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Visit Herculaneum as well, Pompeii

History & Heritage

Visit Herculaneum as well

Pompeii · Campania

QUICK INFORMATION

CATEGORY
History & Heritage
COUNTRY
Italy
REGION
Pompeii · Campania
DURATION
Two to three hours
DIFFICULTY
Easy walking on Roman paving, with some stairs; the site is smaller than Pompeii.
BEST TIME
Spring and autumn; the site is partly covered and cooler than Pompeii.

ABOUT THIS EXPERIENCE

Herculaneum is the smaller, better-preserved sister site of Pompeii, a Roman town buried by the same AD 79 eruption but under a deeper, hotter layer of volcanic mud that preserved wood, upper storeys and mosaics that the ash at Pompeii did not. The site is much smaller than Pompeii — a few blocks of the buried town, excavated beneath modern Ercolano — but the preservation is extraordinary: wooden beds and doors, carbonised food, the upper floors of the houses, and the boat houses where some 300 residents sheltered and died. For a visitor who has seen Pompeii, Herculaneum is the complement that shows what the ash did not preserve; for one who has not, it is the more intimate and more astonishing of the two.

WHAT YOU’LL EXPERIENCE

What you’ll experience

More here soon — the road is still being mapped.

THE EXPERIENCE IN DETAIL

What it’s really like

More here soon — the road is still being mapped.

HIGHLIGHTS

Moments worth savouring

01

The carbonised wood — the wooden beds, doors and roof beams preserved by the hot mud, unique to Herculaneum.

02

The upper floors — the second storeys of the houses, which the ash at Pompeii destroyed.

03

The boat houses — the arches on the ancient shore where some 300 residents sheltered and died, found in the 1980s.

04

The mosaics and the frescoes — the wall paintings and the floors, better preserved than at Pompeii.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Good to know before you go

More here soon — the road is still being mapped.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Before you go

Access
Herculaneum is at Ercolano, reached by the Circumvesuviana train from Naples (about 20 minutes); it is a separate ticket from Pompeii.
Best Time
Mornings; the site is smaller and less crowded than Pompeii.
Context
Herculaneum is on the way to Pompeii from Naples; the two can be combined in a long day, or visited on separate days.

MAP & LOCATION

Visit Herculaneum as well

Visit Herculaneum as well, Pompeii, Campania, Italy

40.8079, 14.3483

Open in OpenStreetMap

ATTRACTIONS NEARBY

Pair it with these sights

The Forum, Pompeii
Archaeological Site

The Forum

The civic centre of Roman Pompeii — a paved square surrounded by the temples, the basilica and the municipal buildings, with Vesuvius rising behind it.

View attraction
The Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii
Archaeological Site

The Villa of the Mysteries

A Roman villa outside the city walls, holding the finest cycle of Roman frescoes to survive — the mysterious initiation scenes of the Villa of the Mysteries.

View attraction
The Amphitheatre and the Large Theatre, Pompeii
Archaeological Site

The Amphitheatre and the Large Theatre

The oldest surviving Roman amphitheatre, built around 80 BC, and the large theatre beside it — the entertainment quarter of Pompeii at the southeast edge of the site.

View attraction
The Baths and the Lupanar, Pompeii
Archaeological Site

The Baths and the Lupanar

The Roman baths of Pompeii — the Forum Baths and the Central Baths — and the Lupanar, the city’s purpose-built brothel, with its explicit frescoes and its graffiti.

View attraction

MORE EXPERIENCES

More to do in Pompeii

Walk the Via dell’Abbondanza, Pompeii
History & Heritage

Walk the Via dell’Abbondanza

The main street of Roman Pompeii, the “Street of Abundance” — a paved lane of shops, taverns, bakeries and the stepping stones that let pedestrians cross in the rain.

View experience
Climb Vesuvius after the ruins, Pompeii
Nature & Hiking

Climb Vesuvius after the ruins

A climb to the crater of the volcano that destroyed Pompeii — the natural complement to the ruins, to see the volcano that made them.

View experience

FOOD & DRINK

Where to eat nearby

01

Forum — a restaurant near the Pompeii entrance, for a quick pasta and a glass of Lacryma Christi wine

02

President — a long-standing restaurant near the ruins, for classic Campanian cooking, book ahead

03

Kytta — a pizzeria near the Pompeii Scavi station, for a pizza after the ruins

04

Villa dei Misteri — a restaurant and wine bar near the Villa dei Misteri entrance, for the local Vesuvius wines

05

Lupanar Burger — a casual burger and beer spot near the entrance, for a quick meal

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HOTELS & STAYS

Where to stay nearby

01

Hotel Forum — a hotel in modern Pompei town, near the ruins, with a rooftop and a restaurant

02

Hotel Vittoria — a hotel near the Pompeii entrance, with a garden and views of Vesuvius

03

Hotel Maiuri — a comfortable hotel near the ruins, named after the archaeologist Amedeo Maiuri

04

Resort & Winery Villa dei Misteri — a vineyard stay near the ruins, with Vesuvius wines and a restaurant

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NEARBY DESTINATIONS

Continue the journey

Naples

Naples

Campania

Amalfi Coast

Amalfi Coast

Campania

Herculaneum

Herculaneum

Campania

INTERESTS

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