Naples

Naples is Italy's most chaotic, exhilarating and misunderstood city. The southern Italian metropolis on the Bay of Naples — with Vesuvius looming behind and the islands of Capri and Ischia floating in the sea before — occupies one of the world's great natural settings, and its intensity of life, depth of history and culinary brilliance reward those willing to embrace the organised chaos. The historic centre, a Unesco World Heritage Site, contains one of the densest urban accumulations of ancient monuments, Baroque churches and underground Greek and Roman ruins anywhere in Europe. The Spaccanapoli — the arrow-straight street that literally splits Naples in two — is the city's spine. The National Archaeological Museum holds the finest collection of Roman art in the world, including extraordinary treasures from Pompeii and Herculaneum. Naples invented pizza, and the city's pizzerias — Sorbillo, Di Matteo, Starita — produce the definitive article: soft, charred, simple. Street food culture is deep: fried zeppole, cuoppo of mixed fried fish, sfogliatelle pastries. The underground city — catacombs, Greek water cisterns, tunnels — is endlessly fascinating. Day trips to Pompeii, Herculaneum, the Amalfi Coast and the islands are all easily managed from a Naples base. Spring and autumn are the best seasons.