
One of the best things in Napoli is the food. Like any other Italian city, Napoli is a paradise for foodies. But contrary to cities as Rome or Venice, Napoli has a huge advantage: there are practically no tourist traps.
While in the other two cities (especially around tourist attractions) you will get completely overpriced and often only average food, in Napoli, you can randomly walk into a restaurant. Chances are more than good that you will not be disappointed.
Apart from the restaurants, Napoli also impresses with its many cafés, where you can get coffee (I probably had an average of 7-8 espressi per day) and often a large selection of pastries.
Of course, we had dinner in one of Napoli’s most famous restaurants: Gino Sorbillo’s. Some call the pizzeria the best in the world and also the lady in our hotel claimed that this is the number 1 in Naples. Thus, it is no surprise that you have to queue about one hour until you get a table (reservations are not possible).
If you wants to eat at Gino Sorbillo’s, the procedure is as follows: you get to the pizzeria, where you normally should see a long waiting line. Then, you should not make the same mistake as we did and queue up, but register in front of the restaurant. The staff will put your name on a list and at some point they will call your name and you can get in.
We had to wait about 40 minutes until they called our name. Quickly, they led us to a table and served the pizza already after about ten minutes. It was more than delicious and to our astonishment it cost only 4€. But it soon became clear how this restaurant can survive with such prices. As soon as the plates are empty, the bill is on the table (which is their indirect way to ask you to leave and make room for other people).
Does Gino Sorbillo have the best pizza in the world? Hard to say, but probably not. Because although the pizza was excellent, the day after we ordered a pizza in the restaurant just across the street. To be honest, I didn’t notice a big difference. Anyway, Gino Sorbillo’s pizza is absolutely worth it. So, if you’re in Napoli, you should check it out.
As a little anecdote by the way: the mafia blew up Gino Sorbillo’s pizzeria a few years ago because Gino Sorbillo refused to pay protection money. But the pizzaiolo pretended like nothing happened and continued producing his pizzas again the very next day.
This anecdote leads us to the next point…
Is Napoli dangerous?
As I already wrote in the introduction, many people claim how criminal and sometimes even dangerous Naples is supposed to be.
After two days in that city, I conclude that Napoli is no more dangerous than other major European city such as Barcelona or Paris. It is true that the Mafia is still active in Napoli, but tourists are not an interesting target for the cosa nostra.
Of course, there are quarters where tourists should rather not go. For example, it is not recommended to visit the vele de Scampia, the super ugly building complex known from the mafia series Gomorrah, without any local. But apart from that, the problem districts are where tourists do not go anyway.
Petty crime exists in Naples. But as I’ve already written, even in Barcelona or Paris, someone can steal your wallet. We were approached in Napoli by quite a few beggars, most of them from Romania. There are also some African migrants who want to rip off tourists, but everything seems to be relatively harmless.
Fact is: that weekend I neither experienced a dangerous situation nor did I ever feel uncomfortable. The biggest danger is and remains the traffic.
Is Napoli that bad?
Having said all this, I have to admit that I find Naples one of the coolest cities in Europe. I really liked the liveliness of the city, as well as the colorful houses, the food and above all the people. I found the Neapolitans very hospitable and warm.
Funnily enough, I always shared the prejudice that 99% of the Italian people speak no other language than Italian. In Naples, I was taught better in this respect. I would say that an estimated 80-90% of the people spoke English quite well.
Nevertheless, I can understand that Naples can be a little overwhelming for some people. Especially, if you were more used to the “more beautiful” Italian cities like Rome or Florence. But I liked the hectic pace of the Napoli. The city with its crowded streets and crazy traffic even reminded me sometimes of Southeast Asian metropolises, but I really liked it.
As a small side note: Napoli is also a great base if you want to visit other places like Capri, Sorrento, Positano, Pompeii etc. We also considered if we should visit one of these places, but we eventually decided against it. This was a good decision, because this trip would have been too stressful in the end and we would have had less time in Naples itself, which would have been a pity.
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