Naples Historic Center Hidden Cloisters & Hanging Garden Guided Walking Tour

Discover the hidden cloisters and gardens
of Naples' historic center

Meet your guide at Piazza del Gesù Nuovo and walk into the oldest lanes of the old town. Many travelers only see the facades, but on this tour you step inside the courtyards, gardens and monasteries that have shaped Naples for centuries. Most of them are just a few steps from the busiest streets.

See the majolica-tiled Cloister of Santa Chiara

First, visit the Cloister of Santa Chiara. This 14th-century monastery courtyard was transformed in the 18th century with hand-painted majolica tiles, and pastoral scenes in cobalt and yellow wrap around its columns and benches.

Relax in a hanging garden and see a Renaissance cloister

Move on to Palazzo Venezia, once the embassy of the Republic of Venice in the Kingdom of Naples, and enjoy a coffee in the hanging garden spread over the rooftops behind the building. Next, explore the vast Renaissance cloister of Santi Marcellino e Festo, which is used by the university and rarely seen by non-students.

Then head to the State Archives (Archivio di Stato) inside the former monastery of Santi Severino e Sossio. Several cloisters unfold here, including the Plane Tree Cloister, famous for its 16th-century frescoes.

Finish at the Cloister of San Gregorio Armeno

Near the street of nativity workshops, enter the monastery garden of San Gregorio Armeno and explore its quiet garden of orange trees and a fountain. Finally, see the courtyard of Palazzo Carafa, home to artists' workshops, where the tour ends.

※ The tour may be canceled or rescheduled in case of bad weather.