r/travel • u/guarrandongo • 1d ago

Question Naples - what’s going on?

First time here and I’d heard a million times that it was a bit run down & grubby etc., but I was shocked to see the state of large areas of the city centre. I’m Scottish and it reminded me of Edinburgh during the bin strikes 3 or so years ago - 8 foot high piles of rubbish everywhere. Even saw some decomposing rats lying around that had clearly been there for weeks. Was a full-time job trying to avoid standing on dog shit as well. Assuming it was dogs! One guy also definitely trying to get me to take my hands out of my pockets in an attempt to rob me, I’m in no doubt about that. It wasn’t happening, though.

I took plenty of advice from various people to find the ‘nice’ parts, but we wandered around those areas for a couple of hours and it was terrible.

Has it gone downhill recently, or has it always been like this?

Any further advice on some decent areas with nice bars etc. would be welcome. We only have tonight left and we’d like to try enjoy it as best we can. Had a great dinner last night so wasn’t a total write-off, but after it certainly was. I’d rather not go out than wander around these areas again.

What’s actually going on here?

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u/BellisBlueday 1d ago

I think in general, the further west you go from the train station the 'nicer' it gets, however it is a very lived in city.

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u/SeductiveGyalll 1d ago

agree with this. i stayed near the waterfront and it felt way calmer and cleaner. the area around the station honestly felt a bit rough at times, especially at night. naples has its charm but yeah, it’s def a very real, lived-in kinda place, not polished at all.

i ended up loving the food and day trips (capri, pompeii etc) but the city itself took some adjusting to

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u/guarrandongo 1d ago

We were at Pompeii etc. yesterday and had a brilliant day. A great dinner. Just after dinner was awful. Didn’t ruin our day, though. Spent 2 days in Sorrento & Amalfi Coast etc., which is was amazing.

Just those couple of hours last night that were a WTF.

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u/ThrobbingGristle 1d ago

Just for anyone else reading this post; you’re much better off staying near Sorrento for a trip to this part of the world if you’re on vacation. You can take the train from there around the Bay of Naples to visit Pompeii and Vesuvius, and also a day trip to Naples.

Sorrento (or St Agnello) also gives good access to Capri (by boat) and Positano and Amalfi etc by bus.

Sorrento is beautiful, covered in lemon trees, and great to hang out at the restaurants and bars in the evening. Will cost a bit more, but probably best for your vacation hub.

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u/guarrandongo 1d ago

Yes - amazing part of the world. Loved all of it.