Getting around Naples: Metro Line 1 Art Stations, funiculars and Circumvesuviana

Built across steep volcanic hills and a sixth-century BC street grid, Naples rewards travellers who combine walking on the flat lower levels with underground metro lines and hillside funicular railways for vertical climbs. You do not need a rental car inside the city: narrow medieval lanes, dense scooter traffic, and camera-enforced Limited Traffic Zones (Zona a Traffico Limitato, or ZTL) make driving stressful and parking expensive.

Metro Line 1 and the Art Stations (Stazioni dell'Arte)

Operated by the municipal company ANM (Azienda Napoletana Mobilità), Metro Line 1 is the backbone of urban sightseeing in Naples. Running in a wide loop from Garibaldi (beneath Napoli Centrale railway station) through the lower city and up into the hills of Vomero and Piscinola, it links the main sightseeing hubs in minutes:

• Garibaldi: Direct underground interchange with high-speed trains at Napoli Centrale and the Circumvesuviana platforms.
• Duomo and Università: Serve the eastern and southern gateways to Spaccanapoli and the Centro Storico; Università station (opened in March 2011) features bold psychedelic columns and sculptures designed by Karim Rashid.
• Municipio: Serves Castel Nuovo and the Molo Beverello ferry piers; its concourse integrates extensive ancient Roman harbour fortifications excavated during construction.
• Toledo: Opened in September 2012 along Via Toledo and designed by Spanish architect Oscar Tusquets Blanca, Toledo is the flagship of the city's Stazioni dell'Arte programme. Its deep escalator shaft passes beneath the water table inside a swirling blue mosaic crater titled Crater de luz alongside Robert Wilson's light panels.
• Dante and Museo: Stop directly outside Piazza Dante and the Naples National Archaeological Museum (MANN).
• Vanvitelli: Rises into the heart of hilltop Vomero near Castel Sant'Elmo and the Certosa di San Martino.

The Four Hillside Funiculars

Because Vomero and Posillipo sit roughly 180 to 250 metres above sea level, Naples operates four cable funicular railways that climb the tufa slopes in just a few minutes:

1. Funicolare Centrale: Opened in 1928 and spanning 1,270 metres across four stations, it connects Augusteo (on Via Toledo near Galleria Umberto I and Piazza del Plebiscito) with Piazza Fuga in Vomero, stopping midway at Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Petrarca.
2. Funicolare di Montesanto: Opened in 1891 (825 metres, three stations), it links the lively Pignasecca market at Montesanto with Morghen in Vomero, the closest stop to the gates of Castel Sant'Elmo and Certosa di San Martino.
3. Funicolare di Chiaia: Opened in 1889 as one of Italy's earliest urban cable railways (536 metres, four stations), it connects Parco Margherita in Chiaia with Cimarosa (adjacent to Vanvitelli Metro station in Vomero).
4. Funicolare di Mergellina: Opened in 1931 (570 metres, five stations), it climbs from the marina at Mergellina up the residential Posillipo ridge to Manzoni.

Metro Line 2, Line 6, and the Circumvesuviana

In addition to ANM services, Metro Line 2 (operated by Trenitalia using the historic underground railway tunnel opened in 1925) runs east-to-west between Gianturco, Piazza Garibaldi, Piazza Cavour, Montesanto, Piazza Amedeo (Chiaia), Mergellina, and Campi Flegrei/Pozzuoli. Metro Line 6 connects Municipio with Chiaia and Mergellina along the western coast. For excursions outside the city to Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Sorrento, regional operator EAV runs the narrow-gauge (950 mm) Circumvesuviana commuter railway and the seasonal tourist train Campania Express from Napoli Porta Nolana (terminus, best for finding a seat) and the lower level of Napoli Piazza Garibaldi. Buy paper tickets or tap a contactless bank card at the station turnstiles before boarding (`Tap&Go`), tapping both in and out where required by regional distance zones.