Naples stretches along the waterfront and is divided into quartieri (districts). Stazione Centrale and the bus station are off Piazza Garibaldi, east of Spaccanapoli, the ancient heart of Naples. Piazza Garibaldi and its side streets form an enormous, unwelcoming transport terminus and street market. The area is distinctly seedy. Quite a few of the cheaper hotels, some of which double as brothels, are here.

A wide shopping street, Corso Umberto I, skirts the southern edge of Spaccanapoli, aligned southwest from Piazza Garibaldi to Piazza Bovio. From here Via A Depretis runs to the huge Piazza Municipio, dominated by the unmistakable Castel Nuovo. From the waterfront behind the castle, ferries sail to the bay islands, Palermo and other long-distance destinations.

Palazzo Reale, next to the castle, flanks Piazza del Plebiscito, Naples' biggest and most impressive square. From the adjacent Piazza Trieste e Trento, Naples' main street, Via Toledo, leads north. To get your head round the city's geography, head up on foot or by funicular railway to Largo San Martino and absorb the panoramic view.

Most city ANM buses depart from Piazza Garibaldi, where bus stops are appallingly signed. The city produces one rather vague bus map, but there is an ANM information office at the western end of the square. The mostly above ground underground, Metropolitana, runs from Gianturco, just east of Stazione Centrale, via Piazza Garibaldi and Bagnoli to Pozzuoli. Funicular railways connect downtown with Vomero.

You can buy 'Giranapoli' tickets at stations, ANM booths and tobacconists. A ticket is valid for 90 minutes of unlimited travel by bus, tram, Metropolitana, funicular, Ferrovia Cumana or Circumflegrea. A daily ticket is good value. These tickets are not valid to Pompeii or Ercolano on the Circumvesuviana train line.

Forget driving in town unless you have a death wish. Mopeds are impossible to hire because of the high incidence of theft. Taxis generally ignore kerb-side arm wavers but there are taxi stands at most of the large piazzas. Be warned that traffic congestion makes taxis expensive, and that's before you add on the baffling array of extra tariffs.