• Private Tour
• Family Friendly
• Carbon Neutral

Ciao! Join me on a private tour to discover the origins & essence of Naples, filled with tons of historical stories told in a fun and easy-going way. See the main highlights at your own pace and let me share with you wonderful hidden corners and gems so you can truly enjoy the city like a local!

Destination

Naples, Italy

Category

City Highlight Tours

Duration

2.5 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

English, Italiano

Included

• Private guide

Excluded

• Entrance tickets

What you can expect

This is the plan

Check out the plan below to see what you'll get up to with your local host. Feel free to personalize this offer with Raffaele.

1. Meeting point

   Meet at Piazza Bellini - Naples to start your journey

   View on Maps

2. Itinerary

   This is what our experience could look like, but it’s not set in stone! Once you book, you can chat directly with your host to make small tweaks to suit your preferences.

3. Meeting point

   Piazza Bellini

4. Chapel of Sansevero

   Enter a world made of symbols and mysteries

5. Hidden Gem

   Discover one of my favorite hidden gems of the city where you can find incredible pieces of art by Italian artists.

6. Spaccanapoli

   The main street of the historical center

7. Coffee Break

   Take a break and come with me to one of my favorite spots for a coffee

8. San Gregorio Armeno

   Stroll through the street where always feels like Christmas.

9. Piazza San Gaetano

   The ancient greek and roman main square

10. San Lorenzo

    Visit a church with true gothic style

11. Via dei Tribunali

    the street of the "Street Food" or the take away pizzas!

12. Banksy's Mural

    Admire the only piece of this famous street artist in Italy

13. Duomo di San Gennaro

    Admire the Cathedral of Napoli where is San Gennaro, the patron Saint of Napoli

14. San Gennaro's Treasure Chapel

    The best example of the Neapolitan Baroque...the real Napoli

15. Piazza Riario Sforza

    San Gennaro column and street art of Roxy

16. Make it yours

    Want to tweak the itinerary? Book directly & chat afterwards with your host to adjust highlights, skip stops, or make small changes to fit your preferences.

    Book risk-free: Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund.

    Need something special? Personalize your experience for more time, alternative locations or a completely tailored plan.

I can personalize this tour for you

• Tell me your preferred date and group size
• Tell me your preferences and wishes so I can customize the tour for you
• Wait for my personal offer in your inbox!

Contact me

Flexible cancellation policy

• Feel confident booking

  Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund. Even up to 7 days before your experience, you’ll receive a refund, minus the service fee.

• Change of plans?

  Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.

• Loved by travelers worldwide

  Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.

Reviews from guests

Diane🇺🇸 United States

6 May 2024

Excellent walking experience through the old historic section. Raffaele entertained while educating us with local history, architecture and local folklore. Raffaele pointed out places of interest we may return to explore and offered suggestions on where to buy the best pizza. Who could ask for anything more.Highly recommed Raffaele

Said🇺🇸 United States

19 June 2023

We had a short time in Naples, and Raffaele knowledge of the area and capabilities made the time go fast and we saw a lot of Naples in that short time. Totally recommend him to anyone visiting NaplesVery enjoyable tour

Shelly🇺🇸 United States

1 November 2022

Raffaele was quite generous with his knowledge of Naples history. His career in archeology was instrumental in providing an in-depth exposure to facts the average tourist would not be privy to without his tour.

Katie🇺🇸 United States

18 October 2022

Raffaele provided a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Learned a lot about the history of Napoli and saw many interesting sites. Very informative!

7bx72sm89j🇬🇧 United Kingdom

10 October 2022

We had the best time on this tour. Raffaele is a real expert and is passionate about the rich history of Napoli. He adapted the tour based on our interests and without him we would have missed out on some of the most interesting parts of the city’s history. He gave us a great recommendation for lunch and other ideas for our very short stay in Napoli. If you book a tour with Raffaele you will not be disappointedfascinating tour - 100% recommend

Shannon🇺🇸 United States

24 May 2022

Wow! Raffaele is an amazing guide. He met us on our very first day in Naples, and provided an outstanding orientation to the city that he clearly is passionate about. I appreciate his expert knowledge and enthusiasm, and his ability to provide eye-opening details about the history and culture of the city. He even provided us an excellent tutorial in how to identify markers to help identify the era a building was constructed - which was helpful during our own adventures throughout our two weeks in Italy! Raffaele even made time for us to witness the blood miracle ceremony that was in its final day at San Gennaro church - and helped translate the service for us so we could share in the experience with the locals. It was a once-in-a-lifetime day that we are exceptionally grateful for! His restaurant recommendations and tips for sights and experiences throughout the region were absolutely wonderful as well. If you are interested in learning about history, culture, and art of the region, you should absolutely book an experience with Raffaele! Historical Naples Tour - Origins, Cults, and Highlights with Raffaele

