The undisputed star of Piazza del Plebiscito, Naples’ largest square, is the Basilica di San Francesco di Paola, a later addition to the colonnade that formed the highlight of Joachim Murat’s original piazza (1809). A neoclassical copy of the Pantheon in Rome, the church was commissioned by Ferdinand I in 1817 to celebrate the restoration of his kingdom after the Napoleonic interlude.
Basilica di San Francesco di Paola
Naples
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
1.27 MILES
Naples' National Archaeological Museum serves up one of the world’s finest collections of Graeco-Roman artefacts. Originally a cavalry barracks and later…
2.16 MILES
Originally designed as a hunting lodge for Charles VII of Bourbon, the monumental Palazzo di Capodimonte was begun in 1738 and took more than a century to…
1.05 MILES
It's in this Masonic-inspired baroque chapel that you'll find Giuseppe Sanmartino's incredible sculpture, Cristo velato (Veiled Christ), its marble veil…
5.59 MILES
Herculaneum harbours a wealth of archaeological finds, from ancient advertisements and stylish mosaics to carbonised furniture and terror-struck skeletons…
13.92 MILES
The ghostly ruins of ancient Pompeii (Pompei in Italian) make for one of the world's most engrossing archaeological experiences. Much of the site's value…
Certosa e Museo di San Martino
0.66 MILES
The high point (quite literally) of the Neapolitan baroque, this charterhouse-turned-museum was built as a Carthusian monastery between 1325 and 1368…
2 MILES
Naples' oldest and most sacred catacombs became a Christian pilgrimage site when San Gennaro's body was interred here in the 5th century. The carefully…
16.43 MILES
There are castles and then there’s Ischia’s Castello Aragonese, a veritable fort-city set on its own craggy islet, looking like a cross between Harry…
Nearby Naples attractions
0.05 MILES
Traverse five centuries along Naples’ Bourbon Tunnel. Conceived by Ferdinand II in 1853 to link the Palazzo Reale to the barracks and the sea, the never…
0.09 MILES
For Continental grandeur, it's hard to beat Piazza del Plebiscito. Whichever way you look, the view is show-stopping. To the northwest, vine-covered…
0.15 MILES
Envisaged as a 16th-century monument to Spanish glory (Naples was under Spanish rule at the time), the magnificent Palazzo Reale is home to the Museo del…
0.16 MILES
Located inside the Palazzo Reale – purchase tickets at the palace ticket booth – MeMus hosts long-running temporary exhibitions linked to the rich history…
0.19 MILES
Join the perma-tanned for a spot of window-shopping on this popular pedestrianised strip. Linking Piazza Trieste e Trento with Piazza dei Martiri, it's a…
0.2 MILES
An evening at Italy's largest opera house is magical. Although the original 1737 theatre burnt down in 1816, Antonio Niccolini's 19th-century…
7. Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli
0.22 MILES
Naples' Palazzo Reale is home to the Biblioteca Nazionale, its priceless treasures including at least 2000 papyri discovered at Herculaneum and fragments…
0.25 MILES
Recalling Milan's Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, Naples' most famous 19th-century arcade is a breathtaking pairing of richly adorned neo-Renaissance fronts…