What's on in Naples (Napoli), Italy through the year

Peak crowds — Crib season, San Gregorio Armeno, Christmas holidays in Italy

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Crib season, San Gregorio Armeno (1 Nov – 6 Jan)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in February.

Busy — Easter and Pasquetta, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Easter and Pasquetta

  29 Mar – 6 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedClosures

  Casatiello and pastiera in every bakery, processions in the old quarters, and on Easter Monday the whole city drives to the coast. Pompeii and the Amalfi road are at their worst that day. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Easter and Pasquetta, Easter holidays in Italy

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Easter and Pasquetta (29 Mar – 6 Apr)

Busy — Ships in at the Marittima, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Opening

  Maggio dei Monumenti

  1 May – 2 Jun · usuallyMajor festival

  For a month the city opens cloisters, crypts and palazzi that are locked the rest of the year, with guided visits run by volunteers. It is the best reason to take Naples in May. Source ↗

• Season

  Ships in at the Marittima

  1 May – 30 Sep · usuallyCruise seasonCrowded

  Cruise calls empty straight onto the Capri and Pompeii runs, so the bottleneck is the Beverello hydrofoil queue rather than the city itself. Take the first boat out or the last one back.

Peak crowds — Ships in at the Marittima, Napoli Pizza Village

• Festival

  Napoli Pizza Village

  10–30 Jun · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  Fifty pizzerias set up on the seafront for about a week in June, with free concerts behind them. Cheap, extremely busy, and the Lungomare is closed to traffic while it runs. Source ↗

Still on: Maggio dei Monumenti (1 May – 2 Jun (usually)), Ships in at the Marittima (1 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Ships in at the Marittima, Summer holidays in Italy

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Ships in at the Marittima (1 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Ships in at the Marittima, Ferragosto

• Holiday

  Ferragosto

  8–22 AugSchool holidaysClosures

  Around 15 August the historic-centre trattorias and most workshops shut for two weeks and Neapolitans leave for the islands. The city is hot, half-closed and unusually calm. Source ↗

Still on: Ships in at the Marittima (1 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Ships in at the Marittima, San Gennaro

• Festival

  San Gennaro

  19 SepMajor festivalCrowded

  The cathedral packs out on 19 September to watch whether the saint's dried blood liquefies. It is repeated on the Saturday before the first Sunday in May and on 16 December. Source ↗

Still on: Ships in at the Marittima (1 May – 30 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Busy — Crib season, San Gregorio Armeno, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Crib season, San Gregorio Armeno

  1 Nov – 6 JanChristmas & New YearCrowded

  The crib-makers' street sells figurines all year, but from November it becomes a single slow column of people that takes half an hour to walk. Go early or take the parallel alleys. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Crib season, San Gregorio Armeno, Christmas holidays in Italy

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Crib season, San Gregorio Armeno (1 Nov – 6 Jan)