Justine🇺🇸 United States

19 May 2022

Raffaele was great!! He communicated before the tour on where to meet and gave an excellent tour. He was so knowledgeable about Napoli and all the history and his passion for the city was wonderful. He showed us many things around the city that we surely would have missed on our own and gave us recommendations for other things to consider during our stay. Raffaele was a wonderful guide

Unknown

29 April 2022

Raffaele is a friendly, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic guide to the city he loves. My wife, two sons in their 30s, and I were all thrilled to learn about Napoli’s history and be taken to places we never would have known about. I couldn’t imagine a better guide to walk around with. He brought the city to life and introduced us to things we could have easily walked by without understanding what was right in front of us.A great host!

Bronwynne🇺🇸 United States

11 March 2022

Raffaele listened carefully to my interests and customized my tour- on the fly- to fit me perfectly. He offered helpful advice on how to see the most in the time we had together and offered a stellar commentary on the sights and history. I previously prepared for the tour with on-line seminars and this was not my first trip to Naples, but I learned so much from him, it was amazing! I enjoyed him personally as well, he is a very cool guy who cares deeply about his heritage and his city. At the end of the tour, he helped me find a wonderful shop where I could get a presepe shipped home - he stayed with me and translated until he was sure I was Ok. What a sweetheart, and what a great guide! I will definitely engage his services again the next time I am in Naples!! The Ideal Guide

Troy🇺🇸 United States

8 December 2021

I had been in Naples for several days before doing this Naples walking tour with Raffaele. I suspected that I had been in advertently walking past beautiful and important history. Boy, was I right. Raffaele’s mind is full of knowledge, but more so his heart is full of passion...for his beautiful hometown and the layers of culture, history, art, and cuisine that you can find only in this truly unique place. The past and the present are fused together in Naples, unlike in any place I have seen before. I am already planning a return trip and intend to do Pompeii with Raffaele. I am 100% certain it will be a fantastic experience! Grazi!passionate, interesting, fun

Jule🇩🇪 Germany

21 September 2021

I wrote Raffaele an introduction about my interests and what I wanted to see and he came up with a lot of places that I wouldn’t have found on my own and provided me with background knowledge regarding the history of Naples and its social structure - among other things, we went to see where Thomas Aquinas and Giordano Bruno lived, visited a church with catacombs that is being restored by a church adoption initiative after the earthquake in 1980 destroyed many treasures of Naples and we even went to see the first baptistery in the western world! Raffaele is very knowledgeable, polite and passionate about what he does - you should get him as your guide, especially if you want something more than a basic tour with the main sights and when you’re interested in specific topics. Naples has so many magnificent sights and places to see, there sure is something for every interest and I’d trust Raffaele to find something for you as well!Customized with special religious sights

Susan

23 August 2021

Raffael gave us a great introduction to Naples and tailored our walking tour to our special interest, the influence of Greece. Thank you so much.Excellent

Nora🇨🇦 Canada

14 November 2019

Raffaelle was absolutely fantastic! He was punctual and spoke fluent English. This was the best private tour we ever had. We could see how dedicated, knowledgeable and passionate he is about his city and his people. Yes, he is an archeologist from the depths of his soul, that shines right through!! Couldn’t pick anyone better ! We love Italy and now we love Naples with everything that comes with it. Hope to see you soon again in Naples to learn even more about the city and see our new friend Raffaele! Grazie mille Raffaele Ciao Doug and Nora Naples private tour with the local Archaeologist

Gail🇺🇸 United States

22 September 2019

Raffaele was punctual, accommodating, knowledgeable and most considerate. The fact that he is good looking and charming, is also a big PLUS. We met at the designated spot and he told us all about Naples - the Naples that we would not have "seen", had he not pointed it out to us. I highly recommend him and will consider him a friend here in Naples. Absolutely wonderful!!!!

Shannon🇦🇺 Australia

12 September 2019

Our guide, Raffaele, was amazing. He spoke with so much knowelege and passionabout his home of Naples. He took us to places we would have never seen withouth his guidance. He showed us inderground cripts, inside churches, we saw skulls and leant about Naples history of creating saints. We saw Diego Maradona's lock of hair, had an amazing coffee, say kids playng soccar with a plastic bottle, learnt about paper mache figurines. Thers was so much more. Raffaele walked the streets and introduced us to Naples and its shop keepers too, they all knew him and in the end we felt like we knew the city much better. I would do this or any other tour with Raffaele and cant recommend highly enough. Thankyou, Thankyou, Grazie! Ciao.We felt like locals.

