Villa Comunale Park

If you’re in need of a nature break, the Villa Comunale Park, with its palm trees and eucalyptus, is just the place. Created by the Bourbons in the 18th century as Naples’ answer to the Tuileries Garden in Paris, it was designed as a royal promenade along the seafront, in a neighborhood home to the king’s courtiers and the city’s upper class. Back then, it was a private garden, expanded and beautified over the years, and only opened to the public on rare occasions—like during the hugely popular 19th-century festival of Neapolitan songs. It wasn’t until 1869, after Italian unification was firmly established and the Bourbons had left the city, that the park became public. Today, it remains one of Naples’ few green lungs, offering a breath of fresh air. As you wander through, you’ll come across elegant fountains, a 19th-century bandstand, and the oldest aquarium in Italy, built in 1870, back when Naples ranked among Europe’s most visited cities—already drawing around 30,000 tourists a year, an impressive figure for the time.