Things to do in Naples this weekend: 2-4 October 2026

The first weekend of October in Naples has three things that happen once a year. Open House throws open more than 150 free visits to palazzi, building sites and private homes that are usually closed. Spinacorona brings Beethoven to ten churches in the old town, free and with no booking. And Sunday 4 is the first Sunday of the month, so state museums are free: MANN, Capodimonte, Palazzo Reale, San Martino. Add the last weekend of the Pessoa Luna Park at Castel Sant’Elmo and Antonacci’s last three nights at Pompeii, and the calendar is full. Below you’ll find it all day by day. The page updated every morning is this weekend.

All weekend: Open House Napoli

From Friday 2 to Sunday 4 October, the eighth Open House Napoli lets anyone into places you normally can’t get into: historic palazzi, building sites, private homes, urban walks. There are around 160 visits, some seventy of them opening for the first time, with 603 volunteers acting as guides. New this year are the ancient theatre of Neapolis at the Anticaglia, San Giovanni a Carbonara with its cloisters, and the Museo Filangieri. On Friday 2 the new Sconfinamenti section adds about twenty visits in the Campi Flegrei. For children there’s OHN Kids at the Santissima, with clay, photography and printing workshops.

It’s all free. Many sites do need booking, though, which opens today, Fri 25 September, at 6pm on openhousenapoli.org. Other sites are walk-in, while space lasts.

Friday 2: Beethoven, Timi and Pompeii by night

Spinacorona, the festival run by pianist Michele Campanella, turns ten and devotes the whole edition to Beethoven. On Friday at 6pm Campanella plays at the Biblioteca Universitaria, a concert with commentary. At 9pm the Trio «L’Arciduca» plays in the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata Maggiore. Entry is free with no booking, until seats run out. Doors open half an hour before.

At the Teatro Bellini, Filippo Timi brings his Amleto², a bored Hamlet who turns the tragedy into a circus. It runs 85 minutes. Friday at 8.45pm, Saturday at 7pm, Sunday at 6pm. If you’re heading out of town, there are two evenings at Pompeii. On Fridays and Saturdays the ruins stay open at night, 7.30pm-11.30pm, €7 per site. At the Teatro Grande, meanwhile, Biagio Antonacci closes his Unplugged tour with three nights in a row, 2-4 October at 9pm.

Saturday 3: Vomero, Capodimonte and four concerts

At 10am the last leg of the Tour del Giallo begins, a walk around Vomero through the settings of Maurizio de Giovanni’s crime novels. It’s free, booked by email to redazione@gialli.it, and repeats on Sunday at the same time. Saturday morning also has Giro Giro Napoli’s free visits for children. At 4pm in the Real Bosco di Capodimonte, Bosco in Rosa sets off: a 4km walk at your own pace in aid of the Santobono children’s hospital. You sign up online and pushchairs are welcome.

Spinacorona puts on four concerts in one day. At 12pm, Lieder at Santa Maria di Costantinopoli; at 5pm, the Serenade Op. 8 at San Giovanni a Carbonara. At 7pm Monica Leone plays the piano variations at Sant’Eligio Maggiore, and at 9pm it’s the cello and piano sonatas at Santi Apostoli. In the evening there are also two paid shows. At the Augusteo there’s Mavi at 9pm, tickets €26-34.50. At the Palapartenope it’s Maradona, the show: the story of Diego in Naples, a stone’s throw from the stadium that bears his name.

Sunday 4: free museums and Beethoven into the evening

It’s the first Sunday of the month, so state museums and archaeological parks are free. The MANN (National Archaeological Museum) is open 9am-7.30pm, Capodimonte and its park 8.30am-7.30pm, Palazzo Reale 9am-8pm. The Certosa di San Martino opens 8.30am-6.30pm, last entry 5.30pm. Castel Sant’Elmo with the Museo del Novecento and the Floridiana are free too. Outside the city, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, Boscoreale, the Flavian Amphitheatre in Pozzuoli, Baia and the Royal Palace of Caserta all take part. Temporary exhibitions are still paid. For MANN and Capodimonte booking isn’t compulsory, but it’s a good idea.

Sunday afternoon belongs to Spinacorona. At 12pm Filippo Gamba plays at San Giovanni a Mare, at 5pm there are violin and piano sonatas at San Pietro a Majella. At 7pm Andrea Padova plays the Diabelli Variations at the Trinità dei Pellegrini. At 9pm the closing concert, with Kyoko Yonemoto and Campanella, returns to the Annunziata. If you’d rather be in the countryside, there’s Vendemmiamo la Catalanesca on the slopes of Vesuvius, 9.30am-5pm: grape picking in the morning, then a tasting and lunch among the vines.

Last days and things still running

With so many places spread across the centre, Vomero and Capodimonte, the map of Naples helps you line up your stops without crossing the city three times. The rest of October is in Naples events in October 2026. For any other day, Things to do in Naples shows the events and bookable experiences on the dates you choose.