Since starting to travel to Italy over a decade ago, I had always been cautioned about visiting Naples (or, properly in Italian, Napoli). I’ve heard its dirty, rough around the edges, not pretty and at its worst, plain dangerous. I trusted that most of these stereotypes were overblown, but prior to 2022, I had only passed through the Naples train station en route to the Amalfi Coast. Well, I finally got a chance for a brief visit in May 2022, and I throughly enjoyed it. I stayed in the tourist center during this visit, but I found Naples to be beautiful, safe enough (for most tourists, a pick pocket or the crazy drivers are probably your biggest worry), and home to some absolutely delicious food. To hit some great spots, Dan and I signed up for a food tour with Eating Europe and that was a great way to eat our way through the tourist center.
Street side groceries.
We met the rest of our food tour, which was just one other family visiting from Germany, in the GORGEOUS Galleria Umberto I. Galleria Umberto I is a fabulous old shopping mall, which reminded me a lot of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milano (but with less luxury stores). I could not help but pick up a few souvenirs before our tour started… Regardless of tours or shopping, every visitor to Naples should pass though the Galleria Umberto I – its free to enter and not far from the train station and ferry port.
Entrance to Galleria Umberto I.