Julie🇦🇺 Australia

28 August 2019

We, my brother, my sister in law and myself, enjoyed the best tour ever! with Raffaele on 9 August. We always book a private tour wherever we travel to. We would rather pay a little extra and make the most of our time. Raffaele was prompt and was waiting for us at the designated area. He showed us around beautiful Napoli, but he did more than that. He showed us hidden treasures and things we would never have found without his expert guidance. He is an encyclopedia of knowledge on all things Naples. He is a qualified archaeologist and we could not believe his extensive knowledge of dates and historical features. We were so amazed by his knowledge, we started to ask him random history questions and he didn't miss a beat, he knew everything we asked him. Prior to arriving in Europe I sent quite a few messages to Raffaele trying to figure out the best tours that suited us. He was very kind and patient and also gave us other suggestions to do whilst in Italy. Our experience with Raffaele was very easy. He is so likeable and friendly and very professional. He took the stress out of our trip to beautiful Napoli. We had been to Napoli before ( many years ago on our way to Amalfi Coast ) , but unfortunately we listened to others and didn't spend much time in Napoli as we were 'scared' of being pick-pocketed. So pleased we did the tour with Raff as he showed us that Napoli has some soul and we didn't feel scared or unsafe once. I was a little embarrassed that we had felt this way previously about Napoli. During our tour with Raff, we found the people to be very welcoming and happy towards us. Having a private guide was well worth the cost since there are so many unique things to discover in Napoli. We were also able see Napoli in a very efficient way. After our tour, Raff kindly gave us recommendations ( and directions ) for restaurants including best pizza in Napoli. It sure was. Best pizza ever. If you are planning on travelling to Napoli, please contact Tours with Locals and book the lovely Raffaele, I promise you, you wont be disappointed. We talked about his tour for many days afterwards and it really was the highlight of our whole holiday in Europe. Suggest you book early as I'm sure he will be booked ahead of time.Best tour ever!!!

Jon🇬🇧 United Kingdom

27 June 2019

We loved our tour of Naples with Raffaelle. He took us through the streets showing us hidden gems from the Greek times, through Roman and medieval, to right now. He even took time to write down some recommendations of places to go and places to eat l, right at the end. Would recommend highly!Excellent! Raffaele is the best!

Jan🇮🇹 Italy

16 June 2019

Thanks Raffaele, the tour was great and we all enjoyed it. Very friendly and we learnt a lot.

Chiara🇮🇹 Italy

26 April 2019

La visita proposta é stata densa di suggestioni, informazioni e chiavi di lettura su questa ricca e complessa città. Siamo arrivati alla visita dopo aver visitato il Cimitero delle Fontanelle e, grazie alla nostra guida, ci siamo immersi nelle tradizioni che testimoniano il particolarissimo rapporto del popolo napoletano con la devozione e con il culto dei defunti. Abbiamo ricostruito le diverse epoche che hanno contribuito alla bellezza della città riconoscendone le testimonianze. Le leggende nascoste in ogni angolo ci hanno fatto compagnia arricchendo di fascino i nostri passi tra le vie più caratteristiche del centro storico. La Napoli che non ti immagini

Charles

2 February 2019

My wife and I were with Raffaele for a 3-hour tour of old-town Naples and a day-long tour of Pompeii and Herculaneum. We have had guides in many cities around the world over the years. Raffaele is now number 1 on the list. An archaeologist with very strong historical knowledge as well, he knows everything, and has the enthusiasm of someone who's doing his first tour. And he wears very well--we were together for a lot of hours, and were still sorry to say goodbye. Ideal guide for Naples Pompeii/Herculaneum

Catherine🇺🇸 United States

27 January 2019

We just had the most wonderful day and a half with Raffaele! Yesterday he took us on a walking tour of Naples. Somehow he knew just what would entertain and delight us. His stories were full of historical fact and local legends. He loves his native city so much! We spent today with Raffaele at Pompeii and Herculaneum. He is a professional archeologist who has excavated at Pompeii and worked with objects found at Herculaneum, and he knows pretty much all there is to know about these two sites. Plus, he really feels the poignancy and deep sadness of their destruction and the loss of life that occurred there so long ago. Raffaele couldn’t be smarter, friendlier, or more considerate. We urge you to see Naples and the surrounding area with him. Wonderful day and a half with Raffaela

