Visiting Naples in August (Non-touristic itinerary)

Hi lovelies!

Today, I’d like to talk to you about Italy and more specifically about Naples. Since I’m currently living in France, Italy is always an easy go-to holiday destination: it’s quite close so there are many cheap flights even during summer. The food is also much cheaper than in Paris and maybe even more delicious (don’t want to open the debate) and I have a few friends that do speak Italian. I’ve been so used to travelling alone recently, that having someone to deal with the locals, to find our ways and to actually guide me through the city feels like double holidays to me!

There’s something about Naples I cannot explain

I travelled to Naples in early August and it was actually my second time there. The first time I went was in January a few years ago, it was a little cold but still beautiful. This time around, I was a little bit scared since I went in August during the peak season. Luckily, the friend I travelled with had also been to Naples before so we took the trip in a really relaxed way, which gave us the opportunity to go to places where people would not instinctively go. And we felt like Naples was our own, we did not meet that many tourists in the spots we chose although there were plenty of them in the city centre. Let me tell you all about it!

There is really something about Naples I cannot explain. It was my third time in Italy and I visited many different places, namely Rome, the cities from Bari downwards, Umbria and Tuscany, the region close to Firenze. All those places were amazing, but Naples definitely has my heart. The energy of the city, the people you meet there are just something else! So ready to embark with me? Here’s a 5-day relaxed itinerary to enjoy Naples while meeting a minimal amount of tourists.

Day 1: City walk and Napoli Sotterranea

• Walking around the city

On the first day, we had booked a tour of Naples Underground (‘Napoli Sotterranea’) in the late afternoon. Since we had quite an early flight, we decided to just chill and stroll around the city centre.

• Napoli sotterranea (“Underground Naples”)

As you would expect, Naples can be quite hot in August. One way to escape this weather is just to go deep down into the city underground. You might not know this but, since Roman Age, Naples has been well-known for being a geothermal spot. Over centuries, many tunnels have been dug to channel the water between the main archeological sites – namely from Mont Vesuvius, Pompei and Herculaneum. Naples underground is just so rich of history that I just consider it a must-do when visiting the city. It is a little bit overcrowded in the beginning, but if you follow my itineary I can assure you that it’ll be your last time meeting hordes of tourists.

I would highly recommend that you book the ticket directly on the official website or just to go there during the day to buy the tickets directly: the website mentioned that “you can come without any reservation. In fact, even if you find a queue, entry is always guaranteed to anyone who decides to queue.” For the little story, we made the mistake to book the tour on GetYourGuide which offers a bundle ticket (Entrance, English Guide and Dinner) for €25. It’s actually much more expensive than buying the ticket on site and the restaurant is definitely not worth it.

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Day 2: Visit of the archeological sites

As mentioned above, it was my second time in Naples. I had the occasion to visit Pompeii the first time around and of course I would recommend all first-timers to visit it. But if you still want to visit a place that is rich of culture and history and that is way less crowded than Herculaneum or Pompeii, I suggest that you take the time to visit Villa Poppaea.

• Villa Poppaea

Villa Poppaea is believed to have been the home to Poppaea Sabina, Emperor Nero’s second wife, or to her family. The site is definitely worth visiting as it allows to catch a glimpse of a luxurious villa dating back to the Roman Age and to get a better understanding of how they were living in the estate.

Some practial information can be found directly on the website. The entrance is €8 but you can get a bundle ticket if you are planning on visiting different archeological sites. In addition to visiting a wonderful site, the second reason why I highly recommend you to visit Villa Poppaea is for this little gem we discovered along the way: a traditional Napoli restaurant – La Rampa del Porto.

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Day 3: Procida

On the third day, we felt like going to the beach and I had heard that the beaches really close to the city centre were not the best. When it comes to going to the beach in Naples, what usually comes to mind is either Ischia or Capri. I cannot deny that the places look amazing, although I haven’t been yet but it was certain that in August both places would be overcrowded.

