BESPOKE ITINERARIES CURATED BY SOPHIA SEYMOUR
Naples is not a city you can skim. It rewards patience, curiosity, and knowing where to look. A Looking for Lila itinerary built by journalist Sophia Seymour, is exactly that — the hidden courtyards, the narrow streets, the baroque churches, contemporary galleries, artisans, producers and the people who bring it all to life.
Every itinerary is written personally by Sophia to cater to your interests, your pace, your trip. Whether you want a single day with her in the city or a fully planned stay from arrival to departure, she takes care of everything — and stays on hand throughout.
What a bespoke itinerary can include:
A full day in Naples with Sophia through the city she knows best — from an ancient Greek hypogeum hidden beneath the Sanità district to the Ferrante quarter, via wine tastings, market wandering and lunch at her favourite trattoria. A day trip to one of the islands, a visit to Pompeii and the breathtaking Villa Oplontis with liscensed guide. Hotel, transfers, Restaurant bookings, including tables that are nearly impossible to get and bar and nightlife recommendations tailored to your taste.
All bookings and transfers handled and Sophia is available as your personal concierge 24/7.
Bespoke itineraries & concierge services from £850.
Half day in Naples with Sophia from £480 incl. wine tasting, taxis and street food (4 pax).
Looking for Lila was was inspired by the Elena Ferrante novels and your trip in Naples can be tailored accordingly..
Get in touch with your travel dates and interests and Sophia will put together a proposal for you.
PRODUCTION // LOCATON // CASTING SERVICES
Sophia works as local producer for international clients including Netflix, HBO, Rai, Vice, House & Garden, Vogue, The Guardian, Vice, BBC 1, BBC2, BBC4, Wall to Wall, KEO Films, Storyvault providing local production, locations and casting services.
Please see www.sophiaseymour.com for more information.
WRITING
Sophia writes on culture, food and travel for The Guardian, Condé Nast Traveller, Vice, Apollo Magazine, Time Out, Lonely Planet, The Idler and others.
Culture
Neighbourhood renaissance': once noble La Sanità in Naples is open for business again The Guardian, 2026
How Maradona inspired Paolo Sorrentino's film about Naples — and inadvertently saved his life The Guardian, 2022
How the cultural landscape of Naples changed under lockdown House & Garden, 2020
How Naples made a saint of Maradona Apollo Magazine, 2020
'We felt invincible in those days': Naples pays its respects to Maradona The Guardian, 2020
New Elena Ferrante-inspired street art to be unveiled in Naples The Guardian, 2018
Naples' Fontanelle cemetery: skulls and silence beneath the busy city streets The Guardian, 2018
Right to dunk: the children of African immigrants who fought the law to play basketball The Guardian, 2018
Kids at work: a migrant in Italy The New Internationalist, 2018
Food
The 11 best pizzerias in Naples Time Out, 2023
12 best restaurants in Naples Time Out, 2023
Unspoiled beaches, dunes and great food: summer in southern Sicily The Guardian, 2020
Naples: state of the stomach Culinary Backstreets, 2018
10 of the best pizzerias in Naples The Guardian, 2018
Eataly World opens but leaves a bad taste in Bologna The Guardian, 2017
Naples market watch: La Pignasecca Culinary Backstreets, 2017
Travel
Winter walks in the UK The Guardian, 2024
Six perfect unsung city breaks in Europe — from Ghent to Naples The Guardian, 2023
23 best things to do in Naples Time Out, 2023
Forever in fashion: a tour of Naples' finest arts and crafts makers The Guardian, 2019
Italy's coolest city: why Naples is the place to be right now Lonely Planet, 2019
The six-stop shopping guide to Naples Condé Nast Traveller, 2019
A local's guide to Naples' art scene The Guardian, 2018
Italy on holiday: a day at the beach in the Cilento The Guardian, 2019
Clean bill of health: La Sanità's resurgence Culinary Backstreets, 2017
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
Featured in The Guardian · The Times · Condé Nast Traveller · Vogue · Financial Times · Lonely Planet · British Airways High Life · Suitcase Magazine · The Idler · El Clarín · Swedish Public Radio · Rai News
"I booked five days in Naples as a birthday treat for my wife. I wanted us to leave with more than just a checklist of monuments visited. I chanced by luck upon Sophia's website — what serendipity. On the day, there ensued the most perfect few hours in her company, culminating with a delicious late lunch in one of the many trattorias she seems to know so well. We stepped inside former palaces, convents and monasteries, private courtyards and homes. We chanced upon an award-winning nativity crib craftsman, a figurine-making workshop, a shoe heel maker, and we met the founder of Popella, the current King of Italian pastry making. Everywhere Sophia took us it was clear that she is well known and well loved. For someone who has conducted many such tours, Sophia would be forgiven for settling into a set itinerary. It felt as if she was leading our walk for the very first time. Sophia has adopted Naples as her home and it is clear that the Neapolitans have adopted Sophia as one of their own. Her walking tour provided precisely the 'under the skin' and 'Naples uncovered' experience I was hoping for — and it will live long in the memory." — James Marjoribanks, UK
