One of 2 self-guided walks in Naples. See every walk.
In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Start at Piazza del Gesù Nuovo and finish at the Duomo, eight stops in a stretch of the old centre under 2 km long. Walk it on a Monday, Wednesday or Thursday, in the morning. The Cappella Sansevero is booked-only (€12, closed Tuesdays), the Santa Chiara cloister (€7) and Pio Monte (€10) close at 14:00 and 14:30 on Sundays, and Napoli Sotterranea has a queue of 10 to 90 minutes. The Duomo’s free visit stops at 17:00. Or book a tour: the Old Town walking tourad (from €27.55, 2.5 hours) covers the same streets with a guide.
The route
Map of the walk numbered stops in walking order
Open the whole route in Google Maps - all the stops in walking order, set to walking directions, which is the version to put on your phone.
Spaccanapoli, “split Naples”, is the straight street that cuts the old centre, and Via Benedetto Croce is its easternmost leg. The walk follows it east, turns up Via San Gregorio Armeno to Via dei Tribunali, and ends at the cathedral. Much of the old centre is a limited traffic zone, so it is best on foot. Prices are the adult rate in euros from each operator.
| Stop | Entry (adult) | Open |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Piazza del Gesù Nuovo | Church free | No hours printed |
| 2. Santa Chiara | Church free; cloister €7 | Cloister Monday to Saturday 9:30 to 17:00, Sunday 10:00 to 14:00 |
| 3. San Domenico Maggiore | Free | No hours printed |
| 4. Cappella Sansevero | €12, booked slot | Daily 9:00 to 19:00; closed Tuesdays |
| 5. San Gregorio Armeno | Street and church free | Workshops open year-round |
| 6. Piazza San Gaetano | San Lorenzo Maggiore €9; Napoli Sotterranea €18 | San Lorenzo 9:30 to 17:30; Sotterranea tours 10:00 to 18:00 |
| 7. Pio Monte della Misericordia | €10 | Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 18:00; Sunday 9:00 to 14:30 |
| 8. The Duomo and the Treasury | Cathedral free; Treasury €15 | Treasury daily 9:30 to 18:00 |
Walk it with a guide
A guide adds the stories and the order. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices, per person.
- Naples Historic Center Walking Tourad, by Grand Tour Experience: from €27.55, 4.8 stars from 972 reviews, 2.5 hours, small group. Entry tickets to the sights are extra.
- Naples: Old Town and Veiled Christ Tourad, by Grand Tour Experience: from €47.85, 4.9 stars from 1,858 reviews, 3 hours, with the Sansevero ticket included.
- Naples: Downtown Tour with Veiled Christ & St Clare Ticketsad, by Askos Tours: from €48.47, 4.9 stars from 7,062 reviews, 2.5 hours, with the Sansevero ticket. Naples walking tours compares the operators.
Spaccanapoli, the straight street that splits the old centre, seen from above. Photo: DimiTalen, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
1. Piazza del Gesù Nuovo
Free · the church has no printed hours · Metro Line 1 to Dante or Università
The square is the start of the walk, and the church of the Gesù Nuovo stands on it, diagonally across from Santa Chiara. Admission to the church is free. The Campania Artecard InfoPoint is at Piazza del Gesù 7, if you want a pass before you start; Campania Artecard: is it worth it? says whether you do.
The Guglia dell’Immacolata in Piazza del Gesù Nuovo. Photo: Palickap, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
2. Santa Chiara
Church free, daily 7:45 to 12:45 and 16:40 to 20:00 · cloister €7, Monday to Saturday 9:30 to 17:00, Sunday 10:00 to 14:00 · Via Santa Chiara 49c
Santa Chiara is a Gothic church with a single nave and ten chapels on each side. The majolica cloister is part of the same complex, and its avenues are lined with pillars with plant festoons and seats showing scenes of everyday life.
The majolica cloister of Santa Chiara. Photo: Jean-Christophe BENOIST, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
- The ticket: €7 covers the cloister, the museum, the archaeological area, the library, the video room and an 18th-century nativity scene. It is €5 for over-65s, university students under 30 and teachers, €4 for ages 7 to 17, and free under 7.
- Where to buy: only at the complex’s own ticket office. Third-party tickets and vouchers are not accepted, and the Campania Artecard has not been accepted since 1 August 2023.
3. San Domenico Maggiore
Free · the church has no printed hours
A Gothic church and monastery of the Dominican order, on the square of the same name. The Sansevero Chapel’s entrance is off this square, a minute away.
4. Cappella Sansevero
€12, booked in advance for a 30-minute slot · daily 9:00 to 19:00, last entry 18:30 · closed Tuesdays and 25 December
The chapel holds Giuseppe Sanmartino’s Veiled Christ of 1753. You cannot walk in: tickets go on sale 60 days ahead, and a few more are released two days before. The ticket office is temporarily at Via Raimondo di Sangro 12.
