Free things to do in Naples, Italy: churches, gardens, the seafront, the art metro stations and the first-Sunday museums

💡 The Short Version: Free every day: the Duomo and its guided visit to Santa Restituta and the Baptistery, the Chapel of San Gennaro, the churches of Santa Chiara, the Gesù Nuovo, San Domenico Maggiore and San Gregorio Armeno, the Galleria Umberto I, Piazza del Plebiscito, the seafront and the Borgo Marinari. The Romantic Garden of the Royal Palace and the Villa Floridiana park are free too. On the first Sunday of the month the MANN, Capodimonte, Herculaneum and the Gallerie d’Italia are free, and the MANN shuts its Egyptian rooms that day. Not free: the Santa Chiara cloister (€7), the Treasury (€15) and the Fontanelle cemetery (€6 or €8). Or book a tour: the Old Town walking tourad is from €27.55 (GetYourGuide).

The free list at a glance

The first Sunday and the free days

On the first Sunday of every month, the state museums run the national free-Sunday scheme. The next first Sundays are 1 November and 6 December 2026 and 3 January 2027.

• The Campania Artecard gives no queue-jump on free days, and a free first Sunday needs no free entry.
• Free days are crowded and partly shut, so the MANN’s Egyptian rooms and Magna Graecia are the price of a free Sunday there.

The art metro stations

ANM counts more than 300 works in the art stations of Lines 1 and 6. You need a ticket to enter a station: an ANM metro single is €1.50, the integrated 90-minute ticket €1.90 and a day ticket €5.70.

The mezzanine of Toledo station on Line 1. Photo: Mint0ri, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

• Line 1: Centro Direzionale, Garibaldi, Duomo, Università, Municipio, Toledo, Dante, Museo, Materdei, Salvator Rosa, Quattro Giornate, Vanvitelli and Rione Alto.
• Line 6: Mostra, Augusto, Lala, Mergellina, Arco Mirelli, San Pasquale and Chiaia.
• A crawl in the centre: Toledo, Università, Municipio, Garibaldi and Duomo are all on Line 1. Toledo opened on 17 April 2012, and Municipio station includes archaeological finds.
• Tickets and tap-and-go: see Naples public transport.

The Lungomare and the seafront

The seafront walk runs along Via Partenope and the Lungomare Caracciolo, from the Borgo Marinari towards Mergellina; the Lungomare walk puts it on a route from Toledo station.

The exterior of Castel dell’Ovo at the Borgo Marinari. Photo: Tanya Dedyukhina, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.

• Castel dell’Ovo stands at the Borgo Marinari and is closed for renovation works, with no reopening date. The Borgo Marinari around it is open to walk.
• Getting there: Metro Lines 1 and 6 stop at Municipio, and Line 6 stops at Chiaia and Mergellina. The Mergellina funicular goes up to Via Manzoni.
• The America’s Cup: the Louis Vuitton Cup races start on 22 and 23 May 2027 and the Match on 10 July 2027, with a Race Village on the Lungomare Caracciolo: see the America’s Cup in Naples, 2027.

What is not free

• The Santa Chiara cloister is €7. See the Spaccanapoli walk.
• The Treasury of San Gennaro is €15 and the roof from €6. See the Duomo and Treasury.
• The Fontanelle cemetery is no longer free: €6 or €8. See the Fontanelle cemetery.
• Napoli Sotterranea is €18 and San Lorenzo Maggiore’s excavations €9. See Naples underground tours.
• The Sansevero Chapel is €12 and has no free day. See the Veiled Christ.
• The Royal Palace is €15. See the Royal Palace.

A free day

• A first Sunday: the Gallerie d’Italia in the morning, when it opens at 10:00, then the Duomo’s free visit and the churches of the historic centre. The MANN is free, but its Egyptian collection is shut.
• A weekday: the Duomo’s free visit at 9:30, Santa Chiara church, San Gregorio Armeno, the Galleria Umberto I and the Plebiscito, then the seafront.

Tours worth paying for

A walking tour puts the free sights in order. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices, per person.

Old Town walking tour

From €27.55 · 2.5 hours · 4.8 stars from 972 reviews

Naples Historic Center Walking Tourad is run by Grand Tour Experience for a small group. It is a guide only; tickets to the sights are extra. Free cancellation.

City highlights by bike

From €46 · 3 hours · 4.7 stars from 1,062 reviews

Naples: City Highlights Guided Bike Tourad is run by Biketour Napoli and starts at Piazza del Plebiscito, passing the Gesù Nuovo, the Royal Palace and the cathedral. Free cancellation.

What to book before you go to Naples has the closed day of every sight, Campania Artecard: is it worth it? says when a pass beats a free Sunday, and 3 days in Naples builds a plan round the closed days. The Quartieri Spagnoli and the Maradona mural are free to see. Where to stay in Naples compares the areas.