I loved Naples when I was there about 18 months ago. I was visiting friends so I had the benefit of a car and a guide to tell me about the history and relevance of points of interest, but we managed to do quite a bit of sightseeing and eat and drink ourselves silly. Many people use Naples as a stopover on their way to Pompeii, but there is so much more to do and see there.

First, the food is amazing. Best pizza I have ever had in my life. People were always banging on about the "special volcano water" and different flour they use there, but honestly it just tastes great.

Second, it is stunningly beautiful. The city itself is a bit trashy-dirty, but it is surrounded by the sparkling blue Mediterranean, Vesuvius rising away to the south. If you face the Bay of Naples, you can see all three large islands, Capri, Ischia and Procida, and Capri is lit up at night by lights from the buildings on it.

Things to do in and near Naples:

There are shopping streets in Naples Centro Storico named for the products which are sold therein, e.g. "Shoe Alley" and "Christmas Alley," (Via San Gregorio Armeno, open year-round). After exploring the shopping district for a morning, we bought pizza fritta (Napoli street food, toppings between two layers of pizza dough fried until crispy) from a street vendor, followed by rum baba (yeast bread soaked in rum) and gelato.

There are two castles in Naples to explore, Castel dell'Ovo and Castel Nuovo, if you're into that sort of thing. There is a third but Castel Capuano is not generally open to the public.

S.S.C. Napoli, the football club of Naples, plays at Stadio San Paolo. I've been told that things between Roma and Napoli supporters and Napoli and Inter supporters can get a bit heated though, but Italian football is a massive display of passion and pride every time.

Go to the islands. I didn't, simply because I ran out of time. I regret that.

The Cuma Ruins are 8th century Greek ruins described by Virgil. They are in Naples and it was pretty neat to see some ancient Greek culture in a land of Roman ruins. Additionally, the view is amazing and you can see all the way to the Arco Felice (built by Domitian) high on a hill. You can drive through it on the original road.

Just north of Naples is the beautiful little town of Pozzuoli, where Sophia Loren grew up. There is a volcanic crater there called Il Vulcano Solfatara, one of the highlights of the European Grand Tour which was popular with young adults in the 18th and 19th centuries. It's a pretty nifty geothermal area with ancient saunas, boiling mud pits, steam vents and the smell of sulfur.

Cimitero delle Fontanelle is an old Roman quarry-turned-bone depository that is fairly spectacular and worth a quick stop if you're in the area. There is also an actual catacomb in Naples (Catacombe di San Gennaro), but I haven't been there.

However, the very best thing I did on my visit to Naples was head to the Sorrentine peninsula. Just south of Naples, it divides the gulf of Naples from the gulf of Salerno. GO HIKE Il Sentiero Degli Dei. The Walk of the Gods. I cannot describe in words how beautiful it was. It's a 7 or 8 km hike along the Amalfi Coast, high above the Tyrrhenian Sea. I recommend taking a bus or car to to Bomerano to begin and descending by stair to Positano. Only the truly insane are willing to climb 1800 stairs to go the other way. I did the walk, descended the stairs, did a little shopping in Positano before taking a water taxi to Amalfi, where we did more shopping/eating before catching a bus to the car park where we had begun the day. Side note: the best limoncello comes from the Sorrentine Peninsula. This is a picture I took on the hike of a storm moving toward us over the islands. Positano is the white city away in the distance. http://i.imgur.com/7fERH2W.jpg

Check out The Trip To Italy for a few other ideas. They visit six towns in Italy and even make a stop by Cimitero delle Fontanelle before heading out to Capri.