Day-by-day eating plans for Naples. weekend classics, family routes, vegan plans, on-a-budget editions.

Day-by-day plans

Naples pizza weekend: the essential two days ★ 4.7

First-time visitor, two days2 days

Two days built around the dish Naples invented, the historic pastry counters that have survived two centuries, and a waterfront espresso tradition that outsells everything else in the city.

  1. Day 1: Saturday: the classic pizza circuit and the Sanita

    Morning
    Start at Pasticceria Attanasio on Vico Ferrovia at 09:00 before the queues build. Eat a sfogliatella riccia standing on the pavement; it does not survive the journey back to the hotel. Walk to Caffe Mexico on Via Armando Diaz for a corretto espresso -- the sugar-rimmed cups are not optional, that is the preparation. Then walk north through the Centro Storico to Via dei Tribunali.
    Afternoon
    Lunch at L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele at 12:30. Queue outside; the margherita and marinara are the only two options. After lunch, walk twelve minutes north into the Sanita to Pasticceria Poppella on Via Arena della Sanita for a fiocco di neve at 1 euro 50. Then the original Concettina ai Tre Santi at Via Arena della Sanita 7 if you want to see where Ciro Oliva runs his tasting-menu operation.
    Evening
    Pre-dinner aperitivo at Barril on Via Giuseppe Fiorelli 11 from 19:00, one of the city's modern cocktail-and-wine bars in Chiaia. Then book dinner at Tandem Ragu on Via Paladino 51 at 20:00 for paccheri al ragu napoletano with bread for mopping.

  2. Day 2: Sunday: Sorbillo, the markets and the Mergellina waterfront

    Morning
    Walk to Mercato della Pignasecca at 09:30 for the morning fruit and vegetable stalls; the mozzarella counter at the far end sells buffalo mozzarella brought overnight from the Paestum farms. Buy one and eat it in the market. Then walk five minutes to Gino e Toto Sorbillo on Via dei Tribunali for a margherita at opening (12:00 on Sunday) before the queue becomes an hour.
    Afternoon
    After pizza, walk via Spaccanapoli to Scaturchio on Piazza San Domenico Maggiore for a baba au rhum and a coffee. Then take the metro to Mergellina and walk the waterfront as far as Chalet Ciro for a granita al limone watching the Vesuvius skyline.
    Evening
    Return to Chiaia for dinner. Salumeria Upnea on Via Annibale Caccavello 26 in Vomero does the best Campania salumi and natural-wine board in the city; book the back room for four-plus. Alternatively, evening pizza at Pizzeria Starita a Materdei (Via Materdei 27) which bakes until midnight on weekends.

Naples on a budget: eat like a local for under 20 euros a day ★ 4.5

Budget traveller, two days2 days

Neapolitan street food is one of Europe's best-value eating cultures; a full day of the city's canonical dishes costs under 15 euros if you eat standing at the source rather than sitting in a restaurant.

  1. Day 1: Day one: the street-food triangle (Centro Storico, Pignasecca, Spaccanapoli)

    Morning
    Breakfast at Pasticceria Attanasio on Vico Ferrovia (2 euros for a sfogliatella riccia, 1 euro 20 for espresso). Walk to Via dei Tribunali and buy a pizza al portafoglio (folded wallet pizza) at Pizzeria di Matteo for 1 euro 50 -- this is the working Neapolitan mid-morning snack. Stop at the Mercato della Pignasecca for the market experience; the taralli stand at the edge sells a bag of three taralli for 1 euro.
    Afternoon
    Lunch at Tandem Ragu on Via Paladino 51 at 12:30: paccheri al ragu at 6 euros with bread included. Budget the same as a tourist restaurant would charge for a first course alone. After lunch, walk to Leopoldo Taralli Counter on Via dei Tribunali for the city's best warm taralli bag (1 euro 50) and eat walking. Then walk down Spaccanapoli and stop at Pasticceria Poppella for a fiocco di neve at 1 euro 50.
    Evening
    Dinner at Trattoria Nennella on Vico Lungo Teatro Nuovo 103 in the Quartieri Spagnoli. The three-course menu changes daily and runs around 10 euros. Arrive by 19:30 without a reservation and expect to share a table.

