[cardguy]

Thinking about going to Naples. But not sure what to expect.

Is it a nice place - or is it quite run down and poor?

Anyone here being there?

[InternationPlayboy]

Are we talking Naples, Italy or Naples, Florida?

[thegmanifesto]

Yeah.

Or Naples, Utah?

(Looks like it would have some pretty solid Nightlife).

[cardguy]

Sorry didn't know there was more than one.

I am talking Naples, Italy.

And do you all think it might be the best place in the world for pizza?

[SeanBateman]

I love Naples. It's less touristy than Florence or Rome, the food is great and I found it to be a more thoroughly Italian experience than the more heavily visited cities. It's dirty but beautiful. The women are tough to crack, I got nowhere with them.

[SeanBateman]

The pizza at Da Michele is good but know that it is very simple, only tomato, mozzarella and basil with no other options. The Italians eat it with a knife and fork. The idea of something being "the best" is kind of a silly Food Network notion, but it's a mandatory stop if you are in Naples. My favorite restaurants were the tiny places where I would just sit down without looking at a menu and tell the proprietor to bring me what he thought was good that day. I don't think I had a single bad meal.

[j r]

Naples is also, for some, the mecca of men's tailoring. Here is an article on Neapolitan tailoring: http://dieworkwear.com/post/7887787555/t...experience

[phoenix101]

You don't need to go to Naples for the pizza, you might be able to find a VPN-certified (Verace Pizza Napoletana) pizzeria in your hood or nearest major city.

I've only been there under a week mainly around the central area and it was a little run-down with enough graffiti and a sometimes grimey feel from the locals and the hoods. It was a bit refreshing compared to a place like Rome as in Naples I didn't see all the "barbie doll" tourists all over the place. I think other Italians have many ridiculous (outdated?) stereotypes of Naples and Neapoletans and are afraid of them or hesitant about them (rip-off artists, such as buying something from them and then finding out it's just a brick in a box, that they'll cut off your hand to steal your watch, etc). A "sweet, old" grandma looking lady at a very small pizza/cafe joint did try to rip me off about €5 on a pizza slice and a drink...only when I tried to leave a token tip did I realize it.

Staying in Naples you can make a day trip out of going to Pompeii.

I don't go out into the farther suburbs but as there are more posh areas there are also many areas I've heard you definitely avoid (unless you're Balotelli and can get a personal tour by a mafioso). Never been but the seaside area is a massive tourist destination if it's not obvious (Capri, Sorrento, Ischia, Amalfi Coast, etc).

[Sp5]

Spent a lot of time in Naples in the US military. I love it. The bad rap it gets for being "dirty" is undeserved, in my opinion.

I would rate the main Italian tourist cities this way: 1. Rome, 2. Naples, 3. Venice, 4. Florence

Some great walks around the Piazza del Gesu, Piazza dei Martiri, along the Riveria di Chiaia, to the Mergellina marina. Take the funiculare to the Vomero district and get out to Posillipo and Pozzuoli. I recommend the Blue Guide. to Southern Italy to tell you about a lot of things like the Chapel of San Severo.

This is not even mentioning Pompeii and Herculaneum, both must-sees. You can also go to the summit of Vesuvius.

Then Capri and Ischia are a short ferry ride, too.

You can read Pliny's account of the 79 AD eruption.

[InternationPlayboy]

I started to bust out some info I knew about Naples Florida, but then I realized you were probably talking about Italy and deleted it all.

[Laner]

Definitely worth it.

Others have mentioned the city itself, and the mens tailors sound like they are good. I didnt have time to buy a suit, but I did get a Borsalino hat from their store there.

The city has an interesting vibe, and the people are great. I have a great memory of buying a crate of wine for the sailboat from a guy and him taking me to the cellar and we got drunk. His wife would yell down to him and he would just ignore her.

The islands are where its at, though you might want to bring your own woman.

[Vicious]

If possible I'd rather go to Northern Italy who is of night and day in difference to the southern part. The south is a bit more welcoming but stuff that you expect to work in a western country don't. It's laddened with bureaucracy (likely due to the corruption).

[calwinston]

(11-17-2013 09:44 PM)InternationPlayboy Wrote:  

Are we talking Naples, Italy or Naples, Florida?

This has happened in many threads. Mainly I always think of the city in Europe first, which is much bigger than the copy cat American cities. For example the Saint Petesrburg thread where people were thinking of Saint Petersburg, Florida (the little sister of Tampa), rather than Saint Petersburg, Russia a city of 5 million. Maybe we should ask people to start putting the country also to avoid confusion.

[Snowflake]

beware of scams, stay out of the dangerous neighborhoods and enjoy your trip

[Innuendo]

It's a very cool city but not for girls, I don't think I saw more then three bangable chicks in one week there. Oddly enough the older women looked a lot better then the younger generation.
There's also a ton of stuff to do in the area (Pompei, Vesuvium, Capri, the Amalfi coast).
Best idea would be to bring a girl with you, preferably one from Eastern Europe since they love Italy, and you'll have fun watching the italian guys stopping in their tracks to stare at her.

[NovaVirtu]

Naples is definitely worth a trip although honestly, it is pretty dirty. Admittedly there was a garbage worker's strike at the time (this past April) so it was dirtier than normal. At night I walked through these alleys leading to a small public square and children were lighting garbage fires while their parents watched and wild dogs darted through the crowd. Surreal.

The neighborhood I stayed in was pretty grimy. Delicious food and much cheaper than Rome, but the people were rude. Some kid at a food stand actually rolled his eyes at me when I thanked him in Italian. Little shit.

Interestingly, the people outside Naples in the surrounding towns like Herculaneum were very friendly and outgoing.

The shoreline is nice, seems to be the main public life/day game area. Great food, drinking, gelato, etc... they set up screens outdoors to watch soccer matches at night.

There are ferries to Capri everyday which is a breathtaking place but mad expensive.

Girls here are attractive and a lot of them have huge tits, but you need some Italian to function well here, whether you're trying to swoop or not.
Bear in mind I was (and still am) a beginner so YMMV here.

To sum it all up-

-Amazing pizza & other foods
-Cheap compared to other parts of Italy
-Cool nearby attractions- Pompeii, Herculaneum, Vesuvius, Capri, etc...
-People are either very nice or rude and somewhat abrasive, but I imagine if you inserted yourself into a social circle you'd do well
-If you like busty Mediterranean-looking women, you've come to the right place
-Be mindful of shady areas/people, including the Eurogangstas on their Vespas. A Singaporean girl I met there told me that one of them tried to pull a drive-by purse snatch on her, dragged her 50 feet then let go when he realized it wouldn't work.
-If you intend to get off the tourist path, you're at a severe disadvantage only speaking English.
-Capri is beautiful but ridiculously overpriced and the Blue Grotto is the biggest rip off in the world
-Some areas don't appear to have "first world" plumbing. I was told at my hostel not to flush my TP down the toilet.

What I tell people who ask me about my trip:
If you want to visit a Third World country with First World prices, come to Naples. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.