The museums in Naples worth your time

Naples punches well above its weight when it comes to museums. The city was the capital of a kingdom for seven centuries, a crossroads of Greek, Roman, Spanish and Bourbon culture, and a cradle of European science, art and medicine. That history didn't disappear — it ended up in extraordinary collections scattered across the city, some world-famous, some barely known outside the neighbourhood.

The usual route leads to the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, one of the greatest archaeological museums in the world, and to the treasures of Capodimonte. Both deserve their reputation and both deserve a place in our curated travel guide. But Naples rewards the curious traveller who looks a little further, perhaps into a 16th-century hospital on Via dei Tribunali, or a baroque chapel that stops you cold.

Our selection is deliberately small and deliberately honest. We add a museum only when we are confident it earns its place, and we always do our best to tell you exactly what to expect before you go.