Insight Guides - Insight Guides: Explore Naples and the Amalfi Coast

How To Use This E-Book

This Explore Guide has been produced by the editors of Insight Guides, whose books have set the standard for visual travel guides since 1970. With top-quality photography and authoritative recommendations, these guidebooks bring you the very best routes and itineraries in the worlds most exciting destinations.

Best Routes

The routes in this book provide something to suit all budgets, tastes and trip lengths. As well as covering the destinations many classic attractions, the itineraries track lesser-known sights, and there are also excursions for those who want to extend their visit outside the city. The routes embrace a range of interests, so whether you are an art fan, a gourmet, a history buff or have kids to entertain, you will find an option to suit.

We recommend reading the whole of a route before setting out. This should help you to familiarise yourself with it and enable you to plan where to stop for refreshments options are shown in the Food and Drink box at the end of each tour.

Introduction

The routes are set in context by this introductory section, giving an overview of the destination to set the scene, plus background information on food and drink, shopping and more, while a succinct history timeline highlights the key events over the centuries.

Directory

Also supporting the routes is a Directory chapter, with a clearly organised AZ of practical information, our pick of where to stay while you are there and select restaurant listings; these eateries complement the more low-key cafs and restaurants that feature within the routes and are intended to offer a wider choice for evening dining. Also included here are some nightlife listings, plus a handy language guide and our recommendations for books and films about the destination.

Getting around the e-book

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights mentioned in the text are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

Youll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of the destination. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

2017 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Recommended Routes For...

Ancient Wonders

takes in sights from a Roman amphitheatre to the mysterious cave of the Cumaean sibyl.

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Art Buffs

Naples central churches , one of Italys finest art museums.

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Escaping the Crowds

Despite its astonishing sights, the Campi Flegrei area is a sleepy refuge from the bays busier sights.

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Families

In Naples, the kid-friendly combination of castle, park and aquarium make make these a good bet for families.

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Foodies

For genuine Neapolitan pizza, the rowdy centro storico has a clutch of gourmet restaurants.

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Back to Nature

The Sorrentine Peninsula .

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Seaside Fun

Positanos beaches ) boast lovely beaches and crystal-clear water.

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Street Life

For a dose of the street life that defines the city, a stroll through Naples centro storico are also always bustling, too, if more genteel.

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Explore Naples

Disorderly, rowdy, exhilarating the capital of the Italian South is like nowhere else. The Bay of Naples holds its own charms, from dazzling islands to slumbering volcanoes, world-class archaeological sites and the sinuous Amalfi Coast.

A patriotic young cyclist

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Naples lives by its own rules. Utterly lacking in tourist-ready gloss, the city demands that visitors give in to the flow of local life; the noise and chaos may be somewhat alarming at first, but a wander through the centro storico will very soon win you over.

All of human life is played out here: boys dodge the traffic to play street football; old men cluster on street corners and argue about politics; mopeds bearing entire families buzz down the narrow streets, klaxons blaring; workers cram into tiny bars, putting the world to rights in their coffee break.

And those clichs of a bygone, earthier Italy that have all but disappeared elsewhere glittering shrines, lines of washing and raucous local markets are everywhere you look in Naples.

It is the third-largest city in Italy after Rome and Milan, with around 978,000 inhabitants. When its crowded and ever-expanding suburbs are included, however, the figure is around 4.5 times bigger than this.

At the heart of it all, and visible for miles around, stands Vesuvius, a potent symbol of the beauty and cruelty of nature and a huge influence on the Neapolitan character.

Beyond Naples suburbs, nature takes over. Seek refuge from the clamorous city along the Amalfi Coast, in the rugged Sorrentine Peninsula and on the islands. Theres something for everyone here, whether youre looking for a family break, a romantic getaway or a few days of solo pampering.