Arrive and check in at our hotel at your leisure. We’ll gather in the late afternoon for a stroll and aperitivo. While enjoying sweeping views over the city and the bay with Vesuvius lurking in the distance, we’ll get an overview of all that awaits us this week. Afterward, we’ll walk to dinner at a cozy local restaurant for our first taste of the iconic dishes of the Naples kitchen.

Today, we’ll delve into the city’s cuisine and the markets and street life that form its orbit. We’ll enter the kitchen and meet chefs of classic Neapolitan pastries, such as the baba au rum and sfogliatelle. Later, in a street market, we’ll meet third-generation bakers in their family bakery. Along the way, we’ll taste street food and other local delicacies such as salt cod, and stop into the studio of the city’s last market sign painter. We’ll finish the day with pizza at what is probably the city’s—if not the world’s—best pizzeria.

After breakfast, we’ll set out to explore the city’s religious practices and Neapolitan superstitions, beginning with a local Mass that’s known around town for its weekly miracle. Afterward, we’ll descend into catacombs where human bones are venerated, and even adopted, by locals. We’ll learn about the rituals and beliefs that live in these monumental sanctuaries. Lunch will be at a beloved neighborhood trattoria, followed by some time on your own. In the evening, we’ll head out for a hands-on workshop where we’ll learn the art of pizza- or pasta-making, step by step, from a true Napoli master. We’ll then sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Home of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, this volcanic zone is a netherworld of crater lakes, ancient waterways, thriving viticulture and seafood farming. Today, we'll be heading outside of the bustling alleyways and into the countryside—we’ll spend the day here learning about the agriculture, snacking on the local mussels, and lunching at a local winery accompanied by their unique wines and digging into the history of the place. We’ll get an in depth view of rich archaeological ruins in the area including the remarkably well-preserved basement of a significant amphitheater from which animals were released during gladiator games. And we’ll visit a tunnel, believed in ancient times to be a gate to hell.

Take this morning and lunch at your own leisure. We’ll gather in the early afternoon for a walking tour focused on the city’s craftsmen, visiting the workshops and studios of wood carvers, umbrella makers, luthiers, nativity scene artists, and much more. For our final evening, we’ll gather for a farewell dinner, held in a private home in one of the city’s most iconic buildings. In this stately setting, we’ll feast on course after course of Napoli staples, while musicians of the distinct Neapolitan tradition play their favorite songs. With ample local wine at the table, raise our glasses to a wonderful week, celebrating the Neapolitan way.  

Today, head homeward or on to your next destination—or, if you'd like, spend a few more days exploring Naples. Until the next adventure!