Living for the day

Go to the Via Toledo. This is the main shopping street, often pedestrianised, with eighteenth century palaces alternating with the boutiques of all the leading Italian designer fashion houses. Running steeply off up the hill behind it are the notorious back streets of Naples; home of the Camorra, too narrow for two cars to pass, and lined with high tenement blocks, their balconies streaming with the blue and white colours of Napoli football club. I know of nowhere else where the contrasts of modern city life are marked so sharply.

Quick Tips:

Qui Napoli (free monthly guide in Italian and English, available in public places) is indispensable, and a lot more knowledgeable than the various tourist offices, who are friendly, but rather vague (or wrong) on details.
Always check the price of everything before buying. Even in the most obscure street markets or shops you may get charged 2-3 times the going rate, even for something as mundane as a kilo of oranges or a loaf of bread, when it’s too late to argue. The Neapolitan urge to make a quick buck seems as strong as their love of jay-walking. If you ask first, there are no problems.

Best Way To Get Around:

It’s too big (and hilly) to walk everywhere. Driving yourself? Forget it. Everything you’ve ever heard is true, and then some.
Public transport is a nightmare. No maps, no timetables, no location indication at bus stops (although they are easy to spot). Some of the newer stops have maps, which are stylised and rather selective. Some have electronic indicators, but these are also selective. I saw 7 unannounced buses arrive at one stop, before the first indicated bus. But they do reassure you which numbers use that stop. Having said which, I managed to get around reasonably efficiently, changing bus whenever it started going in the wrong direction. 77c for a single journey, 2.32 euro for a 24-hour ticket, which includes local trains, subway, and funiculars, as well as buses. There are two buses which serve the airport; 3S and Alibus. Alibus is a luxury coach which costs 3 euro a trip. 3S is a municipal bus, which follows the same route but charges local fares. Neither is listed on any map or bus stop, so remember where you were dropped off, or watch where they stop as you’re walking around. Probably run at least twice an hour.

Not particularly friendly reception, in an oldish building two blocks from the central railway station. Everything seemed a little rickety, and some rooms were being noisily refurbished. Unusually for cheap station hotels everywhere, it’s on the lower floors of the building (although there is no lift).

My room was large, white-painted, with plastic cladding along the lower part of the wall, the kind you find used for cheap showers or edging flower-beds, and turquoise tiles on the floor. Big double bed, with soft lumpy mattress.

The room was on the second floor, with a small balcony overlooking the main street, the better to observe the Neapolitan passion for noisy driving. There was a hand basin and bidet (the bidet was good–-powerful, efficient and directional) but there wasn’t much else in the room, working or otherwise, and only one of the lights worked, the low power one, high in the centre of the room. There was a shower room down the hall, but as it was only open between 8.00am and 5.00pm, it wasn’t much use to me. Adequately clean, if you didn’t look too far under the bed.

This was the cheapest room I could find in Naples, and it was overpriced at 35 euro for single occupancy (excluding breakfast). There was a large gloomy breakfast room on the first floor, but I never saw anyone using it (apart from a maid changing her dress – profuse apologies for the disturbance on both sides). In fact I never saw any other guests at all.

Despite the lack of demand, no one anywhere seemed flexible on pricing. I tried 2-3 places near the station, and 3 others in the old town and near the sea front. Which makes Naples the most expensive European city I’ve visited (outside Scandinavia), greatly to my surprise. The Speranza would be ok for an overnight, but the Nettuno is a much better bet for a longer stay, although 5 euro a day more expensive.

I had more or less given up hope of finding any suitable accommodation in Naples when I tried the Nettuno. It’s very central, just off Piazza Bovio, on the edge of the old town, close to the University, but within a block of the main bus routes. The building is an old courtyard block, I have no idea how old, and the hotel is on the top floors (there’s a good lift), with a reassuringly firmly-locked wrought-iron grill at ground level to discourage unwanted strangers. (Ring the bell, say you want a room, and they’ll let you in to discuss it.)

Arriving at the fourth floor, the space is tastefully modernised–-white walls, terracotta tiles, hanging plants in majolica containers, and old wooden blanket chests. My room on the fifth floor was small but adequate, with a firm single bed, chairs, table, wardrobe, Italian-only TV, and brand-new fully-fitted bathroom en suite.