  2. Day 2: Day two: the fried food circuit and a Vomero hill lunch

    Morning
    Coffee at Caffe Mexico on Via Armando Diaz (espresso 1 euro, the cheapest serious coffee in the city). Walk to Via Toledo and buy a cuoppo di mare from the Pignasecca friggitorie (4 to 5 euros). The cuoppo is a paper cone of mixed fried seafood eaten standing on the street. Add a pizza fritta from Sorbillo Lievito Madre on Via dei Tribunali (2 euros 50) as the second course.
    Afternoon
    Lunch near the Vomero: take the funicular from Piazza Augusteo and walk to Osteria Donna Teresa on Via Michele Kerbaker 58. The three-course verbally dictated lunch runs 12 euros. No sign, no printed menu, arrive by 13:00. After lunch walk back down the hill via the Castel Sant'Elmo belvedere (free to walk around outside).
    Evening
    Final dinner at Passione Napoletana on Via Chiaia for a cuoppo of fried vegetables and seafood (under 6 euros) eaten standing. Then walk to Barril on Viale Anton Dohrn in Mergellina for a Campanian craft beer (5 to 7 euros) to finish.

Naples for the serious eater: three days of the city's best tables ★ 4.6

Food-focused traveller, three days3 days

Three days covering the historic pizzerias, the Michelin-adjacent trattorias, the wine bars and the pastry counters that define the Neapolitan canon -- with one cookery class to take the method home.

  1. Day 1: Day one: the pizza foundations and fine-dining evening

    Morning
    Book the AVPN Pizzaiolo for a Day class at Via Capodimonte 19a for 09:00. Three hours learning dough preparation, hand-stretching and wood-fired oven baking at the official UNESCO pizza school. The class fee includes pizza for lunch.
    Afternoon
    After the class, walk down to the Centro Storico. Stop at Pasticceria Attanasio on Vico Ferrovia for a sfogliatella riccia (best in the city at 2 euros). Spend the afternoon walking the Decumani -- Via dei Tribunali, Via San Biagio dei Librai -- shopping the pastry counters and the Spaccanapoli markets. Coffee at Gran Caffe Gambrinus on Piazza del Plebiscito before 18:00.
    Evening
    Dinner reservation at Palazzo Petrucci on Piazza San Domenico Maggiore 4 at 20:00. The tasting menu of Campanian fine dining with local wine pairings. Book two weeks ahead.

  2. Day 2: Day two: seafood, the Chiaia wine circuit and a Sanita detour

    Morning
    Start at Mercato del Pesce di Porta Nolana at 08:30. The city's main fish market operates Tuesday to Sunday morning; the mozzarella and anchovy vendors set up alongside the fish stalls. Buy and eat at the counter. Then walk to Caffe Mexico for espresso before the tourist rush.
    Afternoon
    Lunch at Mimi alla Ferrovia on Via Alfonso d'Aragona 19 at 13:00. The traditional Neapolitan seafood trattoria founded in 1945; book ahead. Spaghetti alle vongole and whatever grilled fish arrived from the market that morning. After lunch, make the detour to the Sanita: walk forty minutes north through the historic centre to Concettina ai Tre Santi on Via Arena della Sanita 7 for a late-afternoon tasting-menu espresso or to book a future table.
    Evening
    Aperitivo at La Stanza del Gusto on Via Costantinopoli 100 from 19:00: the Campania natural wine flight (four pours, 22 euros). Then move on to dinner at Osteria da Carmela on Via Conte di Ruvo 12 at 20:30. Book two days ahead by phone.

  3. Day 3: Day three: Paestum day trip for buffalo mozzarella, Chiaia finish

    Morning
    Trenitalia direct train from Napoli Centrale to Paestum station (90 minutes, around 10 euros each way). Arrive by 10:00 at Tenuta Vannulo farm: the mozzarella sells out by noon. Eat it on the premises with bread from the farm shop. The farm also runs a buffalo-yogurt bar and gelato counter on site.
    Afternoon
    Return train to Naples by 14:30. Short stop at Scaturchio on Piazza San Domenico Maggiore for a pastiera napoletana and a coffee. Then walk to Chiaia and browse Via Chiaia and Via dei Mille before the evening.
    Evening
    Pre-dinner Campanian wine at Salumeria Upnea on Via Annibale Caccavello 26 in Vomero: the salumi and caciocavallo board with a Falanghina. Book the back room. Final dinner reservation at 50 Kalo di Ciro Salvo on Piazza Sannazaro 201/B at 20:30: one of the city's top contemporary pizza destinations, with a tasting menu of six small pizzas.

Itineraries in Naples, FAQ

When is the best time to eat in Naples?

Peak food season in Naples is year-round.

What time do people eat in Naples?

Local dining hours: lunch around 12:30, dinner from 19:30.

How does tipping work in Naples?

service is typically included; small extra is welcome but not expected.

What is the one dish to try in Naples?

Ask the next local you meet what they would order. Naples rewards trust.

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