Capodimonte Museum Tickets 2026

Most people give Naples a day, spend it on Pompeii and the MANN, and never climb the hill to Capodimonte. That's the mistake. The former Bourbon summer palace holds the best painting collection in southern Italy — Caravaggio, Titian, Bruegel, Bellini — for €10, in rooms that are half-empty while the centre is heaving.

There's a catch worth naming up front: the museum's official ticket page still shows a notice about closing "until the 15th of January 2021" for Covid. It's five years stale and nobody has taken it down. So ignore it, and use the verified details below.

In 3 minutes:

• €10 full, closed Wednesdays, open until 22:30 on Fridays — the quietest window of the week.
• The Farnese Gallery on the first floor is the heart of it: Titian, Parmigianino, Bruegel, the Farnese sculptures.
• It's a bus up from Piazza Museo, next to the MANN — pair the two, but not on the same afternoon.

Is Capodimonte worth the trip up the hill?

Yes, and the hill is the point. Because it's a 20-minute bus from the centre, Capodimonte never feels like the crush at the MANN or Pompeii. You get Caravaggio's Flagellation of Christ, Titian's Danaë and his Portrait of Paul III with his Grandsons, Bruegel the Elder's The Blind Leading the Blind, Parmigianino's Antea and Bellini's Transfiguration — and often a near-empty room to see them in. Upstairs, the contemporary floor keeps Warhol's Vesuvius, a wall of screenprinted eruptions that makes more sense here than it would anywhere else.

The museum sits in a 134-hectare royal park, the Real Bosco, which is free to walk and worth an hour on its own. Under director Eike Schmidt — who ran the Uffizi before this — the display has been steadily rehung. It's a serious collection given room to breathe.

When to go, and the Wednesday trap

Capodimonte is open every day except Wednesday, 8:30 to 19:30, with last admission at 18:30. The Wednesday closure catches people out constantly — check your day before you plan the bus.

The best slot is Friday evening: the museum stays open until 22:30 (last admission 21:30), and the last two hours are the emptiest of the week. Note the floors keep different hours — the first floor (the Farnese Gallery) runs the full day, but the second and third floors close at 17:00 (Friday they reopen 19:30–22:30). So if you want the Neapolitan and contemporary rooms, go up there first and save the Farnese for later.

The ticket is valid all day with unlimited re-entry, so you can break for lunch in the park and come back. Free entry lands on the first Sunday of every month — which also means those are the busiest days, the opposite of what you want here.

What to see, floor by floor

First floor — the Farnese Gallery. This is the collection everyone comes for: the paintings the Farnese family gathered over generations, plus their Roman sculpture, the porcelain gallery and the Bourbon armoury. Titian, Parmigianino's Antea, Bruegel, Bellini. Give it the most time.

Second and third floors — the Neapolitan Gallery and contemporary art. Neapolitan painting from the 13th century through the Baroque, including Caravaggio's Flagellation, and then the modern rooms with Warhol's Vesuvius. Remember these close at 17:00 outside Friday nights.

The Real Bosco. The royal park is free, 134 hectares of avenues and rare trees looking down over the bay. In summer it's open 7:00 to 19:30. It's a genuine reason to linger, not a footnote.

Getting there

Capodimonte is up the hill from the centre, not walkable from the station. Take Metro Line 1 to Museo, then a bus, or catch the 3M, 168 or 178 bus from Piazza Museo — right next to the MANN. That proximity is why the two museums pair naturally: do the Naples Archaeological Museum in the morning, break, and take Capodimonte in the calmer afternoon. Don't try to cram both into one tired stretch — they're each half a day.

Frequently asked questions

How much are Capodimonte tickets in 2026?

Full admission is €10. Reduced entry is €2 for visitors aged 18 to 25, and also for everyone on Friday evenings from 19:30 to 21:30. Entry is free for under-18s, artecard holders, and for everyone on the first Sunday of each month. The ticket is valid all day with unlimited exit and re-entry until closing.

What day is Capodimonte closed?

Wednesday. Capodimonte is open every other day from 8:30 to 19:30, with last admission at 18:30. On Fridays it stays open until 22:30 (last admission 21:30), which is the quietest window of the week. It also closes on 1 January and 25 December.

How long do you need at Capodimonte?

Three to four hours covers the highlights across the Farnese Gallery and the Neapolitan floors. The collection runs to tens of thousands of works over three floors, so a full day is easy if you want the contemporary rooms and the porcelain too. The second and third floors keep shorter hours, 9:30 to 17:00, so start high and work down.

Is Capodimonte worth visiting?

If you care about painting, yes — it holds Caravaggio's Flagellation, Titian's Danaë and Portrait of Paul III, Bruegel's The Blind Leading the Blind, Parmigianino's Antea and Bellini's Transfiguration, plus Warhol's Vesuvius upstairs. It's the best picture collection in southern Italy. The catch is the hill: it's a bus ride from the centre, which is exactly why it's calmer than everything downtown.

Naples rewards the visitors who climb past the obvious. Capodimonte is the clearest example — a first-rank collection kept quiet by a bus ride. Pair it with the MANN for the ancient half of the city, and if Pompeii's on your list too, our Pompeii sold-out guide covers the days the ruins fill up.

Book an English art-historian Capodimonte tour on GetYourGuide