Wow.
Another wow.
Location, location, location. This gorgeous apartment is located 10 to 15 minutes from the Central train station, 10 if you have no luggage and 15 if you are overloaded Americans like us lugging our bags over the cobblestones. Our hosts Martine and Raffaele were wonderful hosts, more like our European cousins, so friendly and helpful.
There is an elevator taking you up five floors but there are steps to the apartment, 20 steps to be exact but don’t let that deter you because even though we were seriously overpacked we made it up those steps and the apartment is absolutely worth it!
Regarding location it is directly across from the Circumvesuvian train station which is great if you’re going to Pompei or Herculaneum or Sorrento because it originates from here and then stops at the central train station so you are guaranteed a seat for your train ride!
The apartment has a shared inner room with two apartments, one on each side and we never heard the other guests, I’d like to believe people are respectfully quiet in the inner shared area, which is how you access the terrace. Now let’s talk about that gorgeous terrace which is bilevel, the bottom level is partially covered and then you go up 10 to 12 steps to the open area that is gorgeous. You have 180° view of Naples and in the morning it is lit up perfectly, sunsets from there have the sun sitting directly across from you and it’s perfect with a glass of wine in hand. We enjoyed looking out at the city and watching the goings on below us which always includes something that requires hand gestures and a little shouting, one of the reasons we love Naples because everything is so overdramatized. The apartment is also directly over a bakery along with a few bakeries along the street so you’ll never have a problem finding your morning espresso/coffee and the required Naples pastry of sfogliatelle. An upside is you get to smell that delicious pastry baking from a vent fan on the terrace so not only did we have a gorgeous view but it was also accompanied by beautiful smells, win win! It is decorated with beautiful potted succulents which gives a lovely homey feel along with a couple of lounge chairs and two tables. We had rain during our visit but when it wasn’t raining we were up there enjoying the fabulous views!
This apartment also has great windows, one in the bedroom and one in the kitchen that overlook Mt Vesuvius and the kitchen window is more a tiny balcony that allows you to step out on and get some pictures of that beautiful Mt Vesuvius. The bedroom is huge so you have plenty of space and the kitchen is also quite large. There is a mounted TV on the wall in the kitchen but we didn’t watch it because we come to Italy to enjoy Italy plus our experience is they are Italian language channels which we are at a deficit for so why bother?! Helps that we are exhausted when we come back from a day of exploration and I’d much rather be looking out on beautiful Naples than watching a TV screen!
We absolutely loved this apartment and it will now be our homebase whenever we are in gorgeous Naples. The location simply cannot be beat and those terrace views are killer, along with wonderful friendly hosts I can’t imagine staying anywhere else.
Also, consider getting the Campania artecard which gets you admission into two attractions and includes transportation over three days. If you’re going to Pompeii or Herculaneum it will include your transportation down and into the excavations and it will pay for itself right there but don’t forget to go to the archaeological Museum where you can see all the excavated items safely ensconced in the museum. It is unfortunately all digital which was a problem sometimes pulling it up due to the dreaded E Network, I hope they fix that app but it worked for us and again, highly recommend it.
We loved this beautiful apartment and can’t wait to come back and visit Naples and see our European cousins which is how I think of Martine and Raffaele now!
Grazie Mille and merci beaucoup!