"I spent maybe three to four hours with Sophia walking and exploring the different neighbourhoods of Naples. She has a lovely way of chatting naturally and with genuine interest — both with me and with anyone we met along the way. Nothing is too planned and nothing is staged. It is very fluid and personal. I visited the neighbourhood where the two girls apparently grew up, saw the school and went inside the library. Seeing the neighbourhood just crystallises the strength of the stories. But it was so much more than just a visit to places from the Ferrante novels. Sophia's Italian is fluent and she has a great knowledge of the social, political and economic history of the country. She also knows which coffee you should drink at a certain time of day and where to buy it — along with the best sfogliatella I ate on my entire trip. I was absolutely delighted that I chose to go on a tour with Sophia. It made my trip to Naples an absolute highlight of 2018 and convinced me without any doubt that a good tour guide can change your whole experience of a city in just a few hours." — Phil & Clare, UK
"Sophia organised a fantastic weekend in Naples for us. There is no way we would have come away loving or understanding Naples as much as we did without her efforts, and those of the local Neapolitans she brought in to help. They all burst with enthusiasm and love for the city — it was infectious, and we all fell in love with the place too. Every minute of our short stay was perfectly orchestrated, from relaxing in the piazzas to hunting down hidden producers of local delicacies. I could not recommend Sophia's input into anyone's stay more highly." — Paul Keeling
"We could not recommend Sophia more highly. Not only did she take us to the most amazing places, but she provided ideas and booked restaurants for the rest of our time too. My ten-year-old said 'I feel like a person in that Locatelli programme, please can we do it again tomorrow?' — and he is not generally a fan of such things. With Sophia we saw catacombs filled with skulls and offerings, hidden courtyards of Baroque palaces, a little bakery with the best cream buns I have ever eaten, and a seventeenth-century nativity scene. After a morning we felt we knew parts of Naples better than after a month with a guidebook." — Miranda Worsley, London
"After having spent many holidays on the islands in the bay of Naples, we decided this year to explore the city itself. We found Sophia on the internet and what a perfect match it turned out to be. She took us to places we would never have found on our own — small local markets, bars with the best pastries in town, and historical buildings you would never find in a guidebook. Sophia's professional and charming guidance met our expectations in full." — Torbjörn Wängemar & Ulla Hermann, Stockholm
"Sophia magically distils her passion for the vast and varied Neapolitan story into a delightful morning stroll and makes one feel like a traveller rather than a tourist." — Lulu Benson
"Looking for Lila is an utterly unique tour company. Whether Sophia takes you on her Ferrante, food, historical or hidden Naples tour, she will lead you around her Naples and inevitably make you fall in love with its ramshackle beauty and mysterious ways. You'll hear stories, meet colourful characters, eat pasta with cabbage and cream pastries galore, drink wine from a barrel — and be reminded constantly to keep looking in, because things aren't always as they seem in Naples. Never has a city so been brought to life for me in a couple of days." — Mina Holland, Editor, Guardian Cook
"Sophia was wonderfully enthusiastic and incredibly knowledgeable of Naples's history and architecture — but equally important was the unseen side of the city, which I suspect is not on the usual guided tour. 'Look left and right' is her motto, to catch the intriguing details that exist behind the streets: an unearthed amphitheatre behind someone's apartment, intricate staircases now in disrepair, a strange cemetery in a disused quarry. Do not be put off by the poor state of the city — Sophia's enthusiasm brings a beautiful city alive." — Simon Troughton, UK
"She was incredible. I think part of the reason she knows Naples so well is that she has such a wonderful way with people. Everyone warmed to her and wanted to help." — Elena Featherwick, Photographer
"Sophia's enthusiasm for Naples was infectious and the detailed research she had clearly undertaken enabled us to put things into an illuminated historical context. We loved the fact that in addition to the more traditional sights, she took us through the back streets — which gave us a real feel for the lives of local people." — Janey Marsh, UK
"A huge thank you for our absorbing and fascinating Naples tour. You have a treasure trove of a city and you definitely bring it to life in a wonderfully vibrant fashion. Very much luck to you and great appreciation for your inspiring and energetic company." — Nicky & Geoff Brown, UK
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