Today I took the train from Rome to Naples. I did a bit of shopping around on price and options and ended up with a window seat on one of the express trains for only €17! That’s a great deal. The Regional trains are about €12 and take over two and a half hours, while the express is nicer and takes just a little over an hour. Some tickets were pretty expensive, another site had it pretty cheap, but it was still more. $21 which is higher with the exchange rate but then another $5 on top for online booking. But directly thru trenitalia is where I found the deal.

I arrived in Naples a little after 2pm, and checked into my hostel. I have a private room hostel as I’m trying to get the budget plan going now. Having my own apartment in Rome was nice for the week, and while it was a good deal it was still higher than what I was looking to spend. But now in Naples for €30/night I have a private room in a hostel, I have a sink and my own balcony and the washrooms are shared. Only about a 5 minute walk from the train station, so easy to get to

Around 3pm I headed out for the afternoon to walk around town, with no real plan aside from wanting some pizza, seeing the Duomo, and then just exploring.

I didn’t really know what to expect from Naples. I haven’t heard a lot about it. And some of the travel writers I like don’t seem to care too much for the city. You hear about it being dirty and having crime, but that’s true of many cities. When I first ventured out it looked like the dirty, seedier cousin to Rome. But as I explored a little further I found a city that quickly fascinated and intrigued, and won me over. I spent over 6 hours out and about in city, and it was one of the most varied collection of sites I’ve seen in that period of time. Graffiti and trash but also history, churches, kids playing, people walking and eating, more actual life happening in front of my eyes than in the tourist-packed craze of Rome. All while being near a beautiful water-front scene. It’s definitely a city that is lacking some in upkeep, which impacts some of the buildings and architecture here. But there really does seem to be a ton of great stuff in this city. I’m looking forward to having the weekend here, and seeing what my continued thoughts on the city are. But my first day’s impression was definitely positive.

Here are a number of pictures to highlight some parts of the day. Though I saw so much more than this.