There isn’t much to say about it, because I didn’t have any problems. There were big soft fresh towels every day, everything worked well, nothing was inconvenient. The rooms on this floor all seemed to be grouped together in twos or threes, behind large old carved outer doors opening onto the terrace overlooking the stairwell. Presumably they had originally been tiny individual apartments, but it would be very suitable for a large family or friends travelling together. All in all, very quiet, cool, and relaxing-–sounds from the street were unobtrusive, although internal noise could be disturbing. I think this hotel is owned by a young family, who are upgrading it–-I never saw anyone over about 35, and at quiet times during the day the reception was manned by a young mother with assorted children.

There are no public rooms, so a light breakfast is served pre-packed, airline-style, on a tray in your room. 40 euro a night, including breakfast.

I had high hopes of this hotel, which was recommended in a couple of guidebooks. It is situated in a 17th century palace overlooking the bay at the nicer end of town and was described as one of the few acceptable cheap hotels in the city.

The hotel reception is on the 5th floor. The room I was offered was small, dark, and gloomy, at the back of the building next to the liftshaft and main door, with no natural light and inadequate artificial lighting. The en suite bathroom was equally depressing–-cramped and shabby. At 50 euro a night (including breakfast) it didn’t seem attractive, and I suspect I would have been paying for someone else’s sea view at the front. The decider was having to pay 10 cents every time to use the lift–-there’s a slot machine inside the cage, and it won’t move until you’ve fed it. Yes, of course I can afford the odd 10 cents, but at 50 euro a night I shouldn’t have to pay extra just to reach my room. The Nettuno was much better value.

Outdoor antique market held twice a month on Saturday and Sunday mornings. There doesn’t seem to be any regular pattern as to which two weekends (this is Naples), so check first with the tourist office, website, or Qui Napoli (which is the most likely to be accurate).

The market is spread out along both sides of the Viale Dohrn, closed to traffic for the occasion, which runs through the Chiara park by the seaside, just west of Castel d’Ovo. It’s an ideal location; lots of space for parking, hard standing (although no cover), accessible, close to public transport, and room for several hundred stalls. It was described in my guidebook as gigantic, but on the Saturday I visited there was only a handful of stalls, all furniture dealers. There was more action on the Sunday, about 60 stalls, but it still felt very slow. Many dealers were still stalling out at 8.30am; there were big gaps between the stalls, and hardly any customers. It had rained during the night, which might have discouraged some, but what dealer is discouraged from visiting a good market by a little rain?

This would be a good place to get unusual Neapolitan souvenirs. There was lots of majolica, Sorrento ware (wood inlay), presepi figures (from the famous Neapolitan nativity scenes), and masses of pictures, from garish views of Vesuvius and sunny beaches to Victorian genre paintings and allegories. There was also religious art of all kinds; big boxes full of ex votos, reliquaries, rosaries, candlesticks, and sentimental saints. The furniture was mainly of the heavily varnished kind, but there was also some unpolished rural and agricultural stuff, and also some ship equipment, heavily varnished and of doubtful age.

This is primarily a public (tourist) market, but not a complete rip-off. The prices I saw were comparable with those in trade markets elsewhere, and all, of course (particularly on a slow rainy Sunday), negotiable. But it wouldn’t be worth a special trip, from what I saw.

This is the real thing. Takes place every Sunday morning, throughout the year. At 10.00am it was packed, and cars were still pouring in at 11.00am, even at 1.50 euro a throw. If you don’t have a car, take the number 2 bus from Piazzale Tecchio, and get off at Terme di Agnano (when everyone else gets off).

It is primarily for locals (I didn’t hear any foreign voices), and has something for everyone, with a small well-used children’s playground, as well as the stalls (and some excellent food and drink). The goods are mainly second-hand, with only a sprinkling of new things. You can buy everything that is available at viale Dohrn, as well as old clothes, used children’s toys, electrical goods and tools, household and kitchen ware, books, records and CDs. All in all, a good quality car-boot sale.

The location is idyllic. This must be the only flea market anywhere in the world which takes place inside a volcano, and it’s worth going just to see the site. There were maybe 100 stalls, spread out along the paths of a deserted park, with the picturesque ruins of a nineteenth century spa as backdrop. At the lower end of the site, you can see the hot springs themselves, quietly bubbling and steaming away behind their safety fence. Further along are the remains of the Roman bath site.