This article could have, and should have, been entitled ‘how to spend 36 hours in Naples’. I’ve downgraded it to ‘a day in Naples’ as we didn’t get in until midnight. We had a 6:30pm flight out to Naples on a Wednesday evening, due to arrive at 10:15pm. This was in the midst of the horror known as ‘the summer of travel chaos’ in 2022. The result of airlines and airports making their staff redundant during the pandemic, and not rehiring them quickly enough, just as everyone in the world decided to go on their first holiday in two years. Every day the news would showcase some fresh disaster, like a “sea of luggage” at Heathrow or flights being diverted to France when no London airports could take them.
The worst hit airport of them all was Gatwick, from where we were flying to Naples. In the weeks approaching the flight we kept checking its status. We were convinced it would be cancelled. On the day of the flight, we anticipated it would at least be delayed. But by the grace of the travel gods (or perhaps Diego Maradona), our flight out was smooth, and we landed right on time.
A bad start to a day in Naples
We were thrilled. The taxi journey from the airport to the city centre should be a mere 12 minutes. We ran to passport control, so we were the first to go through. With hand luggage in tow we knew exactly where we would tell the taxi driver to go. L’Antica Pizzeria de Michele is a pizzeria so famous they opened two in London, including one we’ve visited several times. As we frantically sped walk out of the airport, it was just past 10:30pm, and the pizzeria closed at 11pm. Sam looked to me and whispered, “we’re going to make it.”
It’s worth mentioning that I was very stressed trying to finish work ahead of this trip, and did not make time for food at the airport. This was a mistake. By this time I was very hungry, which doesn’t bode well for either of us.
Sciopero di taxi
We assumed that once we exited the airport, there would be a taxi rank, and we could hop right in, but there was nothing to be found. We divided to conquer, but there were no taxis in sight. I asked a street traffic controller in broken Italian where the taxis were. He said they were on strike. I looked behind me to tell Sam, and saw that a bus to central Naples was just pulling out, absolutely packed with passengers. With no metro station at the airport, the pizza dream was over. There was no evening in Naples. We stood in line, crestfallen, awaiting the next bus to the city.
The hunger situation was becoming quite urgent. We walked towards our hotel (15 minutes from where the bus dropped us, and terribly inconvenient in comparison to a 12 minute taxi) hoping we would find somewhere to stop along the way. Sadly it appeared that everywhere closed at 11pm. To rub salt in the wound, we walked past a closed L’Antica Pizzeria de Michele.
A silver lining
We didn’t find anything en route to our hotel, Napoli Svelata B&B, so we dropped our bags and headed right back out. We came across a street full of people pouring out of bars and drinking in the street. It was so tempting, but we needed to find food. I was saddened to have our first pizza in a non-notable pizza place that was open until 1am. It was gooey and subpar. I didn’t even take its name down.
At the time we didn’t realise but we were in the very centre of town – on Spaccanapoli. We went back to the hotel via the bar-packed street and stopped for a cocktail at La Fesseria. It was nice, but being cocktail-spoilt Londoners we should have stuck to cheap prosecco and wine. Nevertheless the bartender was unbelievably hospitable, and told us all about their signature cocktails before following up to check how we were enjoying it. Sitting at the window we looked on as cars tried to edge their way through a street full of people. We finished our drinks and went to bed.
A morning in Herculaneum
The next day we walked through the backstreets of the Mercato neighbourhood. Aptly-named, the streets are full of small markets. We stopped for a cafe (a double espresso) and carried on to Napoli Porta Nolana station. Here we would catch a train to the Archaeological Park of Herculaneum.
Napoli Porta Nolana is a small train station which seems like a precursor to the main Napoli Garibaldi. If you are heading to Pompeii or Herculaneum and want to grab a seat before the train fills up at the main station then this is the place to catch it. There is a train every 20 minutes or so which departs Naples and carves through the southern neighbourhoods along the shore towards Sorrento and Amalfi. It is about a 25 minute journey and €7.50 round trip to Ercolano Scavi, and then another 10 minute walk to the site.
The Archaeological Park of Herculaneum
The Archaeological Park of Herculaneum, whilst less famous than Pompeii, is just as interesting and perhaps even more intricate. It is much closer to the city – key if just spending a day in Naples.
Like Pompeii, this town was preserved in volcanic ash and excavated to become a museum. You are literally walking through excavated ruins, complete with the houses that were there and the paintings within them. It really is something.
It can get hot, and in spite of many signs advertising a tourist shop with drinks, we never saw it. By the time we left, just an hour later, we were gasping for liquid, so if you can, bring your own. The entry fee was €13 each (there is a concession for under 25’s) and it was well worth it. Be warned if buying a ‘beat the line ticket’ – more people had this ticket than not, and subsequently created a longer line of their own.
