Campania crowds the Tyrrhenian shore of southern Italy with more drama per kilometer than almost anywhere on earth.
Go in April to June and September to October.
- Fly into
- Naples (NAP)
- Capital
- Naples
- Size
- 13,671 km² (5,278 sq mi), about the size of Connecticut
- People
- 5.6 million
Vesuvius broods over the Bay of Naples, the volcano that froze Pompeii and Herculaneum in a single afternoon of 79 AD. Offshore lie the islands of Capri, Ischia and Procida, and to the south the Amalfi Coast threads its impossible road between cliff and water, past Positano, Ravello and Amalfi itself.
The Campanian character is loud, generous and theatrical, nowhere more than in Naples, where the espresso is short and the talk is fast. This is the home of true Neapolitan pizza, of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana still warm from the dairies of Paestum, of Pasta di Gragnano and the lemons of Sorrento that perfume every glass of limoncello.
Come in late spring or early autumn, when the coast is warm but the crowds have thinned and the lemon groves hang heavy above the sea.
What to see in Campania
Save the ones you want and we'll find which of our routes reaches the most in the fewest nights.
Pompeii Archaeological Site
Walk Pompeii’s ancient streets with a ticket matched to the city, suburban villas or wider Great Pompeii sites, and a route planned around current openings.
Positano
A steep coastal town where a UNESCO cultural landscape, a Baroque church and a Roman villa meet above the sea.
Temples of Paestum
Three Doric temples of the 6th and 5th centuries BC, among the best preserved outside Greece.
Royal Palace of Caserta
Vanvitelli's Bourbon answer to Versailles: four courtyards, a Royal Staircase and a park with a three-kilometer cascade.
Amalfi Cathedral
Amalfi’s cathedral rises above Piazza Duomo, where Constantinopolitan bronze doors, a mosaic façade and the linked cloister, crypt and museum tell distinct layers of the town’s history.
Villa Oplontis
Torre Annunziata The so-called Villa of Poppaea at Oplontis, known for its Roman wall painting, gardens and monumental pool.
Herculaneum Archaeological Park
A Roman town buried by Vesuvius in 79 CE, its wood, food and fabric preserved by carbonization rather than ash.
Mount Vesuvius
Torre del Greco Walk the Gran Cono trail on Vesuvius, above Pompeii and Herculaneum, within the Somma-Vesuvius volcanic complex.
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How many nights in Campania?
Choose your nights and the route redraws: where to sleep, what to see, and the towns an easy day out from each base.
3 nights in Campania: Naples for 2 and Ravello for 1.5 nights in Campania: Naples for 3 and Ravello for 2.7 nights in Campania: Naples for 3, Capri for 2 and Ravello for 2.10 nights in Campania: Ischia for 2, Naples for 3, Capri for 2 and Ravello for 3.
Add your first day and each link opens on that stop's dates.
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Where to stay in Campania
Each stop with what to see and, where we have them, a day out and the hotel we'd book.
The largest island in the Bay of Naples, a green volcanic dome famous for its thermal spas and hot springs.
Its emblem is the Castello Aragonese, a fortress crowning a rocky islet linked to the town by a causeway.
35 km from Ischia as the crow flies
- Day out
- Torre del Greco · Caserta · Cuma
A small guest-room house on Via Duomo, a minute from the Duomo tram and metro stops, for a simple base near Spaccanapoli.
Check dates: NeocoreMore in Naples
A historic hotel on the Corso Vittorio Emanuele hillside, with Art Nouveau interiors, a library of old volumes and wide views over the bay.
Check dates: Grand Hotel Parker'sGrand Hotel Vesuvio
The grande dame of Via Partenope, rebuilt after wartime bombing, where Enrico Caruso spent his last days, looking across the bay to Castel dell'Ovo.
Check dates: Grand Hotel Vesuvio
35 km from Naples as the crow flies
The glamorous limestone island off the Sorrentine Peninsula, a magnet for the jet set since Roman emperors built their villas here.
- See
- Faraglioni
- Day out
- Anacapri
Boats slip into the Blue Grotto's electric-blue cave, and the three Faraglioni sea stacks rise from the water off Punta Tragara.
