7 reasons why Naples is Italy's new trend city

From our editorial team

Naples is loud and wild. A city that has never been smooth - and that is precisely why everyone is suddenly fascinated by it. What used to be chaos is now character.

More than 20 million visitors are expected in 2025 - an increase of more than 15 per cent! In addition to new cruise ships that will Naples and new flight connections arriving here, the special energy of this city is attracting more and more people. Nothing in Naples runs smoothly. Conversations, traffic, smells, voices - everything happens at the same time. This energy can be overwhelming, but it is precisely what attracts people. 7 reasons why Naples is worth a visit.

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1. an old town that lives

The Centro Storico is the heart of Naples. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995, it is far from a museum. Traders loudly advertise their wares, scooters jostle through narrow alleyways, baroque churches stand wall to wall with workshops. History and the present are the same thing here. In contrast to cities like Venice, (most) flats in the historic centre are still inhabited by locals.

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2. food as a way of life

Naples is considered the unofficial culinary centre of Italy. Pizza originated here - and became a global success. But the spectrum is much broader: in Naples, virtually everyone is happy in culinary terms - especially fans of fish and other seafood specialities. Street food was already a tradition here when it became a trend in other cities - from pizza fritta, deep-fried pizza, to „cuoppo di mare“, a mix of deep-fried seafood such as squid, prawns, anchovies and courgettes. For those with a sweet tooth, there are delicacies such as sweet sfogliatelle (very crispy little puff pastry croissants, often filled) or babà (yeast cakes soaked in rum), tartlets in all varieties.

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3. underground history

Beneath the city lies an extensive network of tunnels, cisterns and air raid shelters. The Napoli Sotterranea shows the layers of the city's history - from Roman aqueducts to traces of the Second World War. Those who descend here see Naples anew from below. There are tours with different levels of difficulty: There are also tours where you can only get through the canals on all fours.

Castel dell'Ovo by the sea and Castel Sant'Elmo above the city are among the most striking sites in Naples. From their walls you can look back on centuries of trade and power - and a city that never stands still.

The National Archaeological Museum is one of the most important in Europe, but art is everywhere. In the Metro dell'Arte, underground stations are designed as galleries, house walls become canvases. Art is part of the cityscape, not its decoration.

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4. football in its purest form

In Naples, football is not a leisure activity, but emotion in its purest form. SSC Napoli is part of the city's identity, a team that is loved, revered and sometimes worshipped. Since the titles with Diego Maradona in 1987 and 1990 and the most recent championships in 2022/23 and 2024/25, the club has been both a legend and a source of pride. Anyone walking through the Quartieri Spagnoli will see what „emozioni grandi“ really means: Maradona altars on every corner, murals, candles, jerseys, declarations of love in sky blue on every house. Even lampposts bear the club's colours. Naples doesn't live football on the side - here it is breathed, prayed to and celebrated. And that attracts football fans from all over the world.

5. the spectacular nature

The volcano is always present - geologically active, closely monitored, symbol and threat at the same time. The last eruption was in 1944. The view from the crater extends over the city and the Gulf, a perspective that explains how closely beauty and risk are linked here. Pompeii and Herculaneum are only half an hour away. Their excavations show life in antiquity in rare detail: frescoes, graffiti, bread in the oven. History that remains visible.

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6. music as a language

Naples is a city that sounds. Street musicians, classical canzoni, rap in dialect - all side by side. From Pino Daniele to Liberato, music here remains the expression of a city that is constantly reinventing itself - and does so with passion. One of Italy's most famous songs was also written by a Neapolitan: When Eduardo di Capua was travelling through the Ukraine with a state orchestra in 1898 and discovered the sun after a cold night, he composed „O sole mio“ full of longing.

7. exceptional traffic

Naples is not a city for the faint-hearted. The traffic is a spectacle in itself, traffic lights are often ignored and anyone travelling on foot needs a good dose of self-confidence. But there is a method to the chaos - and those who get involved will soon realise: Naples lives by its own rules, so if ten scooters come towards you on a one-way street, there's no need to panic: They will all pass you in the nick of time.

In the past, Naples was mainly used as a starting point for excursions to Capri, Ischia and Amalfi, but it has long since become a destination in its own right.

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