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

The first thing Mayor Luigi de Magistris did after his 2011 election was to banish traffic from the city's seafront. Strolling, skating, or biking along Via Caracciolo and Via Partenope with Capri, Vesuvius, and the Castel dell'Ovo in your sights is a favorite Neapolitan pastime.

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.