Pompeii

Pompeii is the best-known archaeological site in Campania, Italy, a Roman city of roughly 66 hectares buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. It lies about 25 km south-east of Naples, and the simplest way to reach it is the Circumvesuviana Sorrento-line train from Napoli Garibaldi to the Pompei Scavi - Villa dei Misteri stop, which takes around 35 minutes and costs roughly EUR 3.30-4 each way. Trains run every 20-30 minutes, and the Porta Marina entrance is a two-minute walk from the platform. A Trenitalia regional train towards Salerno is an alternative, stopping at Pompei station near the Anfiteatro entrance. Inside the park, visitors can walk the paved Roman streets of the Via dell'Abbondanza, enter the Forum with the Temple of Apollo and the Basilica, see the plaster casts of victims at the Garden of the Fugitives, and visit well-preserved houses such as the House of the Vettii, the House of the Faun and the Villa dei Misteri with its large red-ground frescoes. The Lupanare, the Stabian Baths and the Large Theatre are further highlights, and the amphitheatre at the eastern end is among the oldest surviving Roman arenas. A suggested one-day arc is to arrive at opening, walk the Forum, the Via dell'Abbondanza and the main houses in the cooler morning hours, break for lunch around midday, then use the afternoon for the Amphitheatre, the Garden of the Fugitives and the Villa dei Misteri before catching a late-afternoon train back. Allow three to four hours at minimum, and more for a full visit. The park has very little shade, so spring (April-June) and early autumn (September-October) are the most comfortable windows, and arriving at opening in July and August avoids both heat and the longest queues. Entry costs about EUR 20 as reported for 2026, and a timed ticket booked in advance at pompeiisites.org shortens the wait. Food options include the park cafeteria inside the site, and a range of pizzerias and trattorias on Via Plebiscito and around Piazza Bartolo Longo in the modern town of Pompei, a short walk from the Santuario della Madonna del Rosario. Bringing water, a hat and sturdy shoes is advisable because the original basalt paving is uneven.