Tom🇮🇱 Israel

11 December 2018

I took Raffaele for a 3 hours tour on my one day trip to Napoli from Rome and he made me fell in love with the city. He is an archeologist, very knowledgeable of the city's history and as such gives you a great perspective of what there was and there is today, showing many places I wouldn't have noticed otherwise . As I was not familiar with the city and had only one day, he came to the train station to meet me and made my life easier. I highly recommend him to anyone who is visiting the city whether it's for one day or more. Great Tour, professional and interesting

Jennifer

5 March 2025

We had a fantastic tour around Pompeii with Raffaele. He provided us with a lot of fascinating information about the history of the site and the inner workings of the society. We highly recommend doing a tour with him! Amazing learning experience!

Phil

4 March 2025

Raffaele is an excellent guide! He made our tour feel like a very personal experience, not only because of his amazing in-depth knowledge of the history of Pompeii (before and after the AD 79 eruption) but his stories of the people who lived there made the place come alive!The ONLY way to see Pompeii!

Leanne🇺🇸 United States

2 March 2025

Patient with our kids, such a wealth of information, easy to communicate and ask questions. Fantastic tour

Tina🇺🇸 United States

27 February 2025

This was an exceptional tour with Raffaele. He is an expert — classically educated archeologist and historian—with great insight and a wealth of knowledge. Pre-tour he quickly (and patiently!) answered all of our logistical questions. I would highly recommend this tour. Excellent!

Catherine

15 February 2025

We met Rafaelle at the site and found him to be extremely knowledgeable, easy to understand, and personable. He brought the city, and its unfortunate end, to life. Great tour, great guide.Excellent guide for ercolano

Amanda

15 February 2025

Raffaele was an excellent tour guide for our multi-generational group. From age 7 to 78. He was excellent with the kids but the adults also were engaged and we all learned a bunch! I'm so glad we decided to do a tour instead of trying to see Herculaneum on our own.Excellent tour!

Thomas🇺🇸 United States

8 February 2025

We had a delightful and informative visit to Herculaneum with Raffaele. He emphasized how tragic the eruption in 79 CE was for the residents, who fled to the water for safety. It was sad to see skeletons of bodies that were pushed into the walls by the sea. The temperature of the air was estimated to be so high that wooden beams all around the town turned to carbon rather than burning. We were surprised how many of the buildings were two stories. Raffaele showed us all the highlights of the ruins and wall paintings and mosaic fountains. It was fascinating to learn about the history and culture from a trained archaeologist. After the visit, he recommended we try a restaurant in Sorrento, so we headed there and had a lovely lunch at a seaside restaurant. Highly recommend a visit, tour or other heritage exploration with Raffaele. Informative visit with a true expert

Peter

5 February 2025

We had a great time exploiring Pompeii and Herculaneum with Raffaele. He was able to shed information on many intersting areas in both spots and really helped us understand what life and the ultimate demise of these cities was like in anchinet times. Thanks Raff, it was a great day, despite the rain!

Anna🇦🇺 Australia

3 February 2025

Raffaele was fantastic. We did a day trip from Rome with my husband and 2 kids (13 and 15). Unfortunately both kids were a bit unwell on the day, however, they still loved their Pompeii experience, largely due to the information and insights shared by Raffaele. He was friendly, easy to understand and able to answer any questions without hesitation. He is very passionate about the Pompeii site and the discoveries there. It was very busy on the day we were there, however, it did not bother us at all as Raffaele was able to take us on routes that were not overrun with people. It was a very interesting and enjoyable experience and I thoroughly recommend Raffaele.Raffaele was great!

Susan🇺🇸 United States

23 January 2025

Raffaele could not have been a more perfect professore for my curious family. We had done our homework on Pompeii so Raffaele was able to tailor our adventure to our knowledge base. I would hire him again. As an archaeologist, his knowledge is extensive and current. Hire him!

Charisse 🇺🇸 United States

18 January 2025

Raffaele was wonderful! We had such a marvelous time and learned an amazing amount of history. I would highly recommend him for individuals or families! Do not miss the archaeologic museum in Naples. Raffaele shared so much history and art with us at the museum.

Peter🇧🇪 Belgium

8 January 2025

We had a such a great day , we were a group of 8 mix of children and adults and the Raffaele made a great tour of Pompei and the Museum of archaeology in Naples in the afternoon. Can only recommend him, very knowledgeable, great humour and made the ruins just come alive . Thank you! super guide

Jeff🇨🇦 Canada

6 January 2025

We had a great tour with Raffaele! He was friendly, knowledgeable and helped us understand what we were experiencing. We saw the larger tours walking around and were so happy we were alone with him. Great tour!

