Ciao a tutti

since my research project is going to end in 3 months time, i am now planning my best italian travel experience before graduating and returning back to France.

So far, i had visited Genova,Milan, Cinque Terre, Firenze, Venezia, Pisa and many wineries in 11 regions in Italia nord est, nord ovest and centro (Friuli, Tretino, Piemonte, Toscana, Marche, Umbria, Lombardia etc)..

Due to budget limitations (i think all students had the same problem), i am limiting my visit to 3 cities:

1) bologna
2) Roma
3) Napoli

i am now in emilia romagna region (living here for the past 5 months), so do i go from milan-bologna-roma-napoli or the other way around, from milan direct to napoli, then make my way up to roma then bologna?

some are advising me to visit napoli 1st because then i can compare it with rome in terms of the influences of greek civilization in the south with the roman empire in rome but some others are suggesting that i visit bologna 1st then rome and lastly napoli because in italy, they have a saying that says 'See Napoli and then you can die peacefully' because in napoli you can see everything from the grandest, damn richness of things to the extremities of life poverty just in one place, not forgetting the richesse and finesse of the cuisines in the south..

i just do not know what to expect so i would be glad if any people in life in italy can suggest the best way in exploring these 3 cities

I am planning to do this in the last 2 weeks of september.

All advises will be taken in with great consideration..

Ciao Ronald,

Sounds like a great trip. I too will be in Italy the end of September. You could easily spend the 2 weeks in Roma. But if you are going to go south to Napoli you have to go a little further south and stop in Sorrento and Amalfitana. I promise you won't be disapointed. My first visit to Napoli was what a beautiful city and what a sad city. To me it has so much potential to really shine. Danno would be able to help you a lot on Naples I'm sure. I found the people very freindly and the food in the Campania region to be the best to me in Italy.

Ed

Thanks Eduardo for the tip..

i heard of many good things from the south of Italy. By the way, who is this Danno anyway?

A new member on this site.

Ronald, I lived in Napoli for 3 1/2 years and just returned to the states a year ago, but during my military and government service I have spent many years (all tolled) in the Naples region. It is my favorite place in all of Italy mostly because of the people and the food!!
How much time do you expect to spend there? I can give you some advice on what to see and what to avoid.
Ciao, Dan

Ciao Danno

my initial plans are 4 days in Rome and 4 days in Napoli but it all depends on your suggestions. If i need to see more then i will give and take 2 more days in Napoli to visit the surrounding area.

So, what do you suggest that i must do/ visit in Napoli? and of course, what are the things to avoid? renting a car is not an option for me, i prefer using the public transport...

Ronald, 4 days may be enough but that depends on what all you want to see and do.
Some of the "Must see" places are Pompeii, Ercolano, maybe climb Vesuvio.
When you go to Pompeii, you can take the train from the Central Station. Pompeii is very large and I would suggest taking a guided tour, there will be plenty of tour guides to meet you after you buy your ticket. The larger the tour group the less it will cost per person. The tour will last about one hour to an hour and a half. They also have self guided tours. After the tour you can explore on you own.
I prefer Ercolano because it is a bit smaller and better preserved. If you want to climb Mt. Vesuvio, you can catch the bus up the mountain. once you get off the bus, you have to climb a very steep slope, it shouldn't be any problem for a young man like yourself. Climbing the mountain is free until you reach a certain point. If you want to see the crater then you have to pay. I used to be about 5 euro to go the rest of the way. If you're going to climb that high , you might as well pay to see it.
That should take up a whole day. If you really want to see the relics from Pompeii, you have to go to the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, this is where they keep all of the neat stuff they collected from the ruins. They even have a special room for all the porn that they found!
While you are downtown, you should also visit the Capella Sansevero and see the Veiled Christ. It is one of the most amazing sculptures you will ever see!
There are several Castles to see, one the most famous is the Mashio Angioino (my wife loves to say that name) or the Castel Nuovo. You can also see the Galleria Umberto, very famous architecture.
Check out Http://goitaly.about.com/od/naples/a/naples.htm this site has some very good tips on buses and trains and sites to see.
If you can find "Food and Wine Guide to Naples and Campania" by Carla Capalba, get it! You can get it on Amazon . It has some very good ideas about the area.
If you are going to use the local transportation, just be aware of pickpockets. I sense that you have been using it up north but it may be a bit different down south. Garibaldi is the central Train and bus station in downtown Naples. Beware of the thieves there also, sort of like the station in Rome. You can get a train to POmpeii and also down to Sorrento. Sorrento is a great place to walk around and hang out. It's where they make Limoncello and you can get free samples in several places. Stop in La Boteggucia and say hello to my friend Jasmina. She owns a very good Intarsia store.
Capri is okay but very expensive, I would rather go out to Ischia. It is a bigger Island and more laid back and less touristy. Capri and Ischia would be a whole day trip.
The food in the Campania region is the best, like Ed said. If you like seafood, try Spaghetti con Vongole, insalata mare, of course the mozzarella is to die for ( my wife thinks that's what caused my
heart attack!)and the bread is so much better in the south , try to find pane cafone.
Okay that 's enough for now. I'll look back over this and see what else I can add later. If you go to the thread on Campania and you will see some sites that Villa has added.
Ciao for now,
Dan

Grazie mille Danno

i think i have some rough ideas on what to do in Napoli and the surrounding areas.
One more thing though, is there any place where i can see folk performances of the local people like in Sevilla,Spain there are places to go to watch Flamenco, is there places like this in Napoli?

The only one I know of is down in Sorrento. It is called the Tarentella , it tells a story in dance and song about the history of the area. I may not have spelled it correctly, but I went to see it and was very impressed by the professionalism of the cast.

Go to Http://www.sorrentoinfo.com and type in the search engine :tarantella.