In the heart of the old town

We’re on Via Pasquale Scura, the lane that connects Via Toledo to the Pignasecca market. In practice: step out of the front door and you have the Spanish Quarter to your left, the ancient centre straight ahead and the sea a twenty-minute walk away.

This isn’t a “convenient base for reaching the centre”. It is the centre. In the morning you’ll wake up to the sound of the market; in the evening you’ll go downstairs and find everything still open.

Below you’ll find everything you can reach on foot, with realistic walking times.

🚶 Five minutes from the door

The Pignasecca market — 2 minutes The oldest market in Naples. Fish, fruit, mozzarella, fried street food. The best possible way to start the day like a local.

Via Toledo — 1 minute One of Italy’s most famous shopping streets, busy from morning until late at night.

The Spanish Quarter and the Maradona mural — 5 minutes The maze of lanes climbing towards the hill, with washing hung between the buildings, votive shrines and the celebrated mural in Largo Maradona.

The art metro — 4 minutes Toledo station, repeatedly voted the most beautiful in Europe for its deep blue mosaic. Worth seeing even if you’re not catching a train.

🏛️ Ten minutes from the door

Spaccanapoli — 9 minutes The straight, narrow street that slices the old town in two and gives this house its name. Workshops, churches, palaces and street life.

Santa Chiara and the Gesù Nuovo — 8 minutes The diamond-point façade of the Gesù Nuovo and the beautiful majolica cloister of Santa Chiara, one of the calmest corners in the city.

Piazza del Plebiscito and the Royal Palace — 10 minutes The city’s grand ceremonial square, with the Basilica of San Francesco di Paola and the Bourbon royal residence.

Teatro San Carlo and Galleria Umberto I — 9 minutes The oldest opera house in Europe still in use, and the 19th-century arcade with its iron and glass dome.

National Archaeological Museum — 10 minutes The mosaics and frescoes from Pompeii, the Farnese Collection, the Secret Cabinet. One of the most important archaeological collections in the world.

⛪ A quarter of an hour from the door

The Veiled Christ — 12 minutes Giuseppe Sanmartino’s masterpiece, in the Sansevero Chapel. We’d suggest booking your ticket online a few days ahead — it sells out often.

San Gregorio Armeno — 13 minutes The street of the nativity scene makers, with workshops open all year round, even in August.

Via dei Tribunali and Underground Naples — 13 minutes The main street of the Greek and Roman city, home to the historic pizzerias, and the entrance to the city that lies forty metres beneath your feet.

The Cathedral and the Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro — 16 minutes The cathedral and the site of the miracle of the liquefaction of the patron saint’s blood.

Castel Nuovo — 12 minutes The castle overlooking the port, with its Renaissance triumphal arch.

🌊 A little further out

Vomero, the Certosa di San Martino and Castel Sant’Elmo — 20 minutes in total The finest view over Naples, with the bay and Vesuvius in front of you. The funicular leaves from Montesanto, three minutes from the house.

The seafront and Castel dell’Ovo — 25 minutes on foot, 10 by bus The promenade along the water to the old fishermen’s borgo. Best at sunset.

Capodimonte Museum and Royal Park — 25 minutes by bus The Bourbon palace with works by Caravaggio, Titian and Masaccio, set in 130 hectares of parkland.

Rione Sanità and the Catacombs of San Gennaro — 15 minutes by bus One of the most authentic neighbourhoods in the city, and its remarkable early Christian catacombs.

🚆 Day trips

From here you can reach some of the most beautiful places in Italy in half a day.

• Pompeii and Herculaneum — around 40 minutes by train
• Vesuvius — around an hour and a half, by train and shuttle bus
• Capri, Ischia and Procida — 40 to 60 minutes by hydrofoil from Molo Beverello
• Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast — one hour to an hour and a half
• The Royal Palace of Caserta — around 45 minutes by train

If you’d like a hand planning any of these, just ask — we know which departure times to avoid and where it’s best to set off from.

🚇 Getting around

Our first piece of advice: leave the car behind and walk. Most of the old town is pedestrian or restricted traffic, and everything listed above is walkable anyway.

For everything else:

• Metro Line 1 — Toledo station, 4 minutes on foot
• Metro Line 2, Cumana and Circumflegrea — Montesanto station, 3 minutes on foot
• Funicular to Vomero — Montesanto, 3 minutes on foot
• Napoli Centrale station — around 10 minutes by metro
• Capodichino airport — 25 minutes on the Alibus shuttle (stop on Via Toledo), 20 minutes by taxi
• Port and Molo Beverello — 18 minutes on foot, 10 by bus

Need a recommendation?

We know this city lane by lane. Write to us before you arrive and we’ll tell you where to find the best sfogliatella, which pizzeria to avoid on a Sunday evening and what time to head up to Vomero.