For those who accept the challenge and look beyond the curtain of noise and urban grit, Naples reveals itself full of fun, surprise, and wonder. Naples is particularly loved by art lovers and history buffs.
We highly recommend you purchase the Artecard before starting your exploration of the region. The City Sightseeing hop-on-and-off tour is another good idea, particularly if your time is limited; it will give you a great introduction to the city and provide convenient transportation between major attractions without forcing you to worry about bus numbers, tickets, and taxis.
Campania Artecard
The Artecard (tel. 800-600601 or 063-9967650; www.campaniartecard.it) gives you discounted admission to a great number of attractions, free access to public transportation, and discounts to a number of participating businesses. The pass comes in several "region" and "city" versions:
The "3 days all sites" pass (25€/$35/£18 adult; 18€/$25/£13 youth under 25) grants free admission to the first two attractions you visit from the list below (to all attractions for youth under 25); 50% discount on all the others, between 10% and 25% discount on several other museums and attractions; and free access to all public transportation -- including regional trains and special buses -- for 3 days. Note that the youth card is offered only to citizens of the European Union and other countries with reciprocity rights.
The "3 days Naples and Campi Flegrei" (13€/$18/£9.10 adults; 8€/$11/£5.60 youth under 25) grants you the same advantages as above but only within Naples and the Campi Flegrei area. (Even if you are not going to the Campi Flegrei, this works out as a great deal for Naples.)
The "7 days all sites" (28€/$39/£20 adult; 21€/$29/£15 youth under 25) grants you the same advantages as above, excluding public transportation, for 7 days instead of 3.
The sites that qualify for free or 50% admission are:
Within Naples: Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Museo di Capodimonte, Certosa and Museo Di San Martino, Complesso Museale Santa Chiara, Castel Sant'Elmo, Museo Civico di Castelnuovo, Palazzo Reale, Città Della Scienza, and the Campi Flegrei's five sites (Flavian Amphitheatre, Serapeum, archaeological areas of Baia, Cuma, and Rione Terra), counted as one admission only.
Outside Naples: Anfiteatro Campano, archaeological areas of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum, Stabia, Velia, Oplontis, and Boscoreale, Certosa di Padula, Grotte dell'Angelo di Pertosa, Capua's Mitreo, Museo Archeologico dell'Antica Capua, Museo dei Gladiatori, and Museo del Santuario di Hera Argiva.
The list of sites and businesses offering discounts between 10% and 25% is too long to report here; please refer to our listings throughout the book. The card is for sale at all participating sites listed above as well as at Capodichino Airport; the Molo Beverello (harbor); the train stations of Napoli Cantrale and Mergellina; major hotels; and newspaper kiosks.
