THE PERFECT PAIR

Divide a week between Naples and Ischia for a gratifying balance of city and beach.

GETTING THERE

Multiple airlines serve one-stop flights from most international airports in India to Naples. From the city’s Molo Beverello ferry dock, there are multiple sailings to Ischia each day. The journey takes an hour.

Naples

I stayed at Grand Hotel

Parker’s (doubles from `23,852; grandhotelparkers. it), a formal but friendly 79-room hotel located on a hill in the swish Naples neighbourhood of Chiaia. Book a suite or Deluxe room for splendid views of the city, the Bay of Naples,and the island of Capri. For lunch, try

Spiedo d’Oro Trattoria

(entrées from `278; 52 Via Pasquale Scura; 39-081552-6111), a hole-in-thewall in the historic centre of Naples, where the owner creates hearty and everchanging daily menus with staggeringly low prices. I loved the ricotta-stuffed sfogliatelle, rum babas, and dark-chocolate ministeriali at Scaturchio (scaturchio. it), a confectioner of local specialities since 1905. In the evening, head to 50

Kalò (pizzas from `417; 50kalo.it), a pizzeria in Naples’s Mergellina district that serves superlative thin-crust pies, made using the highest-quality ingredients, with just the right amount of Neapolitan attitude.

Ischia

I loved the combination of Old Hollywood glamour and Mediterranean ease at L’Albergo della Regina

Isabella (doubles from `14,949; reginaisabella. com), a genteel waterfront hotel on Ischia’s busy northern coast. Its Michelinstar restaurant, Indaco, serves superb seafood tasting menus and has pleasing ocean views.

Don’t miss a meal at Casa Celestino Restaurant

(entrées from `1,000; en.casacelestino.it), on a terrace overlooking the Ischian town of Sant’Angelo, where seafood, rabbit, and pasta are paired with white wines from the region.

TOUR OPERATOR

My trip was set up by Matteo Della Grazia, who, with his wife, Daniela, design private itineraries all over the country at

Discover Your Italy

(seven-day southern Italy trips from `1,30,711; discoveryouritaly.com).

— M.S.