Naples Underground Tour

A Naples underground tour takes you down as far as 40 metres under the old city, into the Greek and Roman cisterns that once held its water and the Second World War shelters dug into them, always with a guide and at a set time. Four places run these visits, in different parts of town: Napoli Sotterranea on Piazza San Gaetano, the route under the Spanish Quarters, the Bourbon Tunnel under Pizzofalcone hill, and the Catacombs of San Gennaro in the Sanita. The one this page puts first is the Napoli Sotterranea entry ticket and guided tour from Piazza San Gaetano 68, sold on GetYourGuide by Naples Underground SRL: from US$20 a person (checked October 2026), rated 4.4 out of 5 from 26,286 reviews, the most reviewed underground visit in Naples. On 23 October 2026 GetYourGuide showed this tour booked 39 times the day before.

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Read the terms before you book. This ticket is non-refundable, where the other three sites’ listings can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before. It skips the ticket queue but is not a priority entrance, and the visit is always guided. The route is not suitable for pregnant visitors, people with reduced mobility or people with claustrophobia, and there is no lift. Guests this October call it a hidden gem; one who used to live in Naples never knew it was there, and several name their guide.

Two sites with almost the same name

The name trips up a lot of visitors. Napoli Sotterranea is the route entered from Piazza San Gaetano 68 on Via dei Tribunali, in the old centre. La Napoli Sotterranea is a different route under the Spanish Quarters, entered from Vico Sant’Anna di Palazzo 52 and run by the LAES cultural association. They are about a 20-minute walk apart, with different cisterns and different guides. Both are good; just check which one your voucher names before you set off.

Four undergrounds, four different visits

The Greek cisterns and the Roman theatre, Piazza San Gaetano. The Napoli Sotterranea route goes down a long stairway to the cisterns of the Greek-Roman aqueduct, cut into the tuff more than 2,000 years ago. In the war they became air-raid shelters, and the route passes a small war museum and gardens now grown under lamps. Above ground, the guide takes you into a traditional low house, a basso, built on the street level of the Roman theatre. The listing allows 1.5 to 2 hours, in English or Italian. Naples Underground SRL also runs an after-hours version with a pizza included.

The wartime shelters under the Spanish Quarters. The Spanish Quarters underground tour is an hour in the cisterns under the hillside streets above Via Toledo, used as shelters in the war, with the graffiti people left on the walls. It is rated 4.8 from 6,002 reviews, guided in English, Italian or Spanish. The Spanish Quarters page covers it.

The Bourbon Tunnel, with its old cars. Ferdinand II commissioned a tunnel under Pizzofalcone hill in 1853 as a protected route out of the Royal Palace; it was never finished. In the war it was a shelter, and from then until the 1970s the city used it as a pound for seized vehicles, so the Bourbon Tunnel guided tour walks past rusting cars and scooters dug out of the rubble, as well as old cisterns. The Bourbon Tunnel page covers its routes and entrances.

The catacombs, Sanita. The Catacombs of San Gennaro are early Christian burial galleries begun in the 2nd century, on two levels, with frescoes from the 5th and 6th centuries. The galleries are far wider than Rome’s, because the tuff they are cut in is strong. The ticket also covers the Catacombs of San Gaudioso within 12 months. The catacombs page has the details.

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Prices and review counts as listed on GetYourGuide in October 2026, not a quote.

What it costs

On GetYourGuide in October 2026, the four start at US$20 for Napoli Sotterranea, US$20 for the Spanish Quarters route, US$17 for the Bourbon Tunnel and US$15 for the catacombs, a person. The sites’ own prices are close: Napoli Sotterranea lists a full ticket at 18 euros, the Bourbon Tunnel 15 euros for its standard route, and the catacombs 13 euros for the standard visit. Children pay less or nothing; the prices guide lists every rate.

The buried Roman city under San Lorenzo

There is a fifth underground, and it is the cheapest. Under the church of San Lorenzo Maggiore, on the same square as Napoli Sotterranea, about 10 metres down, is a stretch of the Greek and Roman city itself: a paved street, shops and the covered market. The San Lorenzo Maggiore and Neapolis Sotterrata ticket is from US$10 a person (checked October 2026); visits are by guided tour only at the moment, for a 2-euro fee paid on site. One visitor this summer wrote that it is not at all claustrophobic. The San Lorenzo page has the tour times.

Steps, cold air and access

Every one of these sites means stairs. The Napoli Sotterranea listing counts 121 steps down and back up, low and with a handrail, and you can leave a pushchair at the entrance; the Bourbon Tunnel listing counts 90 at its entrance. LAES gives the air underground as about 17 degrees all year, with humidity around 90 percent, so bring a light layer in summer and shoes with grip. For wheelchair users the Bourbon Tunnel says about 60 percent of its standard route is accessible from the Via Morelli entrance, and the San Lorenzo listing is marked wheelchair accessible; Napoli Sotterranea is not. The claustrophobia guide and the guide for families go into detail.

When each one runs

Napoli Sotterranea’s timetable runs from a first visit at 10:00 to a last at 18:00, in English and Italian, plus a Thursday 21:00 visit for booked groups of 10 or more; it does not take part in Italy’s free first Sunday at museums. The Spanish Quarters route runs four times on weekdays and six times at weekends. The Bourbon Tunnel opens to the public only on Fridays, weekends and holidays, with tours at 10:00, 12:00, 15:00 and 17:00, and needs a booking. The catacombs need a booking too, and their site said on 23 October 2026 that they are closed on Wednesdays. The how-long guide sets the times side by side.

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