Kristene 🇨🇦 Canada

30 December 2024

We chose the perfect guide for our visit to Pompeii! Not only was Raffaele full of knowledge but his stories and passion made you feel what is was like to live in Pompeii and what it must have been like on that tragic day. We experienced so much history in two hours! This was a powerful and emotional tour that we will remember for life. Thank you so much, Raffaele!Raffaele brought Pompeii to life!

Michael

28 December 2024

Raffaele is a very knowledgeable tour guide. He loves Pompeii, the people and the history of the area. Highly recommended. All the stars

Evan

24 December 2024

Raffaele was an outstanding guide. He orchestrated a thorough and thoughtful tour through Herculaneum that was expansive in overarching history and rich in the kind of detail that will make the site and the experience memorable for years to come. Outstanding

Bonnie🇫🇷 France

20 December 2024

Raffaele was a terrific guide for our visit to Pompei today. The site is so big, but by the end of our two-hour private tour, we had seen many important sites and learned a lot about the history of Pompei and the eruption of Vesuvius that preserved so much of the city. Raffaele was very much at ease with all the material, his archeology background and education (PhD) shining through. His presentation really made all the difference to us in making sense of the Pompei site and knowing where to look and what to find. We would highly recommend visiting Pompei with him!Terrific tour of Pompei

Daniel🇺🇸 United States

20 December 2024

The three of us had a phenomenal day with Raffaele. He is deeply knowledgeable in the history of both Pompei and Herculaneum and easily answered our many questions with ease. He truly brings his subject matter to life with his enthusiasm. This was one of the best historical tours I’ve ever done. Don’t miss it.Fantastic Day with Raffaele

Kate🇦🇺 Australia

17 December 2024

Our family had the privilege of learning from Raffaele about Pompeii and Herculaneum. It was like being transported into a Time Machine! Our 17 year old is studying these two places early next year and our tour has really given her a great appreciation for the life and times of people living there. We give Raffaele at 10/10A step into a time machine

Helen

13 December 2024

Raffaele’s two tour of Pompei was really brilliant. We had a perfect morning and his interpretation of the site and all the details he gave us about life in Pompei were fascinating. Thank you! Fantastic tour of Pompei

julie🇺🇸 United States

6 December 2024

We had a wonderful day! It was perfect! Thank you! Awesome Day!

Chris🇺🇸 United States

14 November 2024

Raffaele was a true pleasure to work with and his knowledge was amazing. We learned so much, we had laughs and even some very somber moments. You can hear and see his passion for this piece of history and the people that lost their lives there. I would definitely recommend himAmazing and worth every penny

Morgan🇮🇹 Italy

13 November 2024

Rafael was super knowledgeable and wasn't stumped on any question. He was able to provide great context about the different aspects of Pomeii's history and the culture of its people. He has a great sense of humor too. This experience was so much better than being in a larger group. Fantastic Experience

Elizabeth🇺🇸 United States

6 November 2024

We spent 1 1/2 days with Raffaele and he was the best! We did a customized tour with a few hours in Pompeii and the a half day in the centro storico in Naples and at the Archeological Museum. He was so excited to tell us about these places and was very engaging. His English is perfect too. I wish I could have him as my tour guide in every city I visit. Do not hesitate to book a tour with him!The best guide ever

Karen🇺🇸 United States

1 November 2024

Raffaele truly brought Pompeii to life for us with his deep knowledge and passion for the site. Despite the heavy rain on the day of our tour, we were determined to explore, and it turned out to be an unforgettable experience. We learned so much and felt a genuine connection to the lives of the people who once inhabited Pompeii. Having been on many guided tours over the years, I can confidently say this was one of the best we've ever had. Highly recommend!Incredible day!

Sandu🇳🇱 Netherlands

1 November 2024

Thank you for offering this unique tour that combines the archaeological site of Pompeii with the Museo Archeologico Nazionale where you can see the materials and sculptures found. It gives you a unique insight into the magnitude of the archaeological finds. It is important to take your time and you really need those six hours if you travel by public transport.Pleasant tour

Philip

31 October 2024

Raffaele was the perfect guide, very knowledgeable and articulate. He paced the visit very well and gave a real sense of what life was like before and during the eruption of Vesuvius. Highly recommended Faultless

jana

27 October 2024

A very knowledgeable, great guideAmazong experience