If you are only planning a short stay, the best introduction to the city is the double-decker bus tours offered by CitySightseeing (tel. 081-5517279; www.napoli.city-sightseeing.it). All their tours start from Piazza Municipio/Parco Castello. Line A is a hop-on-and-off loop to the Museo di Capodimonte, with buses operating daily May 1 to September 30 every 45 minutes from 9:45am to 5:45pm. Line B is a hop-on-and-off loop winding along the seashore to Posillipo; buses operate April 1 to September 30 daily from 9:30am to 5:45pm, every 45 minutes. Line C is a hop-on-and-off circuit to the Certosa di San Martino; buses operate on Saturday, Sunday, and holidays with departures at 10am, noon, and 2, 4, and 6pm. Line D is a tour to Mount Vesuvius with stops at Herculaneum and the Vesuvian Villas with departure June 1 to October 31 on Sundays at 10am. Tickets are valid for 24 hours on all lines and can be purchased on board for 22€ ($31/£15) adults, 11€ ($15/£7.70) children ages 6 to 15; and 66€ ($92/£46) family (2 adults and 3 children). You'll get a 10% discount with your Artecard.
Museo Aperto Napoli (tel. 081-5636062; www.museoapertonapoli.com) is the cultural organization serving Naples's historic district. They are based in a large cultural and information center (Via Pietro Colletta 85, to the right of Castel Capuano, at the eastern edge of the historic district; daily 10am to 6pm) where you'll find a knowledgeable and kind multi-lingual staff, a multi-media center with information on the historic district, exhibits on the area, as well as a cafe offering typical local products, a bookshop, a small space with crafts for sale, and, luckily, bathrooms. The center offers all kinds of services useful to the tourist, from maps and information on the historic district, to umbrellas on loan and excellent guided tours: Choose among four self-guided audio tours or walking tours with a live guide; all tours are offered in six languages.
For more classic city tours, the agency Every Tours (Piazza del Municipio 5; tel. 081-5518564) works for American Express in Naples; it organizes tours of the city as well as day excursions to Vesuvio and other sights. It's open Monday through Friday from 9am to 1:30pm and 3:30 to 7pm and Saturday from 9am to 1pm. Another good agency is NapoliVision (tel. 081-5595130; www.napolivision.it), offering guided tours of Naples, Pompei, and Capri starting at 30€ ($42/£21) per person.
