Naples at Night: Where to Go, What It Costs and How to Get Back

Naples at night is not a city of nightclubs: it’s a city of streets. You go out late, drink standing outside a tiny bar, walk along the Lungomare, eat a pizza at 11 pm and go home on the funicular, which runs until 2 am on Fridays and Saturdays. This page completes the guide to things to do in Naples with the night-time side: it explains where people go evening by evening, what the three evening experiences worth booking cost and, above all, the times verified on anm.it for the last metro and the funiculars. Partner prices verified regularly.

Chiaia and the baretti: where Naples goes on a Friday

The heart of the evening is Chiaia, between Piazza dei Martiri and via dei Mille. The Neapolitan formula is the “baretto”: tiny bars with the counter opening onto the street, people outside glass in hand, music spilling out of the door. The streets to look for are via Bisignano, vico Belledonne a Chiaia, via Ferrigni and the side streets around Piazza Rodinò. From 7:30 pm it’s aperitivo time, from 11 pm people come back for after dinner; on Saturdays between midnight and 2 am the streets are full from pavement to pavement.

Get there on metro Line 2 (Amedeo stop) or on Line 1 to Municipio and ten minutes on foot; the Chiaia funicular (Parco Margherita station) links directly to Vomero. For dinner, Chiaia’s restaurants are dearer than the city average: the pizzeria remains the cheap option, and the historic ones in the centre are a 20-minute walk away.

Lungomare and Santa Lucia: the evening stroll

The Lungomare Caracciolo, pedestrianised from Mergellina to Piazza Vittoria, is where the whole city walks on spring and summer evenings: families, couples, teenagers on scooters parked along the wall. Carry on towards Santa Lucia and the Borgo Marinari, the little harbour beneath Castel dell’Ovo with its fish restaurants (expensive, but the view of Vesuvius is the one you came for): the castle itself stays lit all night.

An aperitivo on the Lungomare costs more than in Chiaia because you’re paying for the view; for a cheap drink go back to the side streets. In winter the stroll happens at 6 pm, before dinner: in January the sea wind is unforgiving.

Historic centre: Piazza Bellini and the Decumani

The historic centre is the evening for students and thirty-somethings: Piazza Bellini with its tables around the Greek walls, Piazza San Domenico Maggiore, via San Sebastiano and the alleys of the Decumani down to Piazza del Gesù. The drinks are good and cheap; the bars close late at weekends and the crowd drifts from one square to the next. It’s also the area for late-night pizza: several historic pizzerias serve until midnight and beyond.

The useful stops are Dante or Museo on Line 1, or Cavour on Line 2. Be warned: Line 1 stops at 11:00 pm from Sunday to Thursday; after that you either walk back (Chiaia is 25 minutes away) or take a taxi.

Vomero: the quiet evening

Vomero is a residential hill: Piazza Vanvitelli, the pedestrianised via Scarlatti, the bars of via Aniello Falcone with their view over the gulf. It’s the choice for a dinner without crowds and for anyone staying in the area. The practical advantage is the transport: the Centrale funicular (Piazza Fuga) and the Chiaia one (Cimarosa) go down to the centre until 2 am on Fridays and Saturdays, and Vanvitelli station on Line 1 is a stone’s throw away.

Bagnoli and Coroglio in summer

From June to September the Neapolitan evening moves west, to the Bagnoli-Coroglio shoreline beneath the islet of Nisida: lidos that turn into bars after sunset, concerts on the beach, DJ sets until late. It’s the closest thing the city offers to a “beach nightlife” scene. You get there on the Cumana (EAV) to Bagnoli, but the late-night return is the problem: the trains finish early (according to the EAV timetable currently in force the last Cumana from Bagnoli to Montesanto leaves at 10:01 pm; the later services, until 10:49 pm, stop at Fuorigrotta) and a taxi from Coroglio to the centre has to be called or arranged in advance, because they don’t cruise the area looking for fares. Groups split the cost; if you’re on your own, plan the return before you go out.

By day the same stretch is a beach: the rules on the water are in the guide to the beaches.

