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Backpacking in Naples
While it may not necessarily be the first port of call that springs to mind when compiling a list of top backpacking destinations, the city of Naples is simply one of the most rewarding places backpackers can visit. Evocatively chaotic and chaotically evocative, it’s the type of destination that leaves an indelible mark on the heart and mind in equal measure.
What’s more, backpacking here is happily straightforward. There are numerous excellent Naples hostels, lashings of cheap food and drink, and more sightseeing opportunities than you can shake your travel guide at. Here are a few suggestions, then, on how to make the most of a stay in Naples…
Accommodation
The selection of hostels in Naples is enough to get any self-respecting budget traveler frothing at the mouth with excitement. Not only do the hostels here rank as some of the best in Europe, they’re also uniformly affordable. The only problem you’ll have in terms of accommodation in Naples is choosing where to book your stay.
Hostel of the Sun has attained near mythical status on the backpacking circuit. This small and eminently comfortable place welcomes its guests with a fully Italian sense of homeliness and hospitality; hours spent in its cozy living room watching DVDs and talking to the friendly receptionists are hours spent in backpacking heaven!
La Controra Flashpackers Hostel, meanwhile, boasts of facilities and décor to die for. As its name suggests, this place is a swish and swanky, all-mod-con’s minimalist nirvana. Flashpacking is an increasing trend among budget travelers, and La Contrara leads the way.
Another standout hostel in Naples is the Fabric Hostel and Club. Situated away from the city center, it’s a vast establishment that includes newly fitted bedrooms and bathrooms, satellite TV, table tennis, internet points, and (as its name suggests) a fully functioning club! With regular music nights and nightly drinking sessions held here, Fabric Hostel and Club is almost a tourist attraction in itself.
Sights to See
Visitors to Naples invariable spend much of their time exploring the city’s geographical and historical center, which centers on a mile long street known as the ‘Spaccanapoli’. Recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site, the area is a mesmeric labyrinthine of cobbled alleyways, hole-in-the-wall pizza joints, and seemingly ancient churches (some of which still operate today).
While in the center of Naples, the Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, with its collection of Renaissance and Baroque Italian paintings, and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, with its excellent Pompeii exhibition, are both worth seeking out. On the other hand, if it’s churches you want, the complex at Santa Chiara and the square of San Domenico Maggiore are not to be missed.
Day Trips
One destination looms large over all others when considering day trips from Naples: Pompeii. This world-renowned township was buried under 60 feet of ash some 2000-odd years ago when neighboring Mount Vesuvius (now dormant) erupted in a spiteful fury.
While the ash extinguished all life in Pompeii with immediate effect, it paradoxically enabled the town to live on by preserving the bodies of those who fell. The result is Pompeii as it can be seen today: a near-perfect fossil of a functioning Roman town that belongs to a time long past.
Pompeii is only a 40-minute train ride from Naples, making a day trip here easy and cheap. For those who consider themselves allergic to tourist hordes, Pompeii’s sister town, Herculaneum, is a smaller, equally well preserved and less visited attraction.
What’s more, backpacking here is happily straightforward. There are numerous excellent Naples hostels, lashings of cheap food and drink, and more sightseeing opportunities than you can shake your travel guide at. Here are a few suggestions, then, on how to make the most of a stay in Naples…
Accommodation
The selection of hostels in Naples is enough to get any self-respecting budget traveler frothing at the mouth with excitement. Not only do the hostels here rank as some of the best in Europe, they’re also uniformly affordable. The only problem you’ll have in terms of accommodation in Naples is choosing where to book your stay.
Hostel of the Sun has attained near mythical status on the backpacking circuit. This small and eminently comfortable place welcomes its guests with a fully Italian sense of homeliness and hospitality; hours spent in its cozy living room watching DVDs and talking to the friendly receptionists are hours spent in backpacking heaven!
La Controra Flashpackers Hostel, meanwhile, boasts of facilities and décor to die for. As its name suggests, this place is a swish and swanky, all-mod-con’s minimalist nirvana. Flashpacking is an increasing trend among budget travelers, and La Contrara leads the way.
Another standout hostel in Naples is the Fabric Hostel and Club. Situated away from the city center, it’s a vast establishment that includes newly fitted bedrooms and bathrooms, satellite TV, table tennis, internet points, and (as its name suggests) a fully functioning club! With regular music nights and nightly drinking sessions held here, Fabric Hostel and Club is almost a tourist attraction in itself.
Sights to See
Visitors to Naples invariable spend much of their time exploring the city’s geographical and historical center, which centers on a mile long street known as the ‘Spaccanapoli’. Recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site, the area is a mesmeric labyrinthine of cobbled alleyways, hole-in-the-wall pizza joints, and seemingly ancient churches (some of which still operate today).
While in the center of Naples, the Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte, with its collection of Renaissance and Baroque Italian paintings, and the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, with its excellent Pompeii exhibition, are both worth seeking out. On the other hand, if it’s churches you want, the complex at Santa Chiara and the square of San Domenico Maggiore are not to be missed.
Day Trips
One destination looms large over all others when considering day trips from Naples: Pompeii. This world-renowned township was buried under 60 feet of ash some 2000-odd years ago when neighboring Mount Vesuvius (now dormant) erupted in a spiteful fury.
While the ash extinguished all life in Pompeii with immediate effect, it paradoxically enabled the town to live on by preserving the bodies of those who fell. The result is Pompeii as it can be seen today: a near-perfect fossil of a functioning Roman town that belongs to a time long past.
Pompeii is only a 40-minute train ride from Naples, making a day trip here easy and cheap. For those who consider themselves allergic to tourist hordes, Pompeii’s sister town, Herculaneum, is a smaller, equally well preserved and less visited attraction.
About the Author
Before settling down and becoming a copywriter for HostelBookers.com Jonny Cooper did a backpacking tour of Italy and he checked out a variety of hostels including Naples hostels.
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Submitted by: Jonny Cooper
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Total views: 426
Word count: 566
Character count: 3746
Article rating: none yet
Number of votes: 0
Rate this article now: