Naples Walks: Flat, Hilly and Steep
Naples walks come in three grades. The old centre and the waterfront are flat, the Vomero and Posillipo slopes are hilly, and a few outings beyond the city are properly steep. Match the grade to your legs and the weather, and wear shoes with grip, because the cobbles are uneven.
Flat: the old centre and the seafront
Spaccanapoli and the decumani. The straight Greco-Roman lines of Spaccanapoli and the Via dei Tribunali run through the UNESCO-listed centre, passing Piazza del Gesu and Piazza San Domenico Maggiore. It is free, and street food costs little: a folded pizza is EUR2 to EUR3.50 and a fried pizza EUR3.50 to EUR5.50.
San Gregorio Armeno. This short lane off the Tribunali is a row of workshops making nativity figures, open all year.
Quartieri Spagnoli. The grid of laundry-strung alleys off Via Toledo is flat and compact. At Largo Maradona stands the large mural of Diego Maradona. Keep valuables zipped away in these narrow streets.
The waterfront. Piazza del Plebiscito and the Galleria Umberto I connect to the Lungomare Caracciolo, then to the causeway at Borgo Marinari beneath Castel dell’Ovo. All of it is free and flat; check interior hours of the castle on the day.
For a break in the middle, Toledo metro station has Robert Wilson’s blue mosaic ceiling for the price of a EUR1.50 metro fare.
Hilly: Vomero and Posillipo
Take the Montesanto funicular to Vomero rather than climbing, then walk downhill. The Certosa di San Martino and Castel Sant’Elmo offer views over the bay. Posillipo adds another slope: the road down to the fishing hamlet of Marechiaro leads past cliffside villas, and Parco Virgiliano above is a free viewpoint. Allow a few hours for each, and carry water.
Steep: Path of the Gods and the Vesuvius trail
The Sentiero degli Dei on the Amalfi Coast is a high clifftop trek above Positano with big drops to the sea. It is exposed, so skip it in wet weather or if heights bother you. Reach it by SITA bus to Bomerano or Agerola, or start from Positano, and check SITA Sud for times.
The Vesuvius Gran Cono trail is loose volcanic cinder with fumaroles and a 1,281-metre rim. Tickets are EUR10 (EUR8 under 25), sold online only for a timed, named slot. Hours vary by month, and the trail closes with automatic refunds in an orange weather alert. See the Vesuvius park site .
Walking with a guide
Guides add the context that signs do not. Underground, Napoli Sotterranea runs hourly tours from 10:00 to 18:00 from Piazza San Gaetano 69, with a 136-step descent; see napolisotterranea.org . Above ground, guided walking tours on GetYourGuide cover the old centre.
Rules of the road
Churches such as the Duomo, Santa Chiara and Gesu Nuovo require covered shoulders and knees. Pickpockets work Piazza Garibaldi, so carry your bag in front. A single ride is EUR1.30 on a funicular and EUR1.50 on the metro, and a 90-minute integrated ticket covering both is about EUR1.80 (fares changed on 1 October 2026, so check unicocampania.it ).
For ideas on what to see on each route, read the page on sightseeing in Naples . Tip: do the flat old-centre walk in the morning, then ride the funicular up for a downhill finish at sunset.