The city at your feet: the view from Castel Sant’Elmo and the best street food in Vomero

This tour is a way of experiencing Naples from a different perspective, from above, and provides a comprehensive view of the whole city and the Bay of Naples. Leaving behind the city traffic, we walk for about 10 minutes to the Monastery of San Martino, a tranquil spot on the top of the hill. The monastery, now a museum, was built in 1325 in a strategic position, and it contains cloisters, gardens, colonades, monumental staircases and courtyards and treasures which tell the story of the city. A stroll through the historic abbey complex, a Cistercian charterhouse, invites us to experience moments from the 2,700 year long history of the city of Naples.

Built above the monastery and into a dramatic rock face of volcanic tuff is the Sant’Elmo Castle. Although in centuries past the fortress was used to bombard the city and quell revolutions, the views of Naples and the Bay from the top are extraordinary.

After our visit we return to where we started our tour to discover a place that occupies a special place in the culinary hearts of Neapolitans: the friggitoria (or ‘fry shop’) of Vomero. This shop has been frying gourmet street food since 1938, and the golden delicacies they prepare belong to the local tradition of the antipasto or bites to eat before a meal. Then, close by, we’ll stop for an unforgettable lunch at a small neighorhood osteria.