2 Best Sights in Chiaia, Santa Lucia, and Nearby, Naples

Naples was originally named by the Greeks after the Mermaid Parthenope (who slew herself after being rejected by Odysseus, at least in the poet Virgil’s version), so it's only fitting that the city should have established one of Europe's first public aquariums in 1874. Founded by the German scientist Anton Dohrn and housed in a Stile Liberty building designed by Adolf von Hildebrandt, the aquarium quickly became the wonder of Naples for children and art-exhausted adults. At the time—when, not so incidentally, the public imagination was being stirred by Jules Verne’s Captain Nemo and Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid—technological innovations made it possible to funnel seawater directly from the bay into the aquarium.

Officially named the Stazione Zoologica, the aquarium reopened in 2021 after a major six-year overhaul. Tanks still showcase marine life from the Bay of Naples, as well as tropical fish, but the complex now also includes the Museo Darwin-Dohrn (Da-DoM), a few steps away in the leafy Villa Comunale. The highlight is the skeleton of a sperm whale, which washed up in Ischia in 2018, in a room opening up to the bay. Guided tours are available.

This 12th-century castle, the oldest in Naples, was built atop the ruins of an ancient Roman villa on a thin promontory that dangles over the Porto Santa Lucia. Legend has it that the poet Virgil hid inside the villa an egg that had protective powers as long as it remained intact. The belief was taken so seriously that to quell the people's panic after Naples suffered an earthquake, an invasion, and a plague in quick succession, its monarch felt compelled to produce an intact egg, solemnly declaring it to be the original.

Today, the castle shares its views with some of the city's top hotels, and its gigantic rooms, rock tunnels, and belvederes over the bay are among the city's most striking sights. Some rooms are even given over to temporary art and photography shows. You enter below a forbidding trio of cannons. On the right is a large picture of the castle in Renaissance times. Turn left and look through the battlements to the intimate Borgo Marinaro below. An elevator on the right ascends to the castle top, or you can continue along the walkway overlooking the ramparts. The roof's Sala della Terrazze offers a postcard-come-true view of Capri.

Note that Castel dell'Ovo is closed for renovation work. Although it's scheduled to reopen in 2026, check on its status before visiting.