Things to do in Naples, Italy in November 2026

November is when Naples stops playing the tourist and goes home. Daytime highs slide from 18-19°C in the first days to about 15°C by the end of the month, nights drop to 9-10°C, and it is the wettest month of the year: 130-160 mm of rain, packed into about ten days. People go to the theatre, into museums, eat chestnuts, and on 1 November, a month earlier than usual, the nativity fair on San Gregorio Armeno opens.

Two things to know about the calendar straight away. All Saints’ Day (Ognissanti) falls on a Sunday in 2026, so there is no long weekend: Monday 2 is a working day. On the other hand Sunday 1 is also the first Sunday of the month, which means Domenica al Museo, when state museums are free. Below are the November 2026 events we have checked, week by week, then the food festivals outside the city, the first Christmas dates and what to book when it rains.

All Saints’ weekend: 31 October and 1 November

It starts on Saturday 31 with Halloween, which in Naples happens underground: the night on a raft in the cistern of the Galleria Borbonica on the 30th and 31st (20 euros, booking required) and the Halloween night tour of the old centre leaving from the MANN museum at 8.30pm, 20 euros. Everything else, Fontanelle cemetery included, is in our Halloween 2026 guide.

Sunday 1 November is Domenica al Museo: free entry to the MANN, Capodimonte, Palazzo Reale, the Certosa di San Martino, Castel Sant’Elmo, the Floridiana and the Pignatelli museum, at each museum’s normal hours. It also applies to Pompeii and Herculaneum, and it is the busiest day of the month at the ruins. The same day the nativity fair on San Gregorio Armeno opens, with its red wooden stalls along the street: hours and programme are not official yet, but the street itself is open all year.

3 to 8 November: Brunori, Boléro and the crafts fair

On Tuesday 3 at the Augusteo there is Brunori Sas with «Tuttobrunori», 9pm, from 39 euros: the Calabrian songwriter plays his whole career in one show, and he starts on time. From Wednesday 4 to the 15th the Diana stages Ruoli secondari (Supporting Roles), the new play written and directed by film-maker Ferzan Ozpetek, 9pm, Sundays at 6pm, in Italian.

Thursday 5 opens four full days at the Mostra d’Oltremare: Creattiva, the creative crafts fair, from sewing to DIY, until Sunday 8, 10am-7pm, 10 euros online and 12 at the door, free under ten. On the same days the city council runs the Italian Urban Games, free urban sport from 8.30am to 5pm, skateboarding and parkour included.

At the San Carlo from the 5th to the 10th there is the ballet evening Boléro: The Rite of Spring, Rachmaninov’s Preludes and Ravel’s Boléro in Béjart’s choreography, 8pm (Sunday 8 at 5pm), from 15 euros. It is the easiest door into dance without a dull minute. On the weekend of 6-8 Peppe Barra, a legend of Neapolitan song, brings his recital to the Teatro Mediterraneo.

San Martino week, 9 to 15: the Ninth, Nayt and the first lights

Wednesday 11 is San Martino, the day when, as the saying goes, «every must becomes wine»: in the city it is celebrated at the table, with new wine and chestnuts, while the villages around hold their festivals (more below). That evening at the Palapartenope arena there is Nayt, 9pm, one of the most awaited rap concerts of the autumn. From the 11th to the 22nd at the Mercadante Anna Bonaiuto stars in La vasca (The Bathtub), 8.30pm, from 13 euros, with several 5pm matinées, in Italian.

On Thursday 12 at the Trianon Viviani in Forcella Teho Teardo and Blixa Bargeld play, strings and electronics with the voice of Einstürzende Neubauten, one night only. On Friday 13 and Saturday 14 at the San Carlo Daniel Oren conducts Beethoven’s Ninth, 7pm, from 15 euros, seventy-five minutes without interval, Ode to Joy included: two nights, book early.

On Saturday 14 November the Luci d’Artista light up in Salerno, the city’s famous light installations, free until 1 February 2027: from Napoli Centrale it is about forty minutes by train, and the first Saturday is also the busiest. At the Madre museum Living Collapse, the nativity scene reread by three contemporary artists, closes on Monday 16.

16 to 22: Malika Ayane, Maccio Capatonda and the Treasure by night

On Tuesday 17 at the Augusteo Malika Ayane sings, 9pm, from 39 euros, voice and piano more than special effects. From Wednesday 18 to the 29th at the Diana, Sergio Rubini tells the story of I fratelli De Filippo, Naples’ most famous theatre family, with music by Nicola Piovani, and from Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 comedian Maccio Capatonda makes his stage debut at the Bellini, 8.45pm, from 30 euros: tickets go fast.

