When I traveled to Naples nearly ten years ago, guidebooks, hotel owners, and helpful residents all cautioned me about the risks of being an unaccompanied female tourist in the city.
They strongly advised me against visiting the Quartieri Spagnoli, a neighborhood infamous at the time for its high levels of crime and violence.
By 2025, during the celebration of the city’s 2,500-year anniversary, Naples’ transformation becomes challenging to track. Asking my cab driver for dining suggestions led him to recommend “any place in the Quartieri Spagnoli” as his top choice.
In the past ten years, visitors seeking genuine experiences and local business owners’ initiatives have contributed to the development of this area. This mirrors trends occurring throughout the city, bringing about various positive and negative consequences.
Two thousand five hundred years after its founding, Naples is enjoying an influx of tourists but also facing rapid drawbacks that typically take other cities many more decades to encounter.
Naples commemorates its 2,500th anniversary.
Naples
The time in the limelight is well-earned. While the city rejoices rightfully, it serves as a palimpsest showcasing 2,500 years of history blended into an intoxicating, captivating, dramatic mixture.
In the grid-like layout of the centro storico — the heart of the old city — ancient 2nd-century catacombs can be found underneath your path as you stroll through narrow lanes adorned with lavish 16th-century palaces. Massive stone-carved churches conceal 4th-century mosaics along with 17th-century artworks by Caravaggio.
Throughout the year, numerous celebrations take place for the anniversary. The opulently gilt 18th-century Teatro San Carlo features an extensive schedule of shows.
In early June, a fresh wing at the renowned Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN) will welcome visitors, and come November, the Museo di Capodimonte will launch an expanded area focused on porcelain exhibits.
Italy’s rebellious spirit undergoes a makeover
Guidebook descriptions of
Naples
have denounced the city as being perpetually linked with the term ‘gritty’.
Indeed, while places such as the Tuscany countryside, the Amalfi Coast, and Cinque Terre can feel overly staged to the point of being inauthentic, Naples offers an abundance of genuine experiences.
However, ‘gritty’ has also served as a polite reference to acknowledge Naples’ enduring issues with waste disposal and criminal activity.
Currently, the city is putting significant effort into tackling these issues. In the previous year, the council unveiled fresh approaches to maintain cleanliness in the streets.
“We announce the arrival of important news for the improvement of collection services,” the director of Naples’
waste management
services ASIA Napoli said.
Included among these initiatives are launching a new website, enhancing communication services for interacting with residents, and progressively setting up technological systems for tracking and managing waste disposal and collection across the city.
The crime rate is declining as well, with a 6 percent reduction in theft cases in 2024 relative to 2023 and an 17.75 percent decrease in robbery incidents.
High-end hotels and cruise ships arrive in Naples
Alongside the city’s cleanup efforts, there is also a shift in the type of tourism it is attracting.
From the rooftop terrace of the five-star hotel bearing the Krug brand,
Romeo Hotel Napoli
, champagne-sipping guests have a sweeping view of the bay of Naples, shadowy Mount Vesuvius, and the day’s
cruise ship
arrivals.
In summer, an average of three liners dock in the city a day, disgorging tens of thousands of tourists into its streets.
But unlike Venice or Santorini, Naples’ size can more easily digest the influx, and even benefit from it. According to my taxi driver, cruise passengers are a big earner for private transport companies, tour groups and souvenir shops.
A fairly recent marketplace for
Naples
Is the luxurious traveler. At present, there are merely a few five-star hotels in this city, as opposed to more than 50 in Rome and almost an equal amount in Florence.
However, several major chain establishments are still slated to open soon, including a Radisson, a Roccoforte, and a Marriott.
It appears Romeo Hotel anticipated this growing market. Since opening in 2008, its modern glass and steel design, filled with innovative art pieces from the proprietor’s collection, continues to feel quite fashionable.