The Neapolitan aperitivo, in general

Compared with Milan, aperitivo in Naples is less ritual and more excuse: a spritz or a glass of Falanghina, taralli ‘nzogna e pepe, some fried snacks, all standing up. Don’t expect a buffet. The guided Naples: Guided Street Food Tour with Spritz (€39, two and a half hours, over 1,500 reviews averaging 4.9) does the round of the right stops in the centre with spritz and tastings included: for a first evening in the city it’s the quickest way to understand what and where to eat, and from there you carry on by yourselves. The other food tours, including the daytime ones, are on the food tours page.

Three evening tours worth booking

Underground after closing. The Naples: Naples Underground Exclusive After Hours Tour (€45, 2 hours) takes you into the Greek-Roman aqueduct 40 metres beneath Piazza San Gaetano in the evening, in a small group, without the afternoon queues. It’s the same route as the daytime visit, with narrow tunnels and candlelight: not for anyone who suffers from claustrophobia. The three “undergrounds” of Naples and how not to confuse them are explained in the guide to Naples Underground.

Panoramic Posillipo. The Naples Panoramic Tour: Posillipo Viewpoint & City Highlights costs €52 per group (not per person), lasts 2 hours and is private: you drive up to the viewpoints on via Petrarca and Capo Posillipo, the spots from which the whole gulf can be seen at night. It makes sense for two to four people who don’t want to hunt for parking or wait for bus 140 in the evening. The other walking and private tours are on their own page.

Street food with spritz. Described above: it’s the one to book first if you’re staying three nights.

Last metro and funicular: times verified on anm.it

The times below are those published by ANM, checked regularly. The Friday and Saturday extension is the rule for the year, but early closures for works are announced on the website: check on the evening itself.

On extended-service nights the passage between Line 1 and Line 2 at Museo closes at 11:15 pm and the Porto exit of Municipio station at 10:00 pm. Line 2 is run by Trenitalia and has its own timetable: according to trenitalia.com the last departure leaves Pozzuoli at 11:03 pm and San Giovanni-Barra at 10:53 pm, with an average frequency of 8 minutes on weekdays. The ticket is the same as by day: €1.30 for an ANM single ride, €4.50 for the day pass valid until midnight on the day of validation; you can also buy it in the ANM Go app or with a contactless card at the turnstiles (Tap&Go). All the lines are in the guide to transport in Naples.

Getting back late: taxis and night buses

After the last metro there are taxis (fixed ranks at Piazza dei Martiri, Piazza Trieste e Trento, Piazza Dante, Piazza Garibaldi) and the ANM night lines, marked with an N: the N1 links Piazza Garibaldi with corso Umberto, Municipio, Santa Lucia, Chiaia, Mergellina and Fuorigrotta, with departures every 30 minutes from 11:30 pm to 1:00 am and one at 4:30 am; the N7 covers via Posillipo. They’re infrequent and should be checked in the ANM Go app before you rely on them. In a taxi ask for the meter or the fixed fare displayed on board for set routes; the night surcharge exists and is legitimate.

If you’re staying in Chiaia, Vomero or the historic centre, walking back is almost always the simplest option: distances are 15–25 minutes and the main streets are busy until late.

Safety at night: the practical points

• Phone: don’t hold it in your hand while walking along the kerb; scooter snatching happens, especially around Garibaldi and in the alleys of the Spanish Quarter and the Sanità after 1 am.
• Areas: Chiaia, the Lungomare, Vomero, Piazza Bellini and the Decumani are crowded and calm until late. The dark side streets east of Piazza Garibaldi and the commercial port area have no reason to be crossed at night.
• Scooters: cross calmly and with your eyes open; in Naples pedestrians make their way by walking at a steady pace, not by running.
• Drinking in the street: the city council periodically issues orders restricting the sale and consumption of takeaway alcohol in certain areas and at certain hours, especially in the historic centre; the bars know the rules, so follow what they tell you.
• Weekends: on Fridays and Saturdays the crush in Chiaia after midnight is real; if you have children or don’t like crowds, move your evening to Vomero or go earlier.

The rule is the same as in any big city: go where the people are, get back on transport you’ve planned. With the metro until 1:32 am and the funiculars until 2 am at weekends, Naples at night can be done without a car.