- In June, 2020, I decided to travel to Naples in Italy, immediately after the country
had reopened its borders. In this video, I want to show
you what traveling in Italy is like now and share my top
13 things to do in Naples during the new normal. (upbeat music) So I'm here now in the huge
central square of Naples, in the Piazza del Plebiscito, and wow, I didn't imagine it to be this big and this beautiful. It's really a magnificent square. The Piazza del Plebiscito
is named after the 1860 vote that brought Naples into the
unified Kingdom of Italy. The two main attractions on the square are the pink-hued Palazzo
Reale, Royal Palace in English to the east and the Basilica di San
Francesco di Paola from 1816 to the West. The neoclassical Basilica
is a later addition to the colonnade of the
original piazza design and is reminiscent of
the Pantheon in Rome. After checking out the
Piazza del Plebiscito it was already sunset time,
and I went for a walk down Naples seafront promenade. (upbeat music) Walking along the coast here now and it's super beautiful. The sun is just setting at the moment, and I'd be like, I'm really
the only tourist here, I haven't seen any other
tourist since I arrived. So yeah, it was gonna
be a really nice stay. I think we're gonna get to discover the real authentic version of Napoli without any tourist. (upbeat music) All right, so here we are
at the Regina Magherita. And the funny story is, actually, the first pizza magherita
was created for a queen whose colors were red, white and green and that's colors of the pizza and the colors of Italy. And here it is guys. The big moment I've been waiting for. First pizza in Napoli. I can't wait. I got the classic one. It's a pizza magherita and this place, it's called The Regina Magherita. I think it's going to be amazing. So let's dig right in. Really good. I think I'll try some
more pizza places here and I'll be able to tell you which one is really the best pizza in Napoli. (upbeat music) Good morning, and can you hear this in the background? People here are singing. It's funny, you really can feel like a different temperament
here in the south. Listen to this. (people singing) It's kind of funny. This has been going on all morning. People really seem to be
enjoying life here in Napoli. Can't wait to discover
more of the city today. (bright music) So, I'm here now in front of the Palazzo Reale, the
Royal palace of Napoli. And actually it was built
during the 16th century, during the Spanish occupation of Napoli was meant to show off the
glory of the Spanish crown. And it should have a lot
of interesting rock art on the inside. So let's take a look. (upbeat music) The Royal Palace of Naples was one of the four residences used
by The House of Bourbon during the rule of the
Kingdom of The Two Sicilies, which was the largest
sovereign state in Italy prior to the Italian
unification in the 19th century. The palace has a rich collection of baroque furnishings,
porcelain, tapestries, sculpture and paintings inside the marvelously
decorated Royal apartments. (upbeat music) All right, so I took a quick taxi up here from the city center, that cost about 10 euros
they are not too expensive. And now we are here at the Palazzo Reale Di Capodimonte. One of the absolute
showstopper sites of Napoli. Let's see what's in store. (bright music) So as with many of the
most important sites in Italy at the moment, you had to reserve tickets
for this one online, and I did that already and you get a specific time slot. So hopefully, we'll have no
problems going straight in. The Palazzo Reale Di Capodimonte is the former summer residence of the Kings of the Two Sicilies and home to one of Italy's
largest art collections. Some of the highlights
of the museum include, a series of early 16th century tapestries depicting the 1525 Battle of Pavia, impressive baroque paintings, and the Farnese Collection. Which is home to masterpieces, such as Botticelli's "Madonna
with Child and Angels", Bellini's "Transfiguration" and Parmigiano's "Antea." There's also an interesting collection of historic weapons and armor. (upbeat music) After visiting the permanent exhibitions, I continued with a
temporary exhibition called Napoli, Napoli Di lava,
porcellana e musica. Because of the new normal, I was the only visitor. Okay, this is starting
to feel really strange. I'm now by myself in this exhibition and look at the exhibition, it consists mostly of
bowls, opera costumes, puppets, busts, and similar things. And it is definitely an
interesting exhibition to visit all by yourself. Oh my goodness, I hope none of these statues
start to move suddenly. (bright music) Wow, what an experience. So this is truly a magnificent museum. I highly recommend coming here. And obviously I had it all to myself. It truly added to the experience. A little spooky at times, but definitely an experience. Really cool. (upbeat music) So I'm now in the Parco Di Capodimonte which is right next to the castle. It was first used as a
Royal hunting ground, and now it's a huge city park. And I'm here in front
of the Porta Di Mezzo, which means "the middle gate." And from here, five different paths
diverge out into the woods, and we're going to choose one of them. The middle one should lead to
the statue of a huge giant. So I guess we might choose the middle one. (upbeat music continues) This is really fun. This is part of the beauty of traveling that you never really know
what you're going to find. And at the end of the long journey, you might stand in front of a giant. And giant is getting some repairs done. (upbeat music) All right I made it out just in time to see the guy here, he's already about to close the gates now and I would've been locked
in for good, but I made it. And now let's take a taxi
back to the city center. (upbeat music continues) (speaks in foreign language) Okay, so this taxi driver
again was so friendly giving me so much advice. Really telling me his opinion about the different parts of Naples and just being such an
all around nice guy. It's crazy, I thought
it was just a prejudice that people in Naples in the
South of Italy are super nice but it seems to be true cause the taxi driver yesterday
was also just as nice. And then also the people I met today, when I was looking for the museum, it's really incredible. People are just so warm and friendly here at the South of Italy. And here we are now at Piazza Bellini. (upbeat music) This is such a nice thing about Italy, this atmosphere in the
evening on the piazza, where all the people just go to hang out and have a good time. It's so cool. (upbeat music) And this square here, Piazza Bellini, is the perfect place in Napoli for an Aperitivo, so pre dinner drinks and snacks. And of course I got this Spritz Aperol, my favorite Italian drink. So good. Also some free snacks. We are also gonna have some bruschetta, which is coming soon. And the bruschetta arrived. So, bruschetta means little
