Naples Food Tours
Naples is the one Italian city where the street is the restaurant: pizza folded in paper, fried pasta in a napkin, a cone of fried fish, a sfogliatella still warm, and an espresso at the bar, all within three streets of each other. This page compares the top-rated Naples food tours: street-food walks through Spaccanapoli and Via dei Tribunali, market tours at the Pignasecca, and tours into the Sanità and the Quartieri Spagnoli, with what you’ll eat and what it costs.
The old centre: Spaccanapoli and Via dei Tribunali, the pizza street: pizza a portafoglio, frittatina, cuoppo, sfogliatella, babà, espresso.
The markets: the Pignasecca, the oldest market in the city, for mozzarella, cured meats, fish and the food of the working day.
The neighbourhoods: the Sanità and the Quartieri Spagnoli, where tours go for the cooking the city is proudest of and the streets the guidebooks skip.
Naples food tours: the old centre, the markets and the neighbourhoods
Naples food tours are cheap, dense and on foot: three hours, eight to ten tastings, two or three kilometres, mostly in the old centre. The city’s street food is designed to be eaten walking, which is why the tours work so well. Groups are eight to twelve; morning tours see the markets, evening tours see the pizzerias light their ovens.
Spaccanapoli and Via dei Tribunali
The straight street that splits the old city and the parallel one lined with the famous pizzerias. Tours here eat pizza a portafoglio, folded in four and handed over in paper; pizza fritta, the fried version stuffed with ricotta and cicoli; frittatina, a fried block of pasta, béchamel and peas; a cuoppo of fried anchovies or vegetables; sfogliatella and babà from a pasticceria; and an espresso, standing, at the end.
The Pignasecca market
The oldest market in Naples, at the foot of the Quartieri Spagnoli: mozzarella di bufala from Campania’s dairies, salumi, fish on ice, fruit and the shouting. Morning tours start here and end with lunch.
The Sanità and the Quartieri Spagnoli
The Sanità, north of the centre, is where guides take people who have done the old centre already: pastry shops with queues, a famous pizzeria or two, the catacombs above. The Quartieri Spagnoli, the grid of narrow streets west of Via Toledo, is trattorie with three tables and the city’s most photographed laundry. Both need a guide the first time.
What you’ll eat
Pizza in two or three forms, frittatina, cuoppo, mozzarella di bufala, sfogliatella riccia and frolla, babà, taralli with almonds and pepper, a glass of Campanian wine or a limoncello, espresso. Vegetarian versions are easy; the fried things are the point either way.
Choosing and booking
First visit: the old centre in the evening. Second visit or a market morning: the Pignasecca. Third: the Sanità. Prices run 40 to 80 euros, the best value in Italy; book a week ahead in season. To make the pizza instead of eating it, see pizza making classes in Naples.
Read next: 5 days in Naples & the Amalfi Coast
How we choose
We list only experiences with a strong rating over a meaningful number of reviews and free cancellation where available, and we favour small-group and family-run hosts. FindEatLocal earns a commission when you book through GetYourGuide or Viator links on this page; it doesn’t change the price you pay. More about how we choose.
FAQ about Naples Food Tours
Frequently asked questions
Why book a Naples food tour?
Because the old centre is a maze, the best places have no signs, and a guide turns a confusing afternoon into eight things you will want to eat again tomorrow.
What is the best street food in Naples?
Pizza a portafoglio and pizza fritta, frittatina di pasta, the cuoppo of fried seafood, and sfogliatella for something sweet.
Is a Naples food tour worth it?
Yes, and it is the cheapest good food tour in Italy; the guide is the difference between the famous pizzeria’s queue and the equally good one without it.
Which neighbourhood is best for a food tour?
The old centre for a first visit; the Sanità for the second.
Are Naples food tours vegetarian-friendly?
Yes; pizza, frittatina, mozzarella and the pastries are all meat-free, and guides adapt the rest.
Morning or evening?
Morning for the market, evening for the pizzerias and the atmosphere.