Naples - what’s going on?

[u/guarrandongo]

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?

[u/sleepystork]

I enjoyed Naples. I’ve heard it described as “chaotic” and that is a great characterization. I liked it better than Milan and Bologna.

[u/ProgrammaticallyHip → u/sleepystork]

Milan has Swiss city vibes. Very orderly and clean by Italian standards. People are reserved. Naples is dysfunctional by comparison but it has its own chaotic charm.

[u/sideyard19 → u/ProgrammaticallyHip]

I was in Geneva, Switzerland once and my hotel was near the train station. That entire side of Geneva I discovered is intentionally designed for prostitutes and drug dealers.

It was scary walking around at night. I was expecting to be in picture-perfect Switzerland and was a bit angry at the public/politicians for letting this happen to Switzerland.

For those of us who live in extremely high-crime cities, it's hard to imagine that Swiss politicians would not take care of the incredibly beautiful country and society that they have inherited.

[u/ProgrammaticallyHip → u/sideyard19]

You’ll find sketchy areas in any large city. Train stations especially attract aggressive vagrants. Geneva is still comparatively safe, but the Swiss and Germans definitely have a more open attitude toward drugs and prostitution than what you’d find in the U.S.

[u/guarrandongo → u/sleepystork]

Haha same word I’ve used to describe it.