Visit Naples!

Naples is one of those Italian cities that is often overlooked by many tourists who set their sites Venice, Florence and Rome. However, Naples (Napoli in Italian) should not be overlooked. This beautiful city, while admittedly has its problems and controversies, is a beautiful city that sits off the coast of the Gulf of Naples. The archaeological sites of Pompei and Herculaneum are nearby as well as Caserta, Sorrento, along with Naples itself, home to some wonderful museums and amazing architecture.

And not to mention that pizza was invented in Naples!! Naples gets a bad rap with all its problems of organized crime and la Camorra and more recently with the trash disposal problems that have plagued Naples and the rest of Campania, which, arguably, have smirched its image. But the Campania region is just a beautiful and worthy of your time (and tourism dollars).

I hope that through my site, you will discover an appreciation, perhaps, even a love of this great region in Italy and will not pass it up on your next trip to Italy. To help that appreciation, I would suggest that you check out Samantha Brown's Passport to Europe travel series. Ms. Brown does a wonderful episode on Naples. While some criticize her for being too perky or spending too much time plugging the hotels where she stays, I find her approach to travel to be exhilarating. She takes chances - jumping into a situation, speaking the language as best she can, helping market sellers plug their wares!! She really makes travel fun which is what travel should be and shows you that it doesn't take any special skills to enjoy the cities that you visit. Her Naples episode shows you not only the 'tourist haunts' but also the back streets of Naples with its vibrant markets as well as quiet sanctuaries and churches.