Not too far from Ischia, there is a little island called Procida. It takes around 40 minutes to get there from Naples with ferry and to our surprise it was always a little empty! The place just looked lovely and so colourful, there were plenty of nice spots to take nice pictures in gardens, or at the seafront.

There are also plenty of nice beaches you can pick to just relax on the sand and to enjoy the warm water. The one I would personally recommend would be Spiagia Chaia, it’s super close to nice city view points and also to a marina where you can have a drink or even dinner with a nice view. It is usually quite animated around dinner time with some music. I feel the atmosphere of Procida at night would be even more enchanting but it was only a day trip, but I would gladly experience it next time I’m in Naples!

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Day 4: Amalfi Coast

Staying in Naples for a longer period of time also allows you to get a little bit farther and to venture yourself in many beautiful towns. When travelling in Naples, one big question always comes: What about the Amalfi Coast? Which cities or towns should I visit? How long would I need to visit them? How long should I plan to visit the Amalfi Coast?

Well, of course there is not right or wrong answers. It’s only a question of choice and preferences. If you are able to rent a car, then you’ll have much more flexibility to travel around different areas on the Amalfi Coast. If you want to take public transport, well in August in the region of Naples I wouldn’t rely too much on it and you’d need to be really flexible on what you would like to see. To save some time, I just decided to book a day-tour via Airbnb and decided to just be guided for the full day!

The tour suggested to visit three places: Ravello, Amalfi and Positano. The tour guide brought us to the three places, explained us a bit of history and main facts of each town but he also stopped along the way to allow us to have our photoshoot moments when the view was particularly nice.

• Ravello

I would say that among the three places I visited, Ravello was my favourite! We arrived quite early there, around 10:00 and it was again almost empty! The atmosphere of the town was just something else. The first thing you see when you arrive is the wonderful seafront where the mountains meet a clear blue water and when you enter the center you just feel like you’ve travelled to the Middle-Aged Italy. While making your way more into the town, you’ll quickly face this breathtaking view on the terraced lemon fields, so typical of this region. Walking around the town, I just grew more and more captivated.

Before coming I did not know the place but it is well-known for its music festival that usually takes place between June and August, you can find some information here. There are also two main villas that are nice to visit:

• Villa Rufolo, a moorish-influenced villa famous for its gardens and terraces overlooking the sea
• Villa Cimbrone, an 11th-century villa that is currently a 5-star hotel, but the gardens are open to the public and offers stunning view of the Mediterranean

I was only there for a couples of hours and I can tell you it’s my favourite place among the three. If you’re planning a trip more focused on the Amalfi Coast rather than Naples, I would recommend to spent 2-3 days in Ravello to get a glimpse of the sunset there and also to feel the night atmosphere. If you’re staying a little bit longer, you’ll also have the possibility to visit the terraced fields and lemon groves in the area.

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• Amalfi

If you’re planning to visit the Amalfi Coast it goes without saying that visiting the town of Amalfi is a must-do. Between the three places I think it was the most crowded one, since it’s also the most famous one. I arrived there around 12:00 and there were already many tourists in the street. If you have the opportunity, I would recommend going there quite early. But the visit of the places I went were fine, no queue whatsoever, at that time of the day the tourists where mainly in the street, at restaurants or at the beach. So when visiting Amalfi, I would recommend having a late lunch!

When arriving at Amalfii, I completely fell under the charm of the amazing skyline with colourful houses on the green hills. The coastal view is also charming. Amalfi is a little bigger than Ravello, with only 1 hour and 30 minutes – 2 hours there, I didn’t have the time to venture too far into the town. I mainly wandered around the city following the large main street to have a feel of the place. If I can recommend only two stops there it would be:

• Amalfi Cathedral: the building started in the 9th – 10th and it has been redecorated many times making it a interesting mix of influence
• Pasticceria Pansa Amalfi: the town is well-known for it’s ‘Lemon Delight’ pastry and it’s the right place to taste the best Limoncello Spritz

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• Positano

Moving on to Positano. Unfortunately, when I arrived to Positano the sky changed quickly and the rain started pouring. I just had the time to take some beautiful and colourful pictures before it all turned grey!

