Naples and Environs
Vedi Napoli e poi mori," says an old Italian adage, and certainly the environs, if not the city, justify a longer stay than is usually given it by the average traveler.
The following itinerary of eight days includes the most interesting points, but in no wise exhausts the list, as probably no city in the world has so many interesting and lovely surroundings as Naples.
| 1st day |
Visit the wonderful Museum, where the traveler will see more relics of ancient Pompeii than in that city itself. An hour or so can also be spent in the Marine Aquarium, one of the finest in the world; and after a drive along the Villa Nazionale spend the evening at the Teatro San Carlo, which is one of the largest opera-houses in Europe. |
| 2d day | Mount Vesuvius is now easily accessible by electric trolley and funicular railroad, which takes one to within a few hundred yards of the crater. There is no occasion to hurry this wonderful trip, for the Messrs. Cook, who own the railroad, have also a first-class hotel on the mountain, The Hermitage, which commands one of the most magnificent views in the world. |
| 3d day | Take the rail from Naples to Pompeii, and after visiting the resurrected ruins take afternoon train to La Cava, a charming resort among green hills, and most refreshing after the desolation of Vesuvius and Pompeii. |
| 4th day | Leave La Cava by rail to Paestum (hour and a half) , visit the ruins of the Greek Temples, which are considered among the finest existing, and return by afternoon train to Salerno, whence carriages will take us along the exquisite cliff drive to Amalfi |
| 5th day | After a short excursion to Ravello, continue shore drive from Amalfi via the pretty town of Positano to Sorrento, the birthplace of Torquato Tasso in 1544. |
| 6th day | Leave Sorrento by steamer for Capri, the most picturesque of islands. Visit the Blue Grotto, and spend the night in the town, a favorite resort of artists. |
| 7th day | Leave Capri by steamer for Sorrento, thence for Castellamare, another beautiful shore drive of about ten miles, reaching Naples in an hour by rail from Castellamare. |
| 8th day | Drive from Naples along the North Shore, passing the villa-studded hills of Posilippo to Pozzuoli, where the Apostle Paul landed and stayed three days on his journey to Rome; thence to Baie, a celebrated resort of Roman emperors when Rome was in its greatest splendor; then on to the ancient Greek town of Cumae, returning by the Solfatara volcano and Piede Grotto to Naples. |