On Friday 20 at 7.30pm the Museum of the Treasure of San Gennaro opens behind closed doors for Un Tesoro di serata: the gifts to the Saint and the sacristies without the daytime crowds, drinks in the courtyard, 25 euros, small groups. The week closes with Massimo Ranieri at the Politeama, from the 21st to the 23rd, Saturday and Monday at 9pm, Sunday at 6pm: the great Neapolitan singer opens the season of the theatre on via Monte di Dio.

The last week, 23 to 30: exhibitions closing

The end of the month is the time to catch the exhibitions about to close. On Sunday 30 November both Philip Colbert at Pompeii, pop lobsters among the Roman houses, included in the ruins ticket, and Archetipi by Antonio Biasiucci in the Great Gallery of the Royal Palace of Caserta, over three hundred photographs included in the palace ticket (18 euros, closed on Tuesdays), come to an end. Open until January, and free, is the video installation A.D. 1656 on the plague of Naples on Spaccanapoli.

End-of-month dates that appear once November has started go first into the things to do in Naples page, then here.

November food festivals outside the city: chestnuts and new wine

November is the month of chestnuts, new wine and freshly pressed oil, and the real sagre (village food festivals) are in Irpinia and the Sannio hills, an hour to an hour and a half away. The biggest is the Festa della Castagna IGP in Montella, in the province of Avellino, now in its 42nd edition: Sunday 1 November and then Friday 6, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 (the council has also listed Monday 2), with food stands in the squares of the town centre. Entry is free, you pay for what you eat. The same weekend, 6 to 8, Torrecuso in the Sannio holds the tenth edition of Novello e Castagne (new wine and chestnuts), organised by the local youth forum and Pro Loco.

Around San Martino the festival listings mention Acerno (7-8), Giffoni Sei Casali and Squille with its Pallagrello wine (13-15), and in Scisciano, the closest to Naples, the festival of the p’zzetta ’e vino cuotto (a flat sweet bread made with cooked wine), which last year ran from the 7th to the 11th: for these, check the 2026 dates on the Pro Loco page before you set off, because they change until the last minute. At the start of the month our guide to October food festivals still covers Il Nero di Bagnoli, the black truffle of Bagnoli Irpino, and the Roccamonfina chestnut festival, both until 1 November.

The first Christmas dates

In Naples Christmas begins in November, and this year earlier than usual. From 1 November the nativity fair is on in San Gregorio Armeno, brought forward at the request of the artisans and approved by the city council, with America’s Cup figurines among the novelties: in our practical guide to San Gregorio Armeno you will find when to go without the crowds, how to get there by metro and what the figurines cost. On 14 November the Luci d’Artista switch on in Salerno, until 1 February 2027, free. Naples’ own Christmas street lights don’t have an official date yet: in 2025 the council and Chamber of Commerce project switched them on by 15 November and kept them until 7 January, with over 150 km of lights. We will update as soon as the 2026 date is out.

What to book in November, even when it rains

With about ten rainy days a month, it pays to have a plan B in your pocket that doesn’t depend on the sky. Naples has a natural one: the underground. Forty metres under the Quartieri Spagnoli takes you into Greek quarries and wartime shelters, at a constant temperature all year round. For museums, November is the right month to see them with someone who tells the story: the MANN with an archaeologist, Farnese marbles and Pompeii frescoes included, or Capodimonte with an art historian, Caravaggio and Raphael without the empty rooms in between.

Frequently asked questions

Is Naples cold in November?

Not really cold: highs are between 15 and 19°C, lows between 9 and 11°C. The problem is rain, because November is the wettest month of the year, with about ten wet days. You need a waterproof jacket and a jumper for the evening, not a heavy coat.

What is there to do in Naples on 1 November 2026?

1 November 2026 is a Sunday and three things at once: All Saints’ Day, Domenica al Museo with free state museums (MANN, Capodimonte, Palazzo Reale, San Martino, Pompeii and Herculaneum) and opening day of the nativity fair on San Gregorio Armeno. A sensible plan: museum at 9am, San Gregorio around midday, lunch on via dei Tribunali. There is no long weekend, Monday 2 is a working day.

When does San Gregorio Armeno open in 2026?

The nativity fair opens on Sunday 1 November 2026, earlier than in past years. The workshops on the street are open all year, so you will find nativity scenes in October too; from 1 November the stalls and the events programme arrive, and their hours have not been published yet.

When do the Christmas lights come on in Naples and Salerno?

In Salerno the Luci d’Artista switch on on Saturday 14 November 2026 and stay until 1 February 2027, free of charge. In Naples the 2026 date for the street lights is not official yet: last year they came on by 15 November and stayed until 7 January. For the rest of the month, and for the dates added along the way, there is the things to do in Naples page.