Although I spend a small amount of time in Positano due to the weather I really enjoyed the vibe and the scenery. If I were to come back to the Amalfi Coast just to have a break and really relax, I would definitely pick Positano. More than the town in itself, I was even more curious of all the small town we passed through on the way from Amalfi. Places like Praiano for instance where you can go to nice restaurants and also you’re 20-30 min away from really wonderful and hidden beaches that would usually be only known to locals.

If you’re focusing your visit on the Amalfi Coast, Positano is definitely worth it and if you’re visiting with a car it’ll be super nice to go and find those hidden beaches!

Day 5: Museums, Santa Chiara and Sant’Elmo

For the last day, it felt just easier to stay in Naples and just go with the flow on what we wanted to visit. It was on the first Sunday of the month, I didn’t pay attention but know that all museums are free on that day!

If you should prioritise only one museum to visit in Naples, I can only recommend to go to National Archaeological Museum of Naples, the building architecture is just beautiful and the place is huge. If you’re passionate or only remotely interested in Ancient Rome it’s absolutely worth it! I wouldn’t consider myself as a passionate of Roman Age but I’m indeed deeply interested in this era. I used to study Latin (yes, you’ve read well! Latin, the official language of the Vatican) at a very high level, doing a lot of translations. Back then, the texts I would more gladly discover through translation would be those that would depict random scenes of everyday life. And to me, visiting this museum gave me the impression to travel back in time. You’re just facing monumental statues of gods and goddesses you always hear about, you can find objects and mosaics from Pompeii and Herculaneum and at some point you can also discover some graffitis that people would write in the streets of Rome!

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I visited the National Archaeological Museum of Naples during my first trip and I did not feel the need to revisit it. I was actually aiming to visit the Royal Palace of Naples but on my way there I passed by the building of the former headquarters of the Banco di Napoli that now hosts many art exhibitions.

• Palazzo del Banco di Napoli

The place has quite a classical architecture with marbles stairs and interiors. There is a small collection of archeological artefacts and when I visited it hosted an exhibition of modern art. There is also a collection of paintings. It’s a nice museum and it can be visited quite quickly.

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• Royal Palace of Naples

The Palace is situated in the centre of the city in Piazza del Plebiscito. The history of the building dates back to the 17th century under the Spanish Occupation of Naples.

The Royal Palace of Naples displays a wonderful architecture, it’s so pleasing to walk around the different rooms and observe the various decorations. The main courtyard also provides a nice view of façade of the building, it’s a nice and short visit which allows you to learn a little more about the history of the city.

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• Complesso Monumentale di Santa Chiara

Last but not least was the visit of Complesso Monumentale di Santa Chiara. And I can assure you that it was the most colourful visit I had in Naples!

The visit includes the church of Santa Chiara, the monastery, the tombs and an archeological museum. When it’s sunny, the colours are so vivid while the atmosphere of the place is just so peaceful. It was a great combo to finish the trip in Naples on a good note!

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• Bonus for first-time visitors of Naples

By now I guess you’ve come to understand that there are so many things to do in Naples that it’s just impossible to cram everything into a 4- or 5-day trip. You definitely have to make choice. For first-time visitors, I would highly recommend to take the time to visit Sant’Elmo Castle. You’ll fall for the view of Naples it offers and you’ll find an amazing photoshoot spot! Here are some pictures I took from my previous travel in Naples, which was in the month of January.

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Hope you’ve enjoyed this article and that it was somewhat useful to you. Are you planning on visiting Naples? Have you visited Naples already? Let me know what were you favourite picks!