Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
NAPLES & POMPEII
With a frenzy of baroque buildings, bellowing baristas, a Unesco-listed old city centre and the extraordinary
sights of Pompeii, all overlooked by the menacingly beautiful volcano Vesuvius, Naples has a magnetic allure,
and it's eminently possible to take a day trip here from Rome.
While you're there, some unmissable sights include Giuseppe Sanmartino's superlative
Cristo velato
(Veiled
Christ) in the
Cappella Sansevero
( 081 551 84 70;
www.museosansevero.it
; Via Francesco de Sanctis 19;
adult/reduced €7/5; 10am-5.40pm Mon & Wed-Sat, to 1.10pm Sun; Dante) ; the ancient artefacts of the
Museo Archeologico Nazionale
( 081 44 01 66; Piazza Museo Nazionale 19; admission €8;
9am-7.30pm Wed-Mon; Museo, Piazza Cavour) ; opera at the lavish
Teatro San Carlo
( 081 797 24 68;
www.teatrosancarlo.it
;
Via San Carlo 98; guided tour adult/reduced €6/3; guided tours every hour from
10.30am-4.30pm Mon-Sat, to 12.30pm Sun, morning tours only Jan & Feb; R2 to Piazza Treiste e Trento) ;
Caravaggio, Warhol and regal excess at the epic
Palazzo Reale di Capodimonte
( 081 749 91 11;
www.polomusealenapoli.beniculturali.it/museo_cp/cp_info.html
;
Parco di Capodimonte; museum adult/reduced
€7.50/3.75; park admission free; museum 8.30am-7.30pm Thu-Tue, last entry 1hr before closing; park
7am-8pm daily) ; and a subterranean otherworld of ancient frescoes and burial sites at the lovingly restored
Cata-
comba di San Gennaro
( 081 744 37 14;
www.catacombedinapoli.it
;
Via Tondo di Capodimonte 13; adult/
reduced €8/5; 1hr tours every hour 10am-5pm Mon-Sat, to 1pm Sun) .
However, your first stop is likely to be
Pompeii
( 081 857 53 47;
www.pompeiisites.org
;
Via Marina, enter
through Porta Marina; €10; Apr-Oct 8:30am-7:30pm; Nov-Mar to 5pm, last entry: Apr-Oct 6pm; Nov-Mar
3:30pm) , victim of the world's most famous volcano disaster. Highlights include the Villa dei Misteri, with its
wonderful frescoes, the Lupanare (an ancient brothel), and the moving Garden of the Fugitives, with its huddled
bodies preserved in ash. Reach the site via train to Pompei-Scavi-Villa dei Misteri from Naples (35 minutes), or
by SITA bus from near Naples Stazione Centrale.
Naples is famous for its glorious pizza; sample it at
Brandi
(
081 41 69 28; Salita S Anna di Palazzo 1;
Wed-Mon;
R2 to Piazza Trieste e Trento) , or try sublime
fritti
(deep-fried snacks) at
Friggitoria
Vomero
(
081 578 31 30; Via Cimarosa 44; snacks from €0.20;
9.30am-2.30pm & 5-9.30pm Mon-Fri, to
11pm Sat; Centrale to Fuga) .
There are regular high-speed trains to/from Rome Termini (from €39; 70 minutes).