- Photographs and phones are not allowed.
- Plan the walk round the slot: book the chapel first, then fit the other stops round it. The full rules are in the Sansevero Chapel guide.
5. San Gregorio Armeno
The street and the church are free · the workshops are open year-round
The narrow street of nativity-figure workshops, a few minutes from Santa Chiara and the chapel. The Sansevero’s own guide calls it Christmas Street. It is crowded in the weeks before Christmas, and San Gregorio Armeno says when it is quietest.
6. Piazza San Gaetano
San Lorenzo Maggiore €9, daily 9:30 to 17:30 · Napoli Sotterranea €18, tours at 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 17:00 and 18:00
San Lorenzo Maggiore stands at the centre of the ancient Greek and Roman city, where Via San Gregorio Armeno meets Via dei Tribunali. Its excavations are the Greek and Roman market under the church. Napoli Sotterranea starts a few steps away, at Piazza San Gaetano 68.
- San Lorenzo Maggiore: the €9 ticket covers the cloister, museum and excavations, and the basilica itself is free.
- Napoli Sotterranea: a walk-up with a queue of 10 to 90 minutes at midday. Arrive at 10:00 or 18:00, or buy the skip-the-line ticket. Naples underground tours compares it with the other undergrounds.
7. Pio Monte della Misericordia
€10 · Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 18:00, last ticket 17:30 · Sunday 9:00 to 14:30, last ticket 14:00
Pio Monte is a church and picture gallery on Via dei Tribunali, and the home of Caravaggio’s Seven Works of Mercy. The ticket proceeds go to the institution’s charity. It sells a combined ticket with the Treasury of San Gennaro, and the Campania Artecard 7-day list includes it.
8. The Duomo and the Treasury of San Gennaro
Cathedral free · free visit to Santa Restituta and the Baptistery 9:30 to 17:00 · Treasury €15, daily 9:30 to 18:00, last entry 17:00
The walk ends at the cathedral, entered from Via Duomo 147, with the Treasury beside it at Via Duomo 149. The Chapel of San Gennaro is free but closes at lunchtime. See the Duomo and Treasury guide for the tickets and the miracle dates.
Which day to walk it
- Tuesday: the Sansevero Chapel is shut.
- Sunday: the Santa Chiara cloister closes at 14:00 and Pio Monte at 14:30.
- Midday: Napoli Sotterranea has its longest queue.
- After 17:00: the Duomo’s free visit has stopped.
- Wednesday: every stop on this walk is open.
The nearest walk on is the seafront: the Lungomare walk starts at Toledo station, 700 m down Via Toledo from Piazza del Gesù Nuovo, where this walk begins, and runs through the Galleria Umberto I and the Royal Palace to the Lungomare. Free things to do in Naples has the seafront too, and the Quartieri Spagnoli and the Maradona mural lie west of Via Toledo, not far from where this walk starts. What to book before you go to Naples lists the closed day of every sight, 3 days in Naples fits the walk into a plan, and Naples public transport has the metro fares. Where to stay in Naples compares the areas. For lunch, the best pizza in Naples has the hours of the Via dei Tribunali pizzerias and Naples street food and pastries the fried food and the sfogliatella shops on the route; Naples food tours compares the guided food walks. The official safety advice for the old centre, including Piazza del Gesù, is in is Naples safe?, and the dates of the San Gennaro rites, one of which follows Via Benedetto Croce, are in San Gennaro’s miracle dates.
Common questions
How long is the Spaccanapoli walk?
The eight stops lie within a stretch of the old centre under 2 km long, so the walking is short. With the Sansevero Chapel, the Santa Chiara cloister, San Lorenzo Maggiore and the Treasury of San Gennaro it fills most of a day.
What do I need to book for the walk?
The Cappella Sansevero, which sells only booked 30-minute slots, with tickets on sale 60 days ahead. Everything else is a free church, a square or a ticket bought at the door. Napoli Sotterranea has a queue of 10 to 90 minutes unless you buy a skip-the-line ticket.
Which day is best for the Spaccanapoli walk?
Monday, Wednesday or Thursday. The Sansevero Chapel is closed on Tuesdays, the Santa Chiara cloister closes at 14:00 on Sundays, and Pio Monte della Misericordia closes at 14:30 on Sundays.
Is the Santa Chiara cloister free?
No. The church is free, and the majolica cloister, museum and archaeological area are €7. Tickets are sold only at the complex's own ticket office, and the Campania Artecard has not been accepted since 1 August 2023.
Where does the walk start and finish?
It starts at Piazza del Gesù Nuovo and finishes at the Naples Cathedral on Via Duomo. Metro Line 1 stops at Dante and Università near the start and at Duomo at the end.
What is Spaccanapoli?
The straight street that cuts the historic centre in two, known as Spaccanapoli or 'split Naples'. Via Benedetto Croce is its easternmost leg, and the Sansevero Chapel's own guide calls it part of the lower decumanus.
