Where I’d Stay in Naples (After Actually Staying There Myself)

I booked this place without knowing much about the area, and it turned out to be exactly where I’d tell you to stay.

If you’re trying to work out where to stay in Naples, I can only really speak to where I actually stayed, so that’s where I’ll start, then I’ll get into the neighbourhoods.

Where I stayed: Somnia Luxury Rooms

I stayed at Somnia Luxury Rooms, right in the old, historic part of Naples, for four nights.

The room itself is small, but it works.

There’s no traditional bed, instead there’s a sofa that folds out, and it’s genuinely comfortable, not one of those thin, lumpy sofa beds you brace yourself for.

You get air conditioning, which in August is not optional, a little balcony with seating (although it was too hot for me to actually use it), a desk and chair, and a fridge that already had water, soda and a few snacks in it when I arrived.

The bathroom is modern, the water pressure is good, and the whole place was spotless.

Breakfast isn’t included, but honestly that didn’t bother me at all, because there are cafés everywhere around this part of the city, and I was eating so much for lunch and dinner that I barely wanted breakfast anyway.

The host checked in on me a few times to see if I needed anything, and gave me a list of his own restaurant and bar recommendations, which is actually where a few of the tips in my where to eat in Naples guide came from.

💰 What I paid: €260 for 4 nights in late August, which is high season here, so just over €52 a night, worth knowing since prices shift a lot depending on the best time to visit Naples.

Two people could easily fit in this room, which makes that price even better value split two ways.

It’s also a short walk from where day trip pickups usually happen, which is where I left from for my Amalfi Coast, Sorrento and Pompeii day trip.

I felt completely safe here the entire time, which matters if you’ve read my post on is Naples safe and are still deciding.

Check prices for Somnia Luxury Rooms

Quercia Design Home in the Center

I didn’t stay here, so take this as a recommendation rather than a review.

This one is for you if you want space.

It’s an 80 square metre apartment, which is enormous by Naples historic centre standards, with a proper kitchen, a washing machine and a lift, and the whole thing is done out in modern design pieces rather than the usual rented-flat furniture.

The washing machine is the bit I’d actually care about. I was in Naples in late August and I was going through clothes at a rate I hadn’t planned for.

It sleeps two and works well for couples, and there’s no breakfast, which as I’ve said, doesn’t matter at all in this part of the city.

Check prices for Quercia Design Home in the Center

Neapolis Antica Guest House

Again, I didn’t stay here, but this is the one I’d pick for location above everything else.

It’s on Vico San Severino, which puts you a 3 minute walk from San Gregorio Armeno, the nativity scene street, and right in the middle of the streets I spent most of my four days walking up and down.

It’s a 60 square metre apartment with a bedroom, a balcony, air con, a washing machine and soundproofed windows, and that last one is not a small thing here.

The historic centre is loud. Scooters, deliveries, people. Soundproofing is worth paying for.

It’s pet friendly too, if you’re travelling with one.

Check prices for Neapolis Antica Guest House

The two neighbourhoods I’d actually pick

If Somnia Luxury Rooms isn’t available or isn’t your style, I’d stay in one of two neighbourhoods, and I’d genuinely put them in this order.

1. The historic centre

This is where I stayed, and it’s my number one pick for a reason.

You’re surrounded by history in every direction, it has some of the best restaurants and pizzerias in the city, several of which made my 5 best pizzerias in Naples list, you can grab a spritz to go and just walk with it, and the locals here are friendly.

It’s also close to the entrance for Napoli Sotterranea, if you want to see the layers of history underneath the streets too.

It’s also walkable to almost everything I’ve written about in my 13 things to do in Naples guide, so you’re not relying on taxis to see the highlights, easy to fit into whatever 3 days in Naples itinerary you’re following.

2. The Spanish Quarter (Quartieri Spagnoli)

The Spanish Quarter was laid out in a strict grid pattern by the Spanish in the 16th century to house soldiers, and it has a reputation as one of the grittier parts of the city.

Our guide from the Naples food tour actually talked us through this, explaining that the neighbourhood used to have a real problem with organised crime, but that locals have spent the last years taking it back, opening family run restaurants and reclaiming the streets.

I walked through here in the day and felt completely fine, and it’s full of life, with street vendors, quick coffee stops, and some properly good, no frills food, several dishes worth knowing before you go.

I’d still say the historic centre edges it for a first stay, simply because it puts you closer to more of the sights, but if you want a slightly grittier, more local feel, this is where I’d look next.

A quick warning

I did hear that there are some neighbourhoods in Naples that are best avoided as a tourist, though I didn’t go into them myself and can’t speak to specifics.

Stick to the historic centre or the Spanish Quarter and you’ll be in exactly the areas I felt safest and had the best time in, and honestly, that alone tells you a lot about whether Naples is worth visiting in the first place.