Things to do in Naples this weekend: 24-27 September 2026

This is the weekend Naples looks out to sea: from Thursday 24 to Sunday 27 September the bay hosts the America’s Cup preliminary regattas, with Luna Rossa on the water and a free race village on the seafront. Around it: the Saturday of the European Heritage Days, with the Archaeological Museum open at night for €1, four nights of world music in a church in the old centre, three Sal Da Vinci concerts and a full day of electronic music in Bagnoli. Here’s everything day by day, with times, venues and prices checked at the source. The full listings are in Things to do in Naples; the page that updates itself every morning is this weekend.

Thursday to Sunday: the America’s Cup on the seafront

The Louis Vuitton Preliminary Regatta brings nine AC40s, the America’s Cup’s flying boats, into the bay, with Luna Rossa among the teams. Racing runs from the 25th to the 27th, every day from 2pm: eight fleet races and a two-boat final. The Race Village is at Rotonda Diaz on the Lungomare Caracciolo, the seafront promenade, open from 11am until evening, free to enter, with big screens to follow the racing. You only pay for what you eat or buy.

From the seafront you can see the boats well; from above, even better. The spots to head for are Via Petrarca, Via Orazio and Via Aniello Falcone, in Posillipo and the Vomero, where the whole race course opens up with Vesuvius behind. If you want to be on the water, you can watch from a boat: our 75-minute trip leaves from the port and runs right along that stretch, but on race days book early and ask about times.

Thursday 24 and Friday 25: Ethnos, the Certosa by night, Sal Da Vinci

From Thursday to Sunday the Ethnos Festival brings four nights of world music to the church of Santa Maria Donnalbina in the old centre: on the 24th Ensemble Enerbia and Maria Mazzotta, on the 25th ZeroFolkDuo and the Korean group Dal:um, on the 26th Constantinople with Ghalia Benali, on the 27th Raül Refree with Aida Tarrío. Concerts at 8.30pm and 9.30pm, on the 26th and 27th at 9pm; tickets €8-10. The best value for money of the week.

Friday 25 brings the second of the Notturni in Certosa at San Martino, evening visits to the former monastery with the city below: times and booking on the museum’s website. Friday is also the first of Sal Da Vinci’s three nights at the Arena Flegrea, marking fifty years since his debut, “Napoli, per sempre sì”: the 25th, 26th and 27th at 9pm, with the third date added after two sell-outs. Until Friday the tall ship Amerigo Vespucci is in port too, with free visits on board by booking only, via the tour’s official website.

Saturday 26: the MANN for €1 and the Heritage Days

For the European Heritage Days the National Archaeological Museum opens in the evening for a symbolic €1 ticket: 7pm-11.30pm, with music, dance and installations among the collections. If you’ve never seen the Pompeii mosaics and the Farnese Bull, this is your chance; if you have, at night they’re something else. If you’d rather understand them with someone who has studied them, there’s the tour with an archaeologist during normal opening hours.

At 6pm, free with compulsory booking, theatre comes to the Parco Vergiliano in Piedigrotta, among the tombs of Virgil and Leopardi, with “Progetto Cuccagna” from the Metamorfosi Campane season. On Saturday and Sunday at 10am the Tour del Giallo, a crime-story walk, stops at Piazza Mercato, among the murders of the war years: free, booking by email. And if you have kids, Saturday morning always means Giro Giro Napoli, free museum visits designed for them.

Out of town, at 6pm, “Calici e jazz di luna piena” (wine and full-moon jazz) among the vineyards of Somma Vesuviana: a walk in the vines, three wines, local dishes, live jazz and the moon through a telescope, €55.90 (€25.90 for non-drinkers and kids). And every Friday and Saturday until 10 October the Grande Pompei sites open at night, 7.30pm-11.30pm, €7 per site, while Biagio Antonacci plays an acoustic show at the Teatro Grande.

Sunday 27: Capriati in Bagnoli and the last Sunday in the park

From 2pm into the night, at the former NATO base in Bagnoli, Joseph Capriati celebrates twenty years of his career with a full day of electronic music and international guests; tickets online. At 2pm there’s also the last day of America’s Cup racing, with the final.

From 6pm to midnight, at the Parco del Poggio in Colli Aminei, the third and last Sunday of Social Park: DJ sets from BUSEX, ITALOMARIO and OKAMI, food, a market, a kids’ area and a dog area, and views over the city. Free entry with booking. It’s a series of evenings we’ve backed too: if you were there last Sunday, you already know what it’s like.

All weekend

If you’d rather book something certain

With the seafront packed for the regattas, the old centre is more pleasant than usual this weekend: the street food tour and the Galleria Borbonica are ten minutes from the Race Village. If you want to get out of the city, the sea is still good: Capri by hydrofoil or Ischia and Procida by boat, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

All the events, including the following week’s, are in Things to do in Naples: pick your dates and see what’s on, with the experiences you can book on those days. Next month’s events are in Naples events in October 2026.