The only way to really
get
around Naples and stay sane
is to
walk . Driving can
be a nightmare, and to negotiate
the narrow streets, hectic
squares and racetrack boulevards
on a moped or scooter takes
years of training. In any case,
not
to walk would mean you'd miss a
lot - Naples is the kind of
place best appreciated from
street level.
For longer journeys - and
Naples is a big, spread-out city
- there are a number of
alternatives, both for the city
itself and the bay as a whole. Public
transport comes under the
care of Azienda Napoletana
Mobilità (ANM). Its city buses
are efficient, if crowded and
slow, and are much the best way
of making short hops across the
city centre. The bus system is
supplemented by the metropolitana
, a small-scale underground
network that crosses the city
centre, stopping at about four
stops between Piazza Garibaldi
and Mergellina and runs
eventually out to Pozzuoli and
Solfatara in about half an hour;
a new metro station at Piazza
Dante will soon connect the city
centre with Vómero and the
hills. In addition, three funiculars
scale the hill of the Vómero:
one, the Funicolare di Chiaia,
from Piazza Amedeo; another, the
Funicolare Centrale, from the
station at the bottom of Via
Mattia, just off Via Toledo; and
a third, the Funicolare di
Montesanto, from the station on
Piazza Montesanto. Another, the
Funicolare di Mergellina, runs
up the hill above Mergellina
from Via Mergellina. Tickets
for all ANM modes of transport
cost a flat L1500/?0.77 and are
available in advance from tabacchi
, stations, or the transport
booth on Piazza Garibaldi; an
all-day ticket costs
L4500/?2.32. Normal ANM tickets
are valid for ninety minutes and
allow any combination of bus or
tram rides, plus unlimited trips
within ninety minutes on an
additional two means of
transport - for example the
metro, funicular (one trip only)
or railway.
If you need to take a taxi
- and you should realize that
they can be interminably slow -
make sure the driver switches on
the meter when you start (they
often don't); fares start at
L4000/?2.07 for the initial
journey - minimum fare
L6000/?3.10. Note that journeys
to and from the airport incur an
extra charge of L5000/?2.58;
trips after 10pm or before 7am
cost an extra L4000/?2.07; and
those on public holidays an
extra L3000/?1.55; all of which
gives plenty of scope for
confusion, and even resident
Neapolitans are wary of the
stunts taxi drivers pull to get
a higher fare. There are taxi
ranks at the train station, on
Piazza Dante and Piazza Trieste
e Trento, or phone 081.556.4444
or 081.556.0202.
For solely out-of-town
trips - around the bay in
either direction - there are
three more rail systems. The Circumvesuviana
runs from its station on Corso
Garibaldi right round the Bay of
Naples about every thirty
minutes, stopping everywhere, as
far south as Sorrento, which it
reaches in about an hour. The Ferrovia
Cumana operates every ten
minutes from its terminus
station in Piazza Montesanto
west to Pozzuoli and Báia. And
the Circumflegrea line
runs every twenty minutes, again
from Piazza Montesanto, west to
Cuma. Tickets are available at
the stations, and are very
reasonable.
