Why go?
Dirty, flirty, noisy and possibly a little dangerous – but with a raffish gorgeousness all of its own – if you’re looking for a bit of citybreak rough, Napoli could be your next ‘crush’.
The perfect weekend
This city begins in Spaccanapoli, the old town filled with Baroque spires and Medieval shrines. Here you’ll also find citizens gossiping across the alleyways through fourth-floor windows, and be nearly run over by beautiful youths, too busy fiddling with their phones to steer their scooters round you, but who smile dazzlingly by way of apology. Just north is the Museo Archeologico Nazionale (www.marcheo.napolibeniculturali.it; £6), stuffed full of treasures from Pompeii, with highlights including movie-star-handsome Roman busts. You’ll want to get up the hill to Vomero at some point for breath-quickening views over the city, its bay and brooding Vesuvius – as well as one of the city’s best ice creams. Back down the hill, Quartieri Spagnuoli is the city at its most life-affirmingly ‘real’. Eat at Trattoria Nennella (Vico Lungo Teatro Nuovo; 00 39 081 414338; mains around £17), where you’ll hear nothing but Neapolitan Italian spoken (or shouted) by anyone. Come evening, dine at Brandi (Salita Sant’Anna di Palazzo; 00 39 081 416928; mains around £13), where they claim to have invented Napoli’s native pizza, the Margherita; then on to the opera at San Carlo (www.teatrosancarlo.it) – said to rival (or beat) Milan’s La Scala. If your musical tastes are earthier, try the bars down beyond the Piazza del Plebiscito at the water’s edge. Those Neapolitans really know how to give it some at karaoke.
Where to stay
The Renaissance Naples Hotel Mediterraneo (00 39 081 797 0001, www.mediterraneonapoli.com; doubles from £115, B&B) has a lovely sunny terrace for breakfast. The Soggiorno San Severo (00 39 081 790 1000, www.albergosansevero.it; doubles from £58, B&B) is in a historic building just off Spaccanapoli.
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Thomsonfly (0871 231 4691, www.thomsonfly.co.uk) flies from Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, Glasgow, Gatwick, Manchester and Newcastle from £120 return. Citalia (0871 200 2004, www.citalia.com) has three nights’ B&B from £349pp, with flights from 13 UK airports.