6 Days in Naples: The First-Timer Itinerary
6 Days in Naples: The First-Timer Itinerary
Six days is a full deep-dive into the city, no day trips required: Cappella Sansevero, MANN, Napoli Sotterranea, Vomero, and Capodimonte across the first five days, then a slower sixth day along the Mergellina coast with a hands-on pizza class. Prefer five days? See the 5 day route . Have a full week? The 7 day itinerary adds one more unhurried day.
Book these before you go:
- Cappella Sansevero timed entry , closed Tuesdays, its own calendar sells out first
- Napoli Sotterranea guided tour , departures roughly every 2 hours
- Hands-on Naples pizza-making class , book a couple of days ahead
- Naples hotels on Booking.com , 6-night Centro Storico stays book out early
| Day | Focus | Neighborhood |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cappella Sansevero, the Duomo, Spaccanapoli | Centro Storico |
| 2 | MANN, Castel Nuovo, the lungomare | Museum quarter and waterfront |
| 3 | Napoli Sotterranea, street food, Toledo | Quartieri Spagnoli |
| 4 | Castel Sant’Elmo, Certosa di San Martino | Vomero |
| 5 | Capodimonte, the catacombs | Sanità |
| 6 | Mergellina walk, pizza-making class | Mergellina and Chiaia |
Day 1: Cappella Sansevero and the Centro Storico
Book the first Cappella Sansevero slot you can: EUR12 adult, EUR8 reduced for 18 to 26, closed Tuesdays, confirmed on museosansevero.it . The Veiled Christ visit runs 20 to 30 minutes. Follow with the free Duomo nave and a walk through Spaccanapoli, part of the UNESCO-listed old town, with a detour to San Gregorio Armeno. Afternoon: Gesù Nuovo and Santa Chiara. Evening: the numbered-ticket queue at L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele.
Day 2: MANN, the castles, and the bay
A full morning at MANN: EUR20 full, EUR2 reduced for EU citizens 18 to 25, 9:00 to 19:30 with last entry 18:30, closed Tuesdays, per museoarcheologiconapoli.it . Lunch near Piazza Municipio (EUR15 to 25 per person), then Castel Nuovo, roughly EUR6, closed Sundays. Evening: Castel dell’Ovo and the Lungomare Caracciolo, dinner in Chiaia.
Day 3: Napoli Sotterranea and the Quartieri Spagnoli
Napoli Sotterranea, guided tours only, 90 minutes to 2 hours, roughly 40 meters down via about 136 steps, roughly EUR10 walk-up or EUR15 skip-the-line (verify current rate), booked via napolisotterranea.org . Afternoon in the Quartieri Spagnoli, safe by day, then Toledo and Municipio metro stations. Evening: pizza fritta from a stall.
Day 4: Vomero’s hilltop views
A funicular ride, roughly EUR1.10 to 1.30, up to Vomero. Castel Sant’Elmo and the Certosa di San Martino sit side by side, both worth the climb for the view over the bay. Afternoon: down toward Chiaia and Villa Comunale for a seafront evening.
Day 5: Capodimonte and the Sanità district
Morning at the Museo di Capodimonte, the former royal palace turned art museum, set in its own park above the city. Then Rione Sanità and the Catacombe di San Gennaro, an underground early-Christian burial site with centuries-old frescoes, visited by guided tour. Afternoon back in Centro Storico for anything day one rushed. Evening: dinner in Chiaia.
Day 6: Mergellina, Posillipo, and a pizza class
Morning walk along the Mergellina waterfront toward Posillipo, a quieter coastal stretch with views back across the bay to Vesuvius, a genuinely different pace from the density of the historic centre. Midday: a hands-on Neapolitan pizza-making class, a few hours learning the dough and the wood-fired oven from someone who does it daily, worth more than another sit-down meal at this point in the trip. If San Gennaro’s Treasure Chapel (EUR13 adult, EUR9.50 reduced, daily 9:30 to 18:00, last entry 17:00) is still on your list, this is the day to fold it in on the way back into the centro. Evening: whichever neighborhood you liked best gets the last dinner.
Is a pizza-making class worth it after six days of eating pizza?
Yes, it’s a different kind of experience than another meal, a couple of hours learning why Neapolitan dough behaves the way it does, in the city that invented it. Book it two or three days ahead rather than same-day, slots for the popular classes fill first.
Is Posillipo worth the walk from Mergellina?
Yes, for the view alone. It’s quieter and less visited than anywhere else on this itinerary, with a genuinely different sightline across the bay toward Vesuvius than the Castel dell’Ovo vantage point from day two.
Six days means you’ve earned a slower final stretch. Let day six be about the pizza class and the coastal walk, not another checklist item.