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Map of Naples. Numbers on the map correspond to numbers in the article.
A pizza from the Da Michele on the Via Giuseppe Martucci.
The Dante subway stop is among those with art installed.
WHY GO NOW Many visitors to Naples, Italy's third largest city after Rome and Milan, see it as a dingy pit stop on the way to the Amalfi coast, or merely a convenient base for an excursion to nearby Pompeii. Its rough reputation - earned through corruption, crime and its Camorra Mafia - has not helped. However, travelers taking the precautions they would in any urban area will experience only the enchantingly faded grandeur of one of Europe's liveliest cities.
Indeed, Naples is too gritty to be precious, and too bustling to seem frozen in time. Its rich history may resonate throughout its cobbled streets and monumental piazzas, but so do careering Vespas and the scent of the humble pizza, which was invented there. And yet, four centuries after a fugitive Caravaggio fled to the city, Naples continues to attract celebrated artists whose works are filling not just its new contemporary art institutions but also its subway. With summer crowds dropping off, and temperatures starting to dip, now is a good time to visit a city that is at once elegant and untamable.
WHERE TO STAY The grande dame of Neapolitan hotels is the five-star, 160-room Grand Hotel Vesuvio, (1) (Map) Via Partenope 45, (39-081) 7640044, www.vesuvio.it. Set on the waterfront, with Mount Vesuvius looming in the distance, it opened in 1882 and remains the hotel of choice for celebrities and dignitaries. Double rooms from $520, at $1.27 to the euro. Enrico Caruso once called the hotel home, and its rooftop garden restaurant, the Caruso, (39-081) 7640520, now bears his name. Try bucatini alla Caruso ($23), a pasta dish with tomato, basil, bell peppers and zucchini, that Caruso himself concocted.
Though somewhat out of the way, the Hotel San Francesco al Monte, (2) Corso Vittorio Emanuele 328, (39-081) 4239111, www.hotelsanfrancesco.it, is worth the extra work. Perched above the city, it's housed in a luxuriously converted 16th-century Franciscan monastery with jaw-dropping views of the Bay of Naples. Each of its 44 rooms has a different layout, as well as a free minibar and hydromassage tub or shower. Or, better yet, take a glass elevator to the rooftop pool. Doubles, $362.
In the historical center, the 18-room Caravaggio Hotel, (3) Piazza Cardinale Sisto Riario Sforza 157, (39-081) 2110066, www.caravaggiohotel.it, is quiet and intimate, with a boutique-like décor. It draws its name from the Caravaggio painting in a church across the street. Doubles from $241.
WHERE TO EAT Going to Naples without eating pizza, its best-known culinary invention, is heresy. Pizza is a religion there, and the Neapolitans have solved its most common challenge with the quattro stagioni, which is divided into four sections, each with a different topping. Da Michele, (4) Via Cesare Sersale 1/3, (39-081) 5539204, www.damichele.net, is perhaps the city's most revered pizzeria. Those not in the mood for crowds - or a margherita or marinara pizza, its only offerings, at $4.50 to $5.70 - should head for another, more comfortable Da Michele, with a different (and distantly related) owner, (5) at Via Giuseppe Martucci 61, (39-081) 19576887; closed Monday. Its huge $8.25 quattro stagioni is topped with ham, artichokes, mozzarella and mushroom.
With its yellowing marble walls and porthole mirrors, Ciro, (6) Via Luculliana 29/30, (39-081) 7646006, www.ristoranteciro.it, is a classic waterfront restaurant with an air of vintage modern glamour. It sits at the foot of Castel dell'Ovo, a medieval fortress, and has house dishes like the $12.70 spaghetti Ciro, with seafood and tomatoes, which can also be enjoyed on its outdoor terrace. Closed Wednesday.
A trendier place is Terrazza Calabritto, (7) Piazza Vittoria 1 a/b, (39-081) 2405188, www.terrazzacalabritto.it. With turquoise floors and columns clad in coral-colored glass, it feels like feeding time in a swank aquarium. Pasta and shellfish specialties are $15, and live music and D.J.'s regularly enliven the downstairs bar. Closed Monday.
WHAT TO DO DURING THE DAY In recent years, Naples has been buzzing with contemporary art. This spring saw the unveiling of the Palazzo delle Arti Napoli, )8) Via dei Mille 60, (39-081) 7958605, www.palazzoartinapoli.net, which shows works by artists including William Kentridge and Dennis Oppenheim. Closed Tuesday; free admission. More impressive, and even newer, is the Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Donnaregina (called Madre), (9) Via Luigi Settembrini 79, (39-081) 5624561. Occupying a 19th-century palazzo renovated by the renowned Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza, it features an enfilade procession of permanent installations by artists like Francesco Clemente, Richard Serra and Rebecca Horn. Admission is free and the museum is open only on weekends from noon to 8 p.m., but beginning in December, when additional galleries are scheduled to open, it will be open daily, with an admission charge of $10.
