Things to do in Naples

Three days minimum — one for the centro storico (Spaccanapoli, the Duomo, the underground), one for the Archaeological Museum (the best Roman collection in the world, plus the Pompeii frescoes), and one for a Pompeii or Herculaneum day trip. Add a Procida or Capri day if the weather plays.

The Cappella Sansevero — a tiny baroque chapel south of Spaccanapoli holding Sammartino's Veiled Christ. The marble veil is so thin you'd swear it's silk. Combine with the underground passages of Napoli Sotterranea on the same day; entrances are five minutes apart.

The Quartieri Spagnoli — vertical washing lines, scooter alleys and shrines on every corner, just behind Via Toledo. Sanità (north of the centre, downhill from Capodimonte) has been called the most Neapolitan neighbourhood; Vergini bakery and the Catacombe di San Gennaro are reasons to walk down.

Pizza margherita at the place that invented it — L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele or Sorbillo (both have queues for a reason). Sfogliatella riccia (shell-shaped pastry) from Pintauro on Via Toledo, fried street food (zeppole, panzarotti) from a friggitoria, and an espresso at Gran Caffè Gambrinus.

The Metro Linea 1 is a clean fast surprise — the Toledo and Università stations are Insta-famous art installations in their own right. Funiculars climb Vomero. Buses exist but traffic is anarchic. Walk the centro storico. Pickpockets work the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii — keep your bag in front.

The Catacombe di San Gennaro under the Sanità basilica — vast 2nd-century underground cemetery, with frescoed tombs and earliest portraits of Saint Januarius. Run by a local social-enterprise co-op; ticket revenue funds youth jobs in one of the poorest districts in Western Europe.