Gran Caffè Gambrinus
P.za Trieste e Trento
KnownViews & panoramas
The story
Mirrors, stucco and Belle Époque velvet: at the counter you order an espresso and, by old Neapolitan custom, you leave a second one paid for whoever comes next.
Access
FREE
The story
The Gran Caffè Gambrinus is the most famous historic café in Naples, opened in 1860 by Vincenzo Apuzzo and soon a supplier to the royal house. Facing Piazza Trieste e Trento, opposite the Teatro San Carlo and the Royal Palace, it was the salon of the intellectuals: Gabriele D'Annunzio, Benedetto Croce and Matilde Serao passed through it. Here, between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the tradition of the 'suspended coffee' was born.
What to see
The nineteenth-century rooms in Beaux-Arts style, with frescoes, stuccoes and paintings by Neapolitan artists, arranged in the grand guise willed at the end of the nineteenth century by the architect Antonio Curri. A café that is also a piece of the city's history and culture.
Hours and prices
Free entry.
Tips
It is a working café: you can stop for an espresso or a sfogliatella at the counter or at the tables, in one of the most beautiful spots in Naples. You are between Piazza del Plebiscito, the San Carlo and via Chiaia. Try, in the spirit of the place, to leave a 'suspended coffee'.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Gran Caffè Gambrinus?
The most famous historic café in Naples, opened in 1860 in Piazza Trieste e Trento, salon of intellectuals such as D'Annunzio, Croce and Matilde Serao.
What is the 'suspended coffee'?
The custom of paying in advance for a coffee to be left for someone who cannot afford it: a tradition born precisely at the Gambrinus between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Where is the Gambrinus?
In Piazza Trieste e Trento, at the corner of via Chiaia, opposite the Teatro San Carlo and the Royal Palace.
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