Step out onto Via Chiaia from number 149F and slow down at the first shop window. Look at a pair of shoes, walk on to the next café, then double back a few steps to look again at a colour. A memory of Naples can start just like this, on the very street of your address.
Shopping in Chiaia follows one continuous route, best done on foot. The official portal italia.it, run by ENIT and the Ministry of Tourism, brings together Via Chiaia, Piazza dei Martiri, Via Gaetano Filangieri and Via dei Mille in the same itinerary. From Follaky Secret Garden, on Via Chiaia 149F, Piazza dei Martiri is about a 3-minute walk.
Via Chiaia: where the shopping begins
According to italia.it, Via Chiaia is lined with clothing and footwear shops, alongside cafés, street food stalls and ice-cream parlours. It's the street for a first look around: choose shops according to what you're after, an item of clothing, an accessory or a gift, and make a note of the ones to come back to.
At the start of the street, at number 1/2, between Piazza Trieste e Trento, Via Toledo and Piazza del Plebiscito, stands the Gran Caffè Gambrinus, opened by Mariano Vacca in 1890. Its Liberty-style furnishings and late-nineteenth-century décor are worth a stop before continuing round the shops. Piazza del Plebiscito is about a 9-minute walk from Follaky.
Piazza dei Martiri, Via Filangieri and Via dei Mille
Around Piazza dei Martiri and the nearby Via Gaetano Filangieri and Via dei Mille, italia.it points to boutiques and showrooms, with high-end jewellers alongside fashion brands. NapoliForMe, the City of Naples' own portal, describes the piazza as home to the most designer-led shopping.
On the piazza, look up from the shop windows. Piazza dei Martiri is triangular in shape and enclosed by three monumental palazzi: Palazzo Partanna, rebuilt in 1824 on the orders of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies; the eighteenth-century Palazzo Calabritto, with its double façade; and Palazzo Nunziante, on the corner of Via Morelli, which opened in 1853. At the centre stands the Colonna dei Martiri in grey granite (1866-1868), dedicated to the Neapolitans who died for freedom; the lions around its base symbolise the anti-Bourbon uprisings of 1799, 1820, 1848 and 1860.
It's a public space, always open and free to visit; the City Council puts the average time spent there at around 30 minutes.
Artisans in Chiaia and the workshops of San Gregorio Armeno
Chiaia isn't only about fashion: in the area around Piazza dei Martiri, italia.it also mentions local artisans. If you'd like to see a workshop up close, contact the person who runs it first and agree a day and time together. Purchases, appointments and services with the shops are arranged directly with them; Follaky does not act as an intermediary.
If the craftsmanship you're after is the nativity-scene workshops, Via San Gregorio Armeno is about a 32-minute walk along Via Toledo, and the metro doesn't save any time. We give its workshops a separate article. To place your shopping trip within the rest of your stay, there's our neighbourhood guide.
How many nights do you need to choose without rushing?
With three or four nights there's time to think over a purchase and go back to the shop window the next day. Alternate shopping with a visit chosen from the places to see or a walk along the seafront, between Villa Comunale and Via Caracciolo, about a 7-minute walk. For lunch and dinner there's our restaurants page; on how long to stay, read Three or Four Nights in Naples.
During the day you can head back to your suite, drop off your shopping and go out again for the evening. The pedestrian entrance at Via Chiaia 149F, with the park's private lift (it takes a 20-cent coin), is also in use on Sundays during your stay. For taxis, and for luggage on departure, the vehicle entrance at Vico Monteroduni 16 is used instead: on Sundays, check-out is from Vico Monteroduni 16. It's all explained in our guide to reaching us.
Which suite to choose for a few days in Chiaia
Follaky Secret Garden is a boutique B&B set in the residential park of Palazzo Giovagnoni: two suites, each with its own independent, private entrance, and the Follaky Breakfast included, with quality products.
The Suite Chiaia Deluxe Garden View is the more intimate of the two: olive green, wood and maiolica tiles, with a window looking onto two neighbouring private gardens. The Suite Toledo Deluxe Private Patio is larger and brighter, in white and turquoise maiolica, with a private patio. Each sleeps two guests in a queen-size bed. If you're travelling with another couple, Double Suites – Exclusive Use reserves both suites for you together, for up to four guests.
If your trip revolves around the shop windows of Via Chiaia and Piazza dei Martiri, a base with its entrance on the same street lets you nip back between outings. Choose between the garden view and the private patio, then check availability for the Follaky suites.
