Pompeii is not a ruin. It is a CITY. Streets with ruts from chariot wheels. Bakeries with millstones still in position. A brothel with a menu painted on the wall. Thermopolia (fast-food counters) with terracotta jars set into marble counters — the Roman version of street food. Houses with frescoes so vivid the pigments glow. 20,000 people lived here on the morning of August 24, 79 AD. By sunset, 6 meters of volcanic ash and pumice had buried everything. The city was forgotten for 1,500 years. Rediscovered in 1748. Still only 2/3 excavated. The most visited archaeological site in Italy after the Colosseum — and most visitors see it wrong.
The error: entering at Porta Marina, walking straight to the Forum, seeing the plaster casts of victims, and leaving after 90 minutes thinking they saw Pompeii. They saw 5% of it. Pompeii is 66 HECTARES — the size of a small town. The Forum is important but the LIFE of Pompeii is in the side streets: the House of the Faun (Alexander Mosaic — now in Naples Museum, but the house itself is enormous and shows how Roman aristocrats lived), the Garden of the Fugitives (13 plaster casts of people who died together trying to escape), the Villa of the Mysteries (the most important fresco cycle surviving from antiquity — initiation into the Dionysiac mysteries, painted ~60 BC, the RED background is the famous Pompeian red).
Enter at Porta Marina. Forum (10 min — Temple of Jupiter, Basilica, Macellum/food market). Via dell'Abbondanza (the main commercial street — thermopolia, shops, election slogans painted on walls). Stabian Baths (the best-preserved baths — frigidarium, tepidarium, caldarium with original stucco ceiling). Lupanar (the brothel — 5 small stone beds, painted menu above each door). House of the Vettii (recently reopened after 20 years of restoration — the finest frescoes IN SITU, including the famous Priapus). House of the Faun (the largest house in Pompeii — 2 atria, 2 peristyles, 3,000m²). Villa of the Mysteries (10 min walk from Herculaneum Gate — the Dionysiac frieze). Garden of the Fugitives (on Via di Nocera — 13 bodies, the most emotionally devastating spot in Pompeii).
Add: House of Menander (spectacular frescoes, silver treasure — found in the cellar). Amphitheatre (the oldest surviving Roman amphitheatre, 80 BC — 70 years before the Colosseum). Palestra Grande (the gymnasium — huge open space with pool). House of the Tragic Poet (CAVE CANEM — "Beware of the Dog" mosaic at the entrance, the most famous doorstep in history). House of the Surgeon (surgical instruments found here — Roman medicine was MORE advanced than Medieval). Necropolis outside Herculaneum Gate (tombs along the road — Romans buried the dead OUTSIDE the city, along the highways).
€18 (€2 reduced). Valid 1 day. Online: ticketone.it (MANDATORY in high season — the site has a daily visitor CAP). Skip-the-line: book a specific time slot online, or buy a guided tour (GYG/Viator, €35-60, includes skip-line). Hours: 9:00-19:00 (April-October, last entry 17:30). 9:00-17:00 (November-March, last entry 15:30). Closed Dec 25, Jan 1, May 1.
From Naples: Circumvesuviana train from Napoli Garibaldi to Pompei Scavi-Villa dei Misteri (36 min, €2.80). The station is AT the entrance. From Rome: High-speed train to Napoli (1h10), then Circumvesuviana. Total: 2h. Day trip: absolutely possible. From Amalfi Coast: Bus/car to Pompei (1-1.5h from Positano). Water: BRING 2 LITERS minimum in summer. There is almost no shade. The site is ENORMOUS and the sun is brutal. Wear a hat. Wear comfortable shoes — the Roman cobblestones are uneven. Audio guide: €8 at the entrance — worth it for the House of the Vettii and Villa of the Mysteries.
Herculaneum (20 min by Circumvesuviana — smaller, better preserved, less crowded). Vesuvius summit hike (bus from Pompei to crater — see WHERE the eruption came from). Naples Archaeological Museum (where the best Pompeii artifacts are — Alexander Mosaic, Farnese Collection, Secret Cabinet of erotic art). Naples complete →