I visited one of Italy's underrated cities and 1 thing makes it better than Rome

I visited one underrated Italian city before I went to , and the first one made way more of an impression on me than the Italian capital did. I didn't hate Rome, but there was one thing that made Naples way more enjoyable to me. It's hard to compare the two cities, but when visiting them both on the same Italian trip, it's difficult not to notice what is similar and what is different when it comes to these two .

The difference in size and culture has to be appreciated here. Rome is absolutely massive, with a population of 2.7 million people, while Naples is only home to 910,000 residents. You really feel this difference when you visit one right after the other, with Rome being a fast-moving, condensed city full of crowds and Naples being a bit more laid-back. However, that wasn't what stood out to me and what made Naples my favourite of the two .

It was the . Rich in flavour and as authentic as you will get, Naples really takes the crown as the best city in Italy for food.

We arrived in Naples first and the first thing I ate there was a marinara . When I am at home, I am the kind of person who puts a huge number of toppings on pizza such as jalapenos, onions, sweetcorn and chillis. I was curious about how good a simple marinara pizza with just the base and the sauce could be.

But it was the best pizza I have ever had. The way the sauce blends the tomato and is next-level, and it's immediately evident why Naples is the .

The streets of Naples are lined with so many restaurants, with atmospheric seating along the streets. It really isn't hard to find a decent place to eat here, and without booking ahead at all, we managed to have stunning meals every single time.

Other dishes we had there included gnocchi ragu, an unbelievably rich dish that will leave you more than full. Every bite is show-stopping, and a small portion will have you extremely satisfied.

It turns out I'm not alone in thinking Naples is the best Italian city for food. Last year, Tasteatlas named it the best food city in the world, ranking it above other Italian spots like Milan, and Rome. It's nice to know my taste buds are accurate and can recognise good Italian food when it hits my mouth.

A morning train took us from Naples to Rome, where we had planned to see famous sites such as and the Trevi Fountain. This was the highlight of Rome. It has to be said that the sites really are worth seeing with your own eyes.

The food, however, did not have a patch on Naples. Roman pizza, firstly, is a lot crispier, and the bread really distracts from the flavours of the sauce. The city is packed full of more restaurants, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are better.

Rome gave me the impression that if you want a nice meal, you have to pay the extra price. But in Naples, everything we had was delicious, from the more expensive sit-down meals to the budget-friendly local eateries. There are some excellent street vendors in Naples, which you must try.

That, paired with how less crowded Naples is compared to Rome, is why I would sooner return to the southern Italian city over the country's capital. Rome was interesting to see, but now I have seen it. But my taste buds will always happily experience what I ate in Naples.

Naples is also a great base for exploring other famous Italian sites, such as Mount Vesuvius, and Sorento. While it doesn't attract as many tourists as Rome, it is really one of the best cities to visit in Europe.