Bar Nilo

Bar Nilo is a small, busy coffee bar on Via San Biagio dei Librai, the section of Spaccanapoli that runs east through the old town. It faces Largo Corpo di Napoli, where the ancient Roman statue of the Nile god reclines on a plinth, which gives the bar its name. It is not a grand historic café but an everyday neighbourhood bar, and that is precisely its charm: a place where locals stop for a quick espresso on their way to work, and where visitors can see how Neapolitans take their coffee.

The bar is best known for its homemade shrine to Diego Maradona, the Argentine footballer who led SSC Napoli to its first league titles in the late 1980s and is still revered in the city. The little altar on the wall has become one of the most photographed spots on Spaccanapoli. Maradona's image appears on murals, flags and souvenirs all over Naples, and this shrine is one of the best-known tributes in the historic centre.

The coffee itself is the other draw: short, strong and served quickly at the counter. Order an espresso, or a caffè with a little sugar already stirred in, as many Neapolitans do, and drink it standing at the bar like the regulars. Prices are low, and you will usually be in and out in a few minutes, although the bar can be crowded when tour groups pause outside to see the shrine.

Space is very limited, so this is a stop rather than a place to linger, and it is better suited to solo travellers and couples than to large groups. Be respectful when taking photographs, and buy a coffee if you are using the bar's space. Mornings are the best time for a calm visit.

The bar sits in the heart of the old town: Cappella Sansevero, Piazza San Domenico Maggiore and Scaturchio are a few steps west, and Via San Gregorio Armeno, with its nativity workshops, runs north from the next corner. The Duomo and Via dei Tribunali are about five minutes' walk away. Dante and Università stations on metro Line 1 are both around ten minutes on foot.