Naples

Pizza was invented here, and Naples still makes the best on earth — a blistered, chewy, wood-fired disc of the simplest ingredients (a Margherita, or a Marinara with no cheese at all), for a few euros at a legendary pizzeria. Join the queue at a classic like Da Michele or Sorbillo; a genuine, cheap, transcendent bucket-list meal.

The arrow-straight ancient street that 'splits Naples' in two, plunging through the heart of the old town — a canyon of tottering palazzi, Baroque churches, shrines, market stalls and pizzerias, roaring with life. The essence of the city; just wander it and the tangle of lanes around it, and let the chaos and beauty wash over you.

One of the world's greatest collections of antiquities — the finest treasures from Pompeii and Herculaneum (mosaics, frescoes, the famous 'Secret Cabinet' of erotic art), and colossal Roman sculptures like the Farnese Hercules. Essential context for the ruins; visit it before Pompeii, and the buried cities come alive.

A small Baroque chapel hiding one of the most astonishing sculptures ever made — the 'Veiled Christ', carved from a single block of marble so that a diaphanous shroud seems to lie over the body, impossibly lifelike. Jaw-dropping, and surrounded by other marble marvels and macabre 'anatomical machines'; book ahead, it's tiny.

The oldest castle in Naples, a great stone fortress on a tiny islet jutting into the bay, joined to the seafront Lungomare promenade — free to climb for a sweeping view over the bay to Vesuvius and Capri. Stroll the waterfront at sunset, past the little marina of Borgo Marinari's seafood restaurants; the loveliest walk in the city.

Beneath the chaotic streets lies a hidden Naples — a labyrinth of ancient Greek and Roman aqueducts, cisterns and tunnels (used as air-raid shelters in the war), reached down 40 metres by candlelight. Atmospheric and fascinating; a guided tour through the eerie, echoing city under the city is one of Naples's most memorable experiences.

A star-shaped fortress crowning the Vomero hill, reached by funicular — its ramparts give the single finest panorama in Naples, the whole city, bay, Vesuvius and Capri spread out below. Go for sunset; the neighbouring Certosa di San Martino monastery has beautiful cloisters and a nativity collection. The best view in the city, bar none.

Dive into the Quartieri Spagnoli, the tight grid of alleys that is Naples at its most intense and authentic — and the shrine to the city's god, the giant mural of Diego Maradona, forever loved for bringing Napoli its glory. Wander the vertiginous, laundry-strung lanes, pay homage at the mural, and eat street food where the locals do.

The city's grandest square, a vast colonnaded space between the Royal Palace and a domed church, opening to the bay — and nearby the soaring glass-and-iron Galleria Umberto I, a 19th-century shopping arcade, and the historic Teatro San Carlo opera house. The monumental, elegant face of Naples; combine it with a coffee at the storied Gambrinus café.

The famous 'Christmas Alley' — a narrow old-town lane crammed year-round with workshops making the elaborate Neapolitan nativity figures (presepi), from shepherds and angels to satirical caricatures of footballers and politicians. Wonderfully atmospheric and unique to Naples; wander the stalls and watch the artisans at work.

Naples Cathedral, home to the fervently venerated San Gennaro, the city's patron — a chapel of dazzling Baroque treasures holds a vial of his blood, which the faithful gather to watch miraculously liquefy three times a year. A grand, gilded church at the heart of Neapolitan devotion; step in for the art and the atmosphere of faith.

Beyond pizza, Naples is a city of sweet and caffeinated pleasures — the sfogliatella (a crisp, shell-shaped pastry oozing sweet ricotta), the rum-soaked babà, and a tiny, intense espresso, taken standing at the bar. Do a pastry crawl of the old town, and drink your coffee the Neapolitan way; small, strong and often already sugared.

The mighty medieval fortress by the port, its dark round towers framing a dazzling white Renaissance triumphal arch — a striking landmark you can climb for city and bay views, with a civic museum inside. A quick, impressive stop between the centre and the waterfront; the arch alone is worth pausing for.

Escape west along the bay to the fishing harbour of Mergellina and the leafy heights of Posillipo — a seafront of gelaterias and seafood, and, up the hill, viewpoints and the Virgiliano park with the classic postcard panorama of the whole bay, Vesuvius and the islands. The city's loveliest sunset; go for a gelato and the view.

Naples goes out late and loud — the bars of the Quartieri Spagnoli and the old town's piazzas (Bellini, San Domenico Maggiore) fill with a young crowd spilling into the streets over cheap spritzes and beers, with live music and street food. Raw, cheap and full of life; join the throng in a piazza and drink like a Neapolitan.