An afternoon in Quartieri Spagnoli, Naples
We started heading back to Naples and had plans to eat many pizzas. Many many pizzas. We went by subway after we got off the train back. This is where things get very southern Italian – getting tickets took a long time, with only one ticket machine actually working and accepting coins only. After waiting 15 minutes to get a ticket, we had to wait 25 minutes for a subway train. Given that the train journey was less than 10 minutes itself, we would have been better off walking. Perhaps this is all part of the Naples experience.
We got off at Toledo station, which I had wanted to see as the interior of the station had been turned into an art installation. It was definitely the most interesting subway stop we had ever visited.
Lunch at Trattoria da Nennella
Lunch number one was Trattoria da Nennella where it was absolutely heaving. We thought there was no chance we would get a table, but in spite of the line, it moved quickly. We were seated within a few minutes (notified by a waiter with a megaphone), and ordered food a few minutes after that. I went to the bathroom right after ordering, and by the time I came back the food was already getting cold. It had arrived pretty much immediately. Nennella is a high-volume/low-margin enterprise. Both chaotic and efficient with countless staff running Neapolitan classics out to locals and tourists alike. We had a couple of the house specials, taking care not to order too much so we could of course go get pizza afterwards. After settling the bill the host gave us a token for a free coffee or limoncello at a stall opposite.
We walked off a bit of the food and explored this area of town. Everything seemed old, beautiful, and under construction.
Pizza at Pizza a Portafoglio
At the recommendation of Sam’s Neapolitan colleague we stopped for a Pizza a Portafoglio, which literally translates to “wallet pizza”. It was outrageously cheap, maybe €8 for a pizza and two beers, but we didn’t quite appreciate the pizza folded in paper concept. We (controversially?) unfolded our pizza and ate it standing at the bar.
We walked up Via Toledo – a main street full of big name chains and stores – and stopped near Piazza Giacomo Matteotti for a couple of Campari spritzes. I never order a spritz, but in that moment it was the most perfectly refreshing drink we could have had. I would have gladly stayed for another but Sam ushered us onwards.
An evening in Centro Storico, Naples
We arrived at Bar Nilo next – back on Spaccanapoli where we had our subpar pizza the night before. The establishment serves as both a bar and a shrine to Diego Maradona. In fact the whole city could be considered a shrine to Diego. He has god-like status in Naples after spending most of his career here. There’s a line written by a Naples journalist when the player arrived which still (sort of) sums up the city. “Despite the lack of houses, schools, buses, employment and sanitation, none of this matters because we have Maradona.” We had a couple of beers on the patio and headed towards our second pizza of the day, Sorbillo.
Early dinner at Sorbillo
Sorbillo is hailed as the best pizza in Naples. It has wait times to correspond. To make sure we got in before rush hour we arrived at 4:50pm, but there was already a massive line. We put our names down (the line was inexplicable for this reason – you could put your name down and walk away) and got some drinks at the bar opposite, which obviously existed only to cater to people waiting in line for Sorbillo. It was business genius. And who minds waiting for a table when you can have a beer across the street?
The pizzas were excellent, and you could tell the ingredients were of the highest quality. The best part of the experience, though, was our server. Her ‘talk to the hand’ gesture when the tourists next to us asked for ‘ice and a slice’ with their cokes was the highlight. Fortunately my broken Italian appeased her just enough to be served our pizzas without too much disdain.
A break from pizza for drinks
We walked back to the hotel with leftover pizza (for breakfast the next morning) and headed straight back out to Winecafe Da Mario. There was a decent selection of wines and aperitifs for a reasonable price served in a nice little piazza.
We had two drinks there, then continued (via another bar for another coffee with another Maradona shrine) to the more modern (and expensive) Oak Wine & Beer. Here you will find a massive craft beer and natural wine selection. We settled for a couple of glasses of suitably hazy local wines.
We were just about ready for another pizza. Why not end a day of pizza eating in Naples with a deep fried pizza right before bed? What more damage could we possibly do at this point? Along the way we spotted two spare chairs outside Antica Spaghetteria Francesco e Maria Sofia, so we stopped for a spritz for good measure. It is a homey place with a very tempting menu of spaghetti dishes, but fearful of losing our appetite for our third pizza of the day we stuck to the drinks.
Dinner number 2 at La Figlia del Presidente
It was pretty late by the time we arrived at La Figlia del Presidente Pizzeria, 10:40pm for an 11pm close, so we were rushed to the basement for a table while we waited for our deep fried pizza filled with sausage and rapini. Even towards the end of the night I knew it was a bad idea. We walked back to the hotel, full of so much pizza, and were asleep on full stomachs by midnight.
What a fun little start to our Italian long weekend. If you have more time the most sensible thing is to work your way south towards the famously stunning Amalfi Coast, but we had plans to take a bus to Sulmona early the next morning. Bring your pizza appetite and strap in for more dough and cheese than you should reasonably consume!
