🌋 Campania, Italy
Things to do in Pompeii
The Roman city frozen in time by Vesuvius in 79 AD
Pompeii is the vast, eerily intact Roman city buried — and preserved — by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. You walk real streets past houses, frescoes, bakeries, baths and the plaster casts of victims. Half a day does it; it’s an easy trip from Naples or a long day from Rome, often paired with a climb up Vesuvius itself.
Time needed
Half a day
Best time
Spring and autumn for comfortable temperatures — the site is large and almost shadeless
Region
Campania, Italy
Don’t miss
Walk the ancient streets with a guide
Pompeii is huge and largely unlabelled — a guide or good audio tour turns rubble into a living city (the forum, the bakeries, the body casts). Book a skip-the-line guided tour to dodge both the queue and the confusion.
Check availability on GetYourGuideTop things to do in Pompeii
- The Forum, with Mount Vesuvius looming behind it.Find tours
- The remarkable frescoes in the Villa of the Mysteries.Find tours
- The haunting plaster casts of victims in their final moments.
- Climb Mount Vesuvius for the crater and the views over the Bay of Naples.Find tours
Book Pompeii tours & tickets
Skip-the-line tickets, guided tours and the big-ticket experiences — compare and book ahead so they don’t sell out.
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How to get to Pompeii
From Naples it’s ~35 minutes on the Circumvesuviana train to Pompei Scavi. From Rome, take the high-speed train to Naples (~1h10) first. Many people do Pompeii and Vesuvius together as a combined day tour.
Best time to visit
Spring and autumn for comfortable temperatures — the site is large and almost shadeless. Start early to beat the heat and the tour groups.
Pompeii tips
- Take a guide or audio tour — without one the ruins are just walls; with one it’s extraordinary.
- Wear proper shoes and bring water and a hat; the ancient streets are uneven and there’s little shade.
- Combine with Vesuvius, or with Herculaneum (smaller but even better preserved), for a full day.
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