Naples · Piazza San Gaetano
The Napoli Sotterranea tour from Piazza San Gaetano
A guided walk about 40 metres below the historic centre, through ancient quarries, aqueduct tunnels, cisterns and wartime shelters. Prices, fixed departures and practical tips.
Today
Opening hours for every month are on the Opening hours page.
Checked against the official website on October 22, 2026 · Official source
In short
- Entrance: Piazza San Gaetano 68, on Via dei Tribunali next to the Basilica of San Paolo Maggiore. The official site warns that a Google Maps search can lead to the wrong spot: use the map link on their site.
- The tour is always guided, with fixed departures in Italian and English, between about 10:00 and 18:00: the official page lists the times unclearly ("10.00 – 11.00 12.00 – 13.00 14.00 – 15.00 16.00 – 17.00 -18.00"), so confirm the exact time when you book. A Thursday evening tour at 21:00 runs by booking only. Opening days and holiday closures are not published: check the official site.
- Official prices: 18 € adults, 15 € ages 11 to 17, 10 € ages 5 to 10, free for ages 0 to 4. Reservations are not refundable.
- About 1 hour underground, plus about 20 minutes for the Greek-Roman theatre. The route goes down to around 40 metres, with over 120 steps each way and no lift. Strollers and wheelchairs cannot be taken in.
Quarries, aqueducts and shelters
According to the official site, the route goes down to about 40 metres below ground through tunnels and cisterns, in a network of more than 2,000,000 square metres. It includes Greek tuff quarries dug from the 3rd century BC for the blocks used in walls and temples, with a reconstruction of a quarry and its tools.
You also see an aqueduct fed by the Serino springs, about 70 km away, with traces of Roman waterproofing plaster on the walls, and a later aqueduct built by the nobleman Cesare Carmignano.
Wartime shelters and the war museum
During the Second World War these cavities served as air-raid shelters. The official site describes shelters with furnishings, graffiti and objects, and the route includes a war museum area with a reconstructed shelter.
The Greek-Roman theatre
The theatre, often called Nero's theatre, has its remains built into 15th-century houses between Via Anticaglia, Vico Cinquesanti and Via San Paolo. You enter through a Neapolitan ground-floor room, a basso, and a trapdoor leads down to the rooms where Nero is said to have had his dressing rooms: this is a tale told on the tour, not a verified historical fact.
The official site also mentions a permanent display of about 30 cases with folk nativity scenes and Bourbon-era sewers lined with blue tiles. The official FAQ puts the theatre visit at about 20 minutes, but we could not confirm whether it is included in the standard ticket: check before you go.
