For years friends have been asking me tips for my home town of Naples. Of course, the city has seen a massive rise in popularity in recent times, and a massive change from the ’90 when people would mostly avoid it, citing ‘filth’, ‘danger’, ‘mafia and camorra’ and more offensive and colourful adjectives.

Now Napoli is the next best thing and everyone wants to visit. And I love as always, and more, going back home. In the last few years I have experienced a side of it I had not touched in decades: Naples for kids. I am rediscovering my beautiful hometown through the young eyes of my son and his cousins.

Here is a list of things to do with little ones when visiting.

Have fun at Edelandia

This is maybe the place I have the fondest, most vivid memories from when I was little. This is Napoli’s historic amusement park, Edenlandia. It’s been opened for 60 years now, with a big hiatus at some point when it fell into disrepair and many of this historic rides were too old and obsolete to be safe. It was finally reopened with some modern addition, and while some of the historic rides are still not open (i tronchi! Vecchia America) a lot of them are back and it’s wonderful to get to experience them again (they stayed mostly identical) with my son. It’s inexpensive and if you visit early on weekdays when Italian kids are at school but British kids are on holiday, it’s great. Weekends and evenings get busy.

Right next door is Napoli zoo, worth a visit for those who like zoos. There is a pay car park outside both.

Spend a day at the beach

This is something we try to do when the weather is gorgeous, from May to October. If you have a car or fancy catching the Cumana train, the beaches around Baia and Bacoli, Miseno are stunning – wide, sandy, open and off season, really enjoyable with lots of great restaurants.

If you can’t head out of town, then I love spending a few hours at Bagno Elena, on Posillipo, close to Mergellina station. You can hire beach loungers for about 15euro for adults, and enjoy an incredible view over the historic Palazzo Donn’Anna on the side, and let the young ones play on the black, volcanic sand. It has a cafe on site, showers, changing rooms and bathrooms and an adult only area too. Swimming is easy too.

Try hands on science the science museum

We have visited Citta’ Della Scienza many times now, especially if the weather is a bit rainy. It’s in Bagnoli and easily reachable by car (pay car park on site) or taxi, not so easy by public transport. Inside, in the former steel factory buildings, it’s the city’s science centre, with a hands on museum full of demos aimed at kids, on a wide range of science topics; there is a planetarium and temporary exhibitions, usually on animal kingdom. The staff are all very friendly and it’s a great way to spend a few hours.

Explore the underground of Napoli

Napoli’s underground is massive; there are caves and cavities, everywhere, for a number of reasons (geological, historical, religious). The city is built on layers, each historical era layering on the previous. Everytime there are excavations (for example for the new metro lines) some incredible artifacts resurface!

There are many options to see the underground from the Galleria Borbonica, a museum full of interesting things and guided tours (from adventure rafting style to more historical based) to the Museum Lapis, the water museum in the old town, to catacombs (San Gennaro, San Gaudioso), from Greek cemeteries (Ipogeo dei Cristallini) to late antiquity churches (San Lorenzo). These might be more suitable for older kids perhaps, but they are an incredible testimony to the city’s past so I would recommend checking out some of these. I have taken my son to a few, and he’s surely enjoyed them!

Enjoy the Capodimonte park

We spent a wonderful Easter Sunday here a couple of years ago. We started with breakfast at the beautiful Delizie Reali, a bakery and cafe with the most stunning location right in the middle of the enormous park of Capodimonte; we then visited the museum, so full of heritage (paintings, statues), and then let the kids play while we had a picnic. On a sunny day is the perfect combination of relax, fun and culture. There’s a car park or can be easily reached by bus or taxi.

Visit the historic University museums

I am in two minds about this.. because part of the beauty of these smaller, historic museums is the fact they are not busy at all! The University of Naples is the oldest lay university in the world, opened in 1224 by Emperor Federico II, and named after him. I studied here, and feel particularly fond of the main structures, all around Via Mezzocannone complex. Within the historic buildings are located the museums dedicated to the fields of studies: mineralogy, anthropology, zoology and so forth. Each museum is inexpensive (around 5 euros) and you can buy a bundle for all of them, as they are all near each other. I took my son to most of them and he really enjoyed them and they are also a chance to escape the incredibly rammed Via dei Tribunali, now so popular with tourists it’s a struggle to walk through.

The interior itself is part of the charm as they were opened in the late 1800s and thus have wooden display cases, old fashioned signage and artifacts that today would be considered inappropriate (with of course, appropriate contemporary signs explaining their presence!). Worth a visit for sure.

Wander through the botanical gardens

I am ashamed to say it took me the best part of 50 years to visit the Orto Botanico. It’s stunning, and an oasis of peace and calm just off the bustling Via Foria. Opened by the Bourbon king Ferdinando in 1807, the total area of the Botanical Garden of Naples is almost 12 hectares, on which about 9,000 plant species are on display for a total of about 25,000 specimens. It is part of the university as well, and thus free to visit and open Monday to Friday. They often host family friendly activities (for example during Easter). Located a short walk away from Piazza Cavour metro station and the incredible MAN (national archaeological museum).

Conclusion

Hopefully this post inspired your travel plans to Naples with kids! And if you have any more tips, what would you add?