35 km from Naples as the crow flies
35 km from Capri as the crow flies
The Amalfi Coast's serene aerie, set high above the sea on a ridge of gardens.
Belmond's hotel in a medieval palace in Ravello, with frescoed interiors, terraces over the sea and a pool hanging above the coast.
Check dates: CarusoMore in Ravello
A villa hotel of medieval origin on the Ravello promontory, once a Bloomsbury haunt, in gardens that run to the Terrace of Infinity.
Check dates: Villa CimbroneThe Avino family's twelfth-century palazzo in Ravello, with a chapel for a lobby, a sommelier's table in the wine library and a seaside clubhouse.
Check dates: Palazzo Avino
Other places to stay
A cliff-edge hotel with a private-villa feel, high above the Bay of Naples, with a two-level infinity pool a short stroll from Anacapri.
Check dates: Caesar AugustusHotel Maiuri Pompei
A modest hotel a short drive from the Pompeii ruins, with an on-site restaurant serving local dishes and a garden to dine in.
Check dates: Hotel Maiuri PompeiMaison De luxe
A tiny guesthouse in Pompei with only a few rooms, a garden terrace and a morning breakfast, a short drive from the ruins.
Check dates: Maison De luxeGrand Hotel Royal Pompei
A small family-run hotel near Pompei station, within walking distance of the ruins, with fresh pastries at breakfast.
Check dates: Grand Hotel Royal PompeiAmira Resort Capri
A few-room B&B on Via Nuova del Faro in Anacapri, with a garden and terrace and a host in place of a front desk.
Check dates: Amira Resort Capri
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A traditional dinner from Campania
Every course is one the region actually serves. Change any of them and the wine, the timing and the shopping list follow.
Antipasto
Pizza di scarola
A covered Neapolitan bread pie filled with tender escarole, black olives, capers and anchovies.
First course
Gnocchi alla sorrentina
Potato gnocchi bake briefly with tomato, basil and fiordilatte, leaving soft dumplings beneath patches of melted, golden cheese.
Main course
Coniglio all’ischitana
Ischia’s rabbit, browned in olive oil and gently braised with white wine, cherry tomatoes, garlic and thyme.
Side
Gattò di patate
A Neapolitan potato bake with a centre of cooked ham, Salame Napoli and Caciocavallo, under a golden breadcrumb crust.
Dessert
Torta caprese
A dark almond-and-chocolate cake with a fine crust and a moist, close crumb.
Start the Pizza di scarola first: 5 hr 45 min.
Taste it there
A food walk through Naples
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What Campania is known for
You will find these here and nowhere else.
Three times a year Naples waits in its cathedral for an ampoule of clotted blood to turn liquid, and the bells tell the city when it does.
Sanmartino cut the Veiled Christ from one block of marble, shroud and all, so finely that Naples long whispered the prince had turned cloth to stone by alchemy.
Sfusato lemons ripen on terraces above Amalfi, and growers still carry the crop down thousands of stone steps by hand.
An inland chapter in Irpinia
Irpinia gives a Campania journey an inland wine chapter. Taurasi, Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo connect different wines with specific names and places. They are a useful starting point beyond the coast, while the vineyards of Vesuvius and the islands belong to other landscapes and deserve separate attention.
Wines from CampaniaSources and citations (2)
At Christmas
Naples’ Christmas table gives you several starting points: pizza di scarola for the Vigilia, minestra maritata with meat and winter greens, and honey-coated struffoli to finish. They are separate preparations, not a compulsory sequence for every family. Choose a manageable menu, then make time for the Nativity workshops of San Gregorio Armeno if your Christmas journey includes the city.
Where next
Molise
Italy's quietest region, where Samnite ruins and Roman towns sleep among wheat fields.
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Basilicata
Basilicata, the ancient Lucania, is Italy's least-visited mainland region, a wild interior of stone towns crowned by Matera and its cave-carved Sassi.
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Abruzzo
Italy's wild green heart, where wolves and bears still roam national parks beneath the Apennines' highest peaks.
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