Celebrating The New Year In Naples

The holidays in Naples stretch from early December through to the Epiphany on January 6, and while Christmas is hugely important, the most awaited feast day is New Year’s Eve. Neapolitans love to party so they always make the most of the festivities to mark the end of the year and start of the next. There are also a lot of different traditions that they love to follow!

If you’re planning on being in Naples for the New Year celebrations,in this guide I’ll be covering everything you need to know, including:

• Neapolitan New Year traditions
• Celebrating New Year’s Eve in Naples
• Fireworks in Naples
• What to do on New Year’s Day
• The importance of planning ahead

One of the things I loved most after moving to Italy was learning about Italian traditions, and then getting to participate in them. Understanding these gives you an insight into the people around you, and it helped Warren and I feel more connected to our new home.

Neapolitans, more than people from other parts of Italy, have a lot of different traditions and superstitions. Some of these are followed year-round, and others are specific to a particular holiday or event, so it is not surprising that there are plenty connected to New Year’s Eve!

Finally, one of the older Neapolitan traditions is the custom of throwing away or breaking items after midnight. At one time this involved furniture, plates, clothes, electronics, you name it, being literally thrown out of windows all over the city, even from rooftop apartments.

The idea is that by removing anything with potentially negative associations from the prior year, you are removing it from your life. Nowadays it is rare to see large pieces of furniture being thrown onto the street but you will often see people breaking items they want to dispose of. This includes empty champagne bottles so I do not advise wearing open toe shoes if you’re planning on being out in the city after midnight!

If you’re going to do a Naples New Year’s Eve, you’re in for a lot of fun.

During the day the city feels almost electric, with people anticipating the evening event. Most stores, churches and sights are open as normal (perhaps with early closures) so plan to go out in the morning if you’d like to do some shopping or sightseeing.

Some restaurants will be open as normal for lunch, as will most bars and cafes, but if you’re going to be attending a New Year’s Eve event I recommend having something light during the day. Public transport will be running but on a reduced service so give yourself plenty of time to get back to your accommodation after whatever you do during the day.

When I talk about spending New Year’s Eve in Italy, I’m always asked ‘where can I see a fireworks display?’. For cities like Rome and Florence I share specific places where these are set up, but for Naples, the answer is where won’t you see fireworks!

Neapolitans are massive fans of fireworks. Weddings, births, graduations and more are usually marked by fireworks being let off, and on any given day through the summer you will see and hear fireworks all around Naples.

So, on New Year’s Eve, EVERYONE has fireworks. There is a big annual fireworks display put on by the city along the seafront (near Castel dell’Ovo) but this is only one element. You will hear and see fireworks go off as soon as it gets dark, and from midnight through to at least 2AM the sky above Naples lights up with fireworks going off. People let them off in the streets, in piazzas and more so it is impossible to escape.

Fireworks Safety

There is an ongoing local debate about the impact of all these fireworks on local wildlife and pets, as well as the potential for property damage and the annual report of people who have been injured (almost universally people setting them off incorrectly, not bystanders).

The prolonged use of fireworks is not going away any time soon however, so if you’re going to be in Naples for New Year’s Eve, my advice to you is to plan to be at your party destination by around 11PM at the latest and to stay there late (4-5AM late). If you’re staying at your hotel or apartment, even better.

It’s a lot of fun to watch the fireworks from a balcony or roof terrace, but walking around on the streets can feel overwhelming if you’re not used to the Neapolitan celebration style. Lots of people set off firecrackers as well as big fireworks so the noise and smoke can be pretty disorientating.

If you’re not a huge fan of fireworks displays or super late nights, I recommend looking at accommodation on the Vomero hill or around Capodimonte. Up on these hills you are slightly removed from the largest concentration of fireworks, and there will be less going off in the immediate area around you. New Year’s Eve in Naples is never a night to expect a lot of sleep however!

After all the excitement of New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day in Naples is unsurprisingly a very relaxed day.

As one of the major public holidays in Italy, virtually nothing will be open. Museums, galleries, sites are all closed – January 1 is one of only three days in the year Pompeii does not open for example. Public transport services are very limited, shops are shut and only a small selection of some restaurants and bars open.

This is part of why I absolutely love New Year’s Day in Italy! Everyone has had a long night and sleeps in, so around lunchtime you see people start to appear. Generally we will have a relaxed lunch (often making the most of the leftovers from the previous evening) and then everyone heads out into the city for a passeggiata. This is a walk with no real purpose except to see other people and be seen in turn, so the areas around the historic centre, Piazza del Plebiscito and along the waterfront are full of people strolling along.

New Year’s Day is like a big intake of breath before the main event starts, so there is a lovely atmosphere in the city. No one has anything much to do, so everyone can relax and enjoy their time off together before the new year properly starts.

My main piece of advice for anyone thinking of spending New Year’s Eve in Naples is to plan as much as you can in advance of arriving.

Normally Naples and Campania are fairly accessible. Out of season you can even get Pompeii tickets or a train to Sorrento last minute, so my recommendation is to book in advance only the most popular sights and leave other things depending on how you feel in the moment.

However, for the holidays in Naples, this is not a good idea! For both Christmas and New Year, it is essential to make plans for what to do, where to eat and how you’ll be getting around.

Booking Restaurants

Restaurants are particularly important to book in advance for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Not every restaurant will be open and those that are open tend to do set menus or have limited seating which fills up fast. I suggest booking your festive meals at the beginning of December, which is when most places share the details of their holiday opening times and any special menus.

Planning Your Sightseeing

Similarly, if you would like to do a lot of sightseeing during your trip, you will need to check in advance what days sites, museums and churches are open, not to mention the specific opening hours too. Through the holiday period these can change or be more restrictive, plus locals like to see their city sights too and tickets can get booked up fast.

Plan what you would like to visit on what days and book your tickets in advance – this is especially relevant for Pompeii, Herculaneum and the MANN. I recommend finalising these plans by mid-December at the latest.

Transportation Considerations

Finally, think about how you are going to be getting around the city and beyond to places in Campania. Public transport (buses, trams, the metro) and trains do not run on a full schedule through the holidays, plus there are less available taxis as many drivers take time off too.

Try to plan your arrival and departure for days around the holidays to minimise any issues getting to and from the airport or Napoli Centrale. When you are planning your sightseeing, check your transport options if you need to travel further afield to reach the sites.

My top recommendation is to book accommodation that is close to the centre of Naples. Around Piazza Dante and the Centro Storico is ideal as you can easily walk to most of the main sights and places to eat, without needing to rely on other forms of transportation.