The hotel is currently enhancing its facilities to meet the growing demand of the luxury sector, featuring a comprehensive Sisley Paris spa, a dedicated cigar lounge, an infinity pool enclosed in glass, along with a high-end dining option inspired by renowned chef Alain Ducasse.
The enhancements have been well-received. The location now attracts numerous international visitors and most recently welcomed soccer player Scott McTominay along with his family during his title-winning match for Naples’ Serie A team, Napoli.
Tourists are staying longer and diving deeper into the city
Tourist arrivals
have been increasing in Naples (up 15 per cent from 2023 to 2024), and the visitors are becoming more diverse.
“We’ve definitely seen a wider mix of nationalities,” says Inès Sellami, owner of the art gallery-cum-guesthouse
Atelier Inès
.
“Several years back, it was primarily Italians, Germans, and perhaps an occasional French couple. Nowadays, we see Americans, Brits, Koreans, Australians, and even
solo travellers
From South America or India.”
Tourists are now spending more time exploring the city. “Previously, visitors would stay for only one or two nights. Nowadays, they’re lingering for 4 or 5 nights, using Naples as their starting point while delving further into the city,” explains Sellami.
Many visitors are more intrigued by local artwork, culinary encounters, and understanding the background of various elements rather than simply visiting famous landmarks.
The less favorable aspects of a surge in tourism
The surge in tourism has had several benefits. “It has injected a lot of vitality and possibilities into the area,” notes Sellami. “Certain districts that were previously dilapidated now boast vibrant new cafes, artistic venues, chic small hotels, and young entrepreneurs launching their own ventures.”
It has generated employment, particularly for young people from Naples who wished to remain in their city but did not foresee a promising future here. Additionally, there’s a renewed sense of pride; locals notice that tourists value our customs, cuisine, and ingenuity.
Nevertheless, the city council must firmly take control of the circumstances to stop the already widespread negative impacts caused by the surge in tourism.
Increasing tourist counts are driving expansion in the short-term rental sector, leading to a housing crunch akin to what popular travel locations have faced.
Canary Islands
and
Barcelona
.
Research conducted in 2023 revealed that platform-facilitated short-term rentals have led to the displacement of lower-income residents from the historical center of Naples.
According to reports, Airbnb listings in Naples experienced a surge of 553 percent from 2015 to 2019, with these accommodations predominantly located in areas facing severe economic challenges.
As reported by Tourism Review, leasing an apartment within the historical district was priced between €550 and €600 about ten years back. Nowadays, these costs have escalated to between €1,200 and €1,400, nearly doubling over the span of 10 years.
This is a concerning development as, even though tourism is generating more jobs, wages aren’t rising significantly. Notably, the city boasts one of the highest levels of youth unemployment in Italy, standing at 43 percent.
Naples requires an all-encompassing plan for tourism development.
For Sellami, an important tactic to alleviate the pressure from tourism involves dispersing visitor numbers more evenly and promoting exploration outside popular areas.
The narrow focus of Instagram and TikTok on urban scenes like Diego Maradona murals, pizzerias, and seaside spritzes leads tourists to congregate mainly in the historic center and along the waterfront Lungomare.
“There are incredible neighborhoods that rarely attract tourists,” she states.
She also proposes that improved transportation links and more distinct signage could be beneficial as well, particularly for English-speaking visitors.
“I believe our primary emphasis should be on
quality tourism
people who arrive out of genuine interest and respect,” she continues. “By welcoming them appropriately and sharing the authentic experience of Naples, everybody gains.
It also falls upon the tourists themselves. According to Sellami, it’s not uncommon to encounter visitors who view the city as a theme park, causing disturbances late at night and showing disregard for churches or monuments. This issue recurs frequently.
overtourism
complaints across Europe.
However, overall, she remains hopeful regarding the city’s progress.
“She mentions, ‘There has been significant change. Now individuals visit Naples seeking out its cuisine, culture, and natural charm. The city hasn’t lost its unrefined character, which I believe adds to its allure.’”
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