Naples also has its share of historic sites, including catacombs, medieval castles and, of course, churches. One not to be missed is the Cappella Sansevero, (10) Via Francesco De Sanctis, 17/21, (39-081) 5518470, www.museosansevero.it, a small yet opulent Baroque chapel known for a number of curiosities. The star attraction is Giuseppe Sanmartino's 1753 "Veiled Christ" sculpture. Its delicate marble veil is so astonishingly realistic that it looks as if it could blow away. More morbid are the two human bodies downstairs. They were experimentally embalmed by the chapel's 18th-century patron, Raimondo de Sangro, who managed to preserve their arterial systems and not much else. Admission $6.35. Closed Tuesday.
No visit to the city is complete without a trip to the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, (11) Piazza Museo Nazionale 19, (39-081) 440166. In addition to housing the Farnese collection of antiquities, it houses many of the artifacts recovered from Pompeii and Herculaneum, including a trove of spectacular mosaics. You can also - in the name of art, of course - visit the Gabinetto Segreto, a gallery filled with kinky ancient pornography that requires an appointment, which can be made the same day near the main ticket counter. Museum admission is $8.25; closed Tuesday.
There is plenty of good people watching at Caffè Gambrinus, (12) Via Chiaia 1/2, (39-081) 417582, www.caffegambrinus.com, a palatial cafe on the monumental Piazza del Plebiscito. This Neapolitan institution has been serving local dessert specialties like baba, a rum-soaked cake, and sfogliatella, a ricotta-filled pastry (each $1.90), since 1860.
WHAT TO DO AT NIGHT In the evenings, Neapolitans go out in force, and many can be found strolling the streets of the posh Chiaia neighborhood, especially among the bars along Via Alabardieri, which turns into Vico Belledonne a Chiaia. Chandelier, (13) Vico Belledonne a Chiaia 34/35, (39-081) 3332528177, is a small but trendy newcomer with a stark black and white interior.
One of the city's most pleasant and charming outdoor spaces is the Piazza Bellini, which comes alive at night with the leftists and intellectuals who hang out at Intra Moenia, (14) Piazza Bellini 70, (39-081) 290720, a literary cafe where you can sip $4.50 limoncellos next to excavations of the city's ancient Greek walls. Also in the historical center, the Piazza Santa Maria la Nova has lately become a favorite haunt of the younger crowd, which chugs beer bought at a nearby kiosk or at the bohemian cafe Aret' a' Palm, (15) Piazza Santa Maria La Nova 14, (39-081) 3398486949.
For a change of pace, there's the famed Teatro San Carlo, (16) Via San Carlo 98/F, (39-081) 7972111. In recent years, artists including Anselm Kiefer and Brice Marden have been commissioned to design its opera sets. This December, the Italian artist Mimmo Paladino will continue that tradition for the season opener, Toni Servillo's production of Beethoven's "Fidelio." Tickets from $51; www.teatrosancarlo.it.
WHERE TO SHOP The usual suspects - like Bulgari, Gucci and Louis Vuitton - line Via Calabritto and Via G. Filangieri, which branch out from the Piazza dei Martiri in Chiaia. However, two area stores are notable for their local connection. Ernesto Esposito, (17) Via Santa Caterina a Chiaia 20, (39-081) 4238325, showcases the sexed-up heels, starting at $230, created by its namesake designer, a Neapolitan who also designs shoes for Fendi, Sonia Rykiel and Via Spiga. Established in 1914, E. Marinella, (18) Riviera di Chiaia 287, (39-081) 7644214, is a tiny shop with a huge reputation for its classic men's accessories and, especially, silk ties, which run about $100. Most shops are closed for lunch from 1 until 4 p.m.
YOUR FIRST TIME OR YOUR 10TH Rome may have its fountains, and Milan its fashion flagships, but Naples has its subway. As part of an ambitious program, stations on Line 1 are being designed by prominent architects, and feature work by well-known artists. Stops have already been completed by the architect Gae Aulenti (Museo and Dante) and Atelier Mendini (Materdei and Salvator Rosa), with works by Joseph Kosuth, Sol LeWitt, Mimmo Rotella and others. Coming up are stations by Dominique Perrault, Future Systems and Álvaro Siza.
HOW TO GET THERE There are no nonstop flights between New York and Naples, and flights often involve long layovers. Continental offers service through Paris, Rome, London and Milan starting at around $1,041 round trip late this month and October. Delta goes through Milan and Rome starting at $960, and American goes through London from $799.
GETTING AROUND Given the city's manageable size, walking is a good way to explore it - though you'll occasionally see your life flash before your eyes while dodging traffic on its many streets without sidewalks. Taxis are expensive; a ride within the city center can easily top $20. Bus, funicular and subway fares are 1 euro, valid for 90 minutes, and 3 euros for the day. The three-day Campania Arte card, www.campaniartecard.it, at 13 euros ($16.50), provides unlimited public transit and free or discounted admission to many attractions.
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