This tour takes us to where Naples had its beginnings 2,700 years ago, and the places symbolizing that long history. From the historic Café Gambrinus, founded in 1860, we can admire on the left hand side of the Piazza Trieste e Trento, the San Carlo Opera House, the oldest in Europe, dating from 1737, and the Umberto I Gallery. To the right is the impressive Piazza del Plebiscito bordered by the Royal Palace and the Basilica of St. Francis of Paola. If the postcard image of Naples is a view of the bay, Piazza Plebiscito with its surrounding buildings best represents the city architecturally.

We walk towards the sea to the ‘Egg Castle’ (Castel dell’Ovo) along via Santa Lucia. It was on the coastline here at Santa Lucia that the ships carrying the first Greek colonists dropped anchor and created the original settlement that would grow into the city of Naples. Legend has it that this is the place where the siren Partenope died when she couldn’t entice Ulysses with her song, and opposite the village of Santa Lucia is the Egg Castle, the oldest in the city, whose foundations, according to another legend, rest on an egg. But what is truly legendary is the view of the city and the bay from the castle’s terraces. After visiting the castle we stop to enjoy a pizza at the one of the best pizzera in town.