What to do in Naples?

[ehogan]

I need a bit of advice re Naples. We will be stopping here in March and since we have done the Amalfi Coast, Sorrento and Pompeii, I'd like some opinions on the following:

 

Herculaneum

Walking tour of the city using the hop on/hop off bus

Archeological museum, particularily the Pompeii mosaics

 

I don't think Capri is an option in March (I am assuming this since the ship does not offer any shore excursions to Capri)

 

What do you think?

[zaandam_2]

i did exactly the same things in naples as you did. the next time i want to do both all three of the options you have listed. depending on how long you're in port, it should be possible.

[Kindlychap]

I don't think Capri is an option in March (I am assuming this since the ship does not offer any shore excursions to Capri)

 

What do you think?

 

I think it is highly unlikely that the ferries stop for winter. Real people live on Capri.

 

Matthew

[TudorSue]

DH and I were in Naples last November for a half-day. Since we'd already visited Pompeii and stayed on the Amalfi Coast in the past, we set our sights on the Archeological Museum. Visiting it was something of a shock in that the building itself is so run down!

 

The ancient Pompeii mosaics, bronzes and colossal statues brought here from the Roman Terme of Diocletian are all astounding. And the Secret Cabinet room of ancient erotic art has its "mysteries" too. If you go, be prepared with Euros to pay the admission, as the Museum does not take credit cards (but the museum gift shop does...go figure). We rented the audioguides, and found them informative.

[Paul S]

Ehogan,

 

I spent two weeks just outside Sorrento last September.

 

I visited both Pompeii and Herculaneum. The latter is better in some respects - less crowded with some frescoes still in place, smaller and enabling you to get a much better idea of what the place must have been like. It can be reached fairly easily via the Circumvesuviana Railway.

 

The Archeological Museum was outstanding, and I highly recommend it. We didn't find it shabby, but rather typical of a European museum in an old building.

 

What about a trip to Vesuvius?

 

We went to Capri but the weather was bad that day. The boat trip was horrendous, so be warned that the crossing could be very rough. We weren't particularly taken with the upper town, which we found to be very "Disneyfied" with little local character, and never made it to Tiberius's villa due to the bad weather and then running out of time. However, the views from the upper town were tremendous.

 

We also visited the Royal Palace at Caserta and thought that well worth doing, although it was about a half hour drive from Naples.

 

Hope the above helps.

 

Paul S

[edinburgher]

I woiuld second Herculaneum and Vesuvius. The bonus is that they are close together.

 

Herculaneum is in some ways better than Pompeii insofaras it is much much smaller and more built up, so its easier to imagine the town. Its also a lot less crowded and tiring.

 

If you SEARCH or SEARCH THIS FORUM with HERCULANEUM you should find info from all the previous posts on the bus which goes from close to the dock in Naples to the entrance to Herculaneum. If you prefer, walk to the train station and take the Circumvesuviana line to Ercolano. Exit and walk downhill to Herculaneum, or from outside the statioin take one of the taxis up to Vesuvius. You can share some larger taxis with any others. They drop you at top car park, give you time to walk up and down again then drop you at station. You pay when you return to the station. Its what these drivers do all day. They shuttle up and down. The views are AMAZING. Again, if you SEARCH or SEARCH THIS FORUM for Vesuvius, all previous posts and replies will pop up.

 

And you might still have time to visit the Archaeological Museum. Unfortunately its often the case rthat some rooms are closed. By the main entrance theres a board telling you which are open and which closed on that particular day.

[longislandfamily]

The archeological museum was well worth doing. They had an exhibit of every day items found at Pompeii, that was also interesting, in addition to the mosaics. They also have a collection of monumental statues that were originally in the Roman Baths of Caracalla. I wish we had asked for Audioguide, because there was very little signage in English. That was a surprise, because most of the museums we had visited earlier in the trip did have English signage, as well as French, Japanese, etc.