Day #263 - Naples, Italy

Great sites from Naples Port

Naples Shipping Port

Impressive shopping center

Archeological Museum

Nativity sets

Thursday, December 2nd

Today we took an 8:22am train south to Naples, Italy - arriving at 10:45am. This was an 'adder city' for Kay & I - as we had effectively seen the major sites in Rome -- so we decided to integrate another area in the mix before her departure on Friday.

Well, the positives of the day: 1) The weather was great and 2) I got my bag back after leaving it at an information booth and walking away for 10 minutes.

On the flip side, Naples has some things to consider before booking a trip. Naples is a very dirty city - trashbags, debris, papers, graffiti. It is also very crowded and chaotic. I was surprised to see that it ranks as the 3rd most populated city in Italy (Rome #1, Milan #2). It's also considered dangerous - many lists rank Naples as the most dangerous city in Italy.

Research ------
I just looked up the 'most dangerous' city list in Europe per the website: the-top-tens.com. The list includes: 1) Moscow, Russia 2) Tirana, Albania 3) Bucharest, Romania 4) Nottingham, UK 5) Belgrade, Serbia 6) Sofia, Romania 7) Sarajevo, Bosnia 8) Madrid, Spain 9) Lisbon, Portuagal 10) Chisineu, Moldova. This is the first time I've done any research on this subject - other than word of mouth. Wow - my days spent between Israel and Italy mean alot more to me right now. When I decided to head to the water -- maybe that was a good idea.

Throughout my trip in Europe, I've talked with many people about Italy. I've been told to be careful in Naples. I generally store this information and then draw my own conclusions. After today, I didn't necessarily feel that it was 'dangerous' - but I didn't get a warm, fuzzy feeling either. After Kay's departure, I plan to spend a couple days below Naples along some of the coastal islands: Pompeii, Sorrento, etc. I've been told that these areas are real highlights.

Kay and I walked the streets for a few hours. We ventured up to the Archeological Museum. Impressive place. We didn't pay to get in - but looked through some literature in the shop area. We also walked some really neat streets. Naples is known for it's 'Nativity Street' - where you can buy all kinds of nativity figures. Interesting.

We then walked down to the waterfront. Best views of the day - by far. Naples has a huge shipping port. We saw 2 cruise ships. We also visited a castle that sits near the ocean. We then took a long stroll back through the city and made our way to a highly recommended pizza place. Naples is often said to have the best pizza in Italy. It was good -- but not 'Chicago-good'.

We left the city with mixed emotions around 4:30pm. We returned to Rome at 7:30pm. We're currently enjoying some hot tea as Kay spends her last night in Italy. All-good here.