bread with delicious toppings. And here we have gogonzola
with walnuts, this one. Then rucola with some ham,
smoked ham and tomatoes. Oh, it looks so good, can't wait to try it. (upbeat music) All right it's pretty crazy, so I found this Sorbillo Pizzeria and check this out, all these people there
are waiting to get in. I've never seen that before, like such a long line in front of a pizzeria to get a pizza. So it must be really famous, all right? Let me try my luck now and
let's see if I can get in or how long the wait will be. (soft music) So sometimes traveling by
yourself has its perks. Because I was by myself, they snuck me in and I didn't have to wait at all, which is really cool. It is way famous pizzeria
that it's so appealing though. (bright music) It's kind of like a bit
of a funny gimmick here. You see the floor is transparent and you can see the people sitting. (bright music) Wow, okay I'd no idea that simple pizza margherita
can taste this way. It's amazing, really really amazing pizza. Wow, Sorbillo. Okay, I guess it lives up to the hype. Why is, it's super cheap. Pizza was only four euros and then you pay coperto, which is kinda like the included tip, 150 and water for two euros. So yeah, amazing deal. (bright music continues) Lots of street art here
in the streets too. (bright music continues) It's kinda cool is a bookshop that doubles as a bar at night. It's a creative idea
to get people to read. (soft music) I've got a bit of a tricky
situation this morning, I had to check out of my Airbnb. So now I'm standing
here with all my luggage and I don't really know where to leave it. I tried to leave it at a hotel but all the hotels
apparently are closed here because of the new normal because there's no tourists. And yeah, now I'm here
in the middle of Naples with a ton of luggage
and nowhere to put it. I continue to look for a place to leave my luggage while walking through the Quartieri Spagnoli. The Quartieri Spagnoli
were originally built in the 16th century for the Spanish troops of viceroy Don Pedro. With its narrow streets, dripping washing, renegade scooters and old school cooking, this is one of the most unique
neighborhoods of Naples. It's also the part of the city where the traditional Neapolitan
language is strongest. All right. So I guess I found
a very Italian solution, I asked at this hotel
there and they agreed. Usually they close at 1:30
cause there's no guests but they agreed that I could meet with one of the guys from the hotel and he would keep my suitcase until four, if I pay him a drink or something. So that seems like a great solution. I left it there. I got his number here and hopefully I get my
suitcase back at four. So I hope it's gonna work. Let's see. (upbeat music) All right, now we are in one of the few show stopper sites of Napoli. This is the Museo Nazionale Archeologico, the archeology museum, which has many of the best
and most impressive sculptures and treasures from Pompeii. (upbeat music) The Museo Archeologico Nazionale houses one of the world's most
important collections of ancient treasures. The ground floor of the museum displays colossal Greek
and Roman sculptures including a mighty Hercules statue and the Toro Farnese or Farnese Bull in English which is the largest single sculpture ever recovered from antiquity. (upbeat music continues) The museum's mezzanine
level is home to some of the most precious mosaics
recovered from Pompeii including the famous Alexander Mosaic depicting the battle between Alexander the Great and the Persian King, Darius the Third. The mosaics in this room are
from the House of The Faun. And it's called House of The Faun because of this statue, it's faun. Because a creature from
Greek and Roman mythology, are usually associated
with the wild parties. (soft music) The first floor showcases ancient frescoes that are incredibly well-preserved and give a good impression
of what life looked like in the unfortunate city of Pompeii, right before the eruption
of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. (upbeat music) All right, time for lunch. Another day, another legendary pizzeria. Wow, it smells so good already. I can't wait to start eating. Al Tre Santi had the best
pizza that I tried in Naples. I especially like that it had so much delicious
mozzarella cheese on top. And part of the new normal, waiters have to disinfect tables after the guests leave. Even at a famous pizza
place like this one. Crazy. Once again, despite this
place being so famous it only costs eight euros
for pizza and a water. So, really good price. (upbeat music) I'm going to take the subway now. Just got my ticket here, it's two stops to get back
to Piazza del Plebiscito. (upbeat music continues) Many of metro stations in Naples are impressive works of art. Toledo, where I got off, was even declared Europe's
most impressive metro station. Other amazing stops include, Materdei, with it's technicolor walls, Salvator Rosa, with its
quirky Fiat installation and Universita with lenticular color changing icons and a sculpture that symbolizes the synapses of the human brain. All right, so that
worked marvelously well, I got my suitcase back. Now, I think we can take a quick look at the Galleria Umberto Primo and then we might have a coffee before taking a car to Positano. (upbeat music) The Galleria Umberto Primo was built in the late 19th century and is named after the
then reigning King of Italy who had supported Naples during
a severe cholera epidemic. The building is a breathtaking pairing of
neo-Renaissance fronts, a lofty glass dome and a
sumptuous marble floor. It's an ideal place to go
shopping, grab a coffee or people watch. During my visit, it was still pretty quiet because of the new normal. Next I walked over to the Caffe Gambrinus, which is Naples' oldest
and most venerable cafe. Some of its most famous customers included Gabrielle D'Annunzio, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, and John Paul Sartre. It offers outstanding Neapolitan coffee and delicious pastries and cakes. The Cafe is perfect for a break after going sightseeing
in the center of Naples (sing in foreign language) (crowd claps) So those are my
recommendations for Naples. What are yours? If you're from there or if
you've been there before please make sure to leave your tips and advice in the comment
box below this video. If you liked this video please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to Max Nomad for new travel videos published everyday. I'm Max Nomad and I will
talk to you again soon.
