Visiting Campania: when to go, budget and itineraries

Naples is best walked, from the maze of Spaccanapoli to the Chiaia seafront. Allow a full day for the UNESCO-listed centre, the Sansevero chapel and its Veiled Christ (booking required, slots several days ahead) and Napoli Sotterranea. Half a day more for the Archaeological Museum, which holds the frescoes and mosaics taken from Pompeii. Pizza is eaten standing or seated in a historic pizzeria in the centre, from 5 euros for a margherita.

The Circumvesuviana train links Naples to Pompeii and Herculaneum in 30 to 40 minutes. Pompeii needs at least four hours and plenty of water: the site is vast and shadeless. Herculaneum, smaller and better preserved over two levels, takes two hours. The climb to the Vesuvius crater is by shuttle from the car park, then a 30-minute walk on ash. Book the volcano time slot online in high season.

The three islands each have their own character. Capri, glamorous and rocky, is worth a night to enjoy once the day-trippers leave: Blue Grotto early, Monte Solaro by chairlift, Villa Jovis on foot. Ischia trades on its thermal springs and beaches, Procida on its coloured fishing harbours and its intimate scale. Ferries leave from Naples and Sorrento, more frequent from April to October.

Sorrento, well served by train, makes a practical base for the peninsula and for Pompeii. Beyond begins the Amalfi Coast, thirteen villages clinging to the cliff and linked by the single SS163 road, jammed in summer. Positano, Amalfi and Ravello are its highlights; the Path of the Gods, three hours of walking between Agerola and Nocelle, gives the best car-free view of the coast.

South of Salerno, Paestum preserves three Greek Doric temples among the best kept in the world, visitable in half a day with the museum next door. Further on, the Cilento national park has less-crowded beaches, the hilltop village of Castellabate and the charterhouses of Padula. It is also the birthplace of the Mediterranean diet and of the best buffalo mozzarella farms, often open for morning visits.

Half an hour from Naples, the royal palace of Caserta is the largest royal residence in the world by volume: 1200 rooms and a 3-kilometre park dotted with pools and cascades. Allow half a day, on a direct train from Naples. The hinterland has other surprises, such as the medieval village of Casertavecchia on its hill or the silk workshops of San Leucio.