Today it’s one the most famous Roman sites in the world, but Pompeii was just another Roman seaside resort until Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. Just a day later, thousands of people has been killed and the whole city was buried under a blanket of volcanic ash 25 metres deep, forgotten until it was unearthed by explorers 1800 years later. I studied Latin at school and the textbooks were the first I’d heard of this buried city, preserved like a snapshot of Roman life frozen in time. I can’t remember my verb endings, but those books started off my fascination with the Romans, and put visiting Pompeii to the top of my list of things to do in Italy.
Read more: Sirens and sunsets: Things to do in Sorrento

Pompeii’s ruined courthouse in the Forum
The history of Pompeii
Pompeii was originally settled by the Etruscan and Greeks, but by the first century AD it was a thriving Romans city, with visitors flocking south to spend their holidays relaxing on the Bay of Naples. Pompeii’s population swelled, and by 79 AD it’s estimated that around 12,000 people lived in the city and as many again in the surrounding villages. Pompeii was home to taverns, shops, factories, bathhouses and brothels, as well as an arena seating 20,000 people.
And in the background was Mount Vesuvius – Pompeii’s menacing next-door neighbour who never let the local residents forget about it for long. Although there were frequent tremors, and a larger earthquake in 62 AD, Vesuvius hadn’t erupted for hundreds of years. People didn’t see it as a real threat, building houses in the foothills and vineyards and gardens in the fertile soils of its slopes. But in the autumn of 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius finally broke its silence.

Mount Vesuvius from across the Bay of Naples
It was one of the world’s most catastophic eruptions. The force blew the top out of the volcano, sending a plume of ash and rock high up into the sky, which was visible for hundreds of miles around. Across the Bay of Naples, Pliny the Younger recorded that “Darkness fell, not the dark of a moonless or cloudy night, but as if the lamp had been put out in a dark room.”
Many residents escaped, but as the ash column started to cool, it rained down on everything within a 15-mile radius, including Pompeii and the city of Herculaneum to the north. The people that were left behind were smothered by a pyroclastic surge of superheated rock and gas which ran down the slopes of the volcano at over 100 miles an hour.

A Pompeii archway and amphorae clay jars
At the end of the eruruption around 2000 people had been killed and Pompeii had disappeared under metres of ash. The site was looted for valuables but eventually forgotten about, and it stayed undisturbed until 1748, when a group of explorers went digging and came across perfectly preserved Roman artefacts buried underground. Since then Pompeii has become the longest continually excavated site in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Protection from air and moisture under the ash helped preserve Pompeii, but exposure to the light, air and pollution – plus damage from looters and visitors over the years – have taken their toll. Just to keep it as it is and stop any further damage costs the Italian government millions a year. Lack of funding has meant that new excavation has been stopped as all money available has been ploughed into conservation, so who knows what else still lies underground?

Pompeii’s paved streets
Visiting Pompeii archaeological site
From my base in Sorrento, I took the train to Pompeii Scavi, one of the three entrances to the ruins. The first thing you notice about Pompeii is its size. Although no one knows for sure how big it was originally, the archaeological site covers over 160 acres, so you could easily spend a week exploring. But with only half a day to spare, I took a guided tour of Pompeii’s highlights.
Our first stop was a bath house and brothel that’s not usually open to the public. These were originally located in the port to take care of the sailors’ immediate needs when they arrived into port. It’s hard to imagine now that there was a harbour full of boats in front of where we stood, as the eruption added so much material that Pompeii’s now 2km away from the coast.

Mosaic in the baths in the old port of Pompeii
Arriving sailors would come into the port-side baths to steam in the caldarium and cool off in the frigidarium before heading upstairs. The ash did an amazing job of preserving the details of the buildings, from the colourful frescoes and mosaics to the underground engineering used to heat the baths. You can even still see the paintings in the brothel entrance showing the positions customers could choose from (well numbers 1 to 10 anyway, 11 to 20 we have to imagine!).
Inside the main city walls, we walked through paved streets. Pompeii’s streets are laid out just as they would have been before the eruption, with private homes mixed in with shops, restaurants, temples, an amphitheatre and even a hotel. And the extent of the preservation gives a unique insight into how Pompeii’s Roman residents lived and worked.

Ruins of the Temple of Apollo
Among the highlights are the Temple of Apollo, Pompeii’s oldest building which dates back to the 6th century BC in parts. There’s also the Forum, surrounded by religious and business centres at the heart of Pompeii life, the oldest Roman amphitheater in Italy and the Temple of Isis. And can see grand villas owned by Roman merchants, including the House of Vettii, frescoed House of Julia Felix and giant House of the Faun which stretches over a whole block.
But there are also lots of smaller details which help bring the site to life. You can see graffiti carved into the walls (mostly students complaining about their teachers, with the occasional teacher complaining back), the indentations in the road where they had been worn down by the wheels of chariots, and an early ‘beware of the dog’ sign made out of mosaic tiles.

Pompeii body casts
There are also the eerie body casts. In 1860, archaeologist Guiseppe Fiorelli realised the empty spaces in the ash around the human bones he found were where the bodies had decomposed, and you could make a cast of the position they were in when they died by filling them with plaster. They’re curled up in a foetal position or with hands shielding their faces – apparently the temperatures reached 250°C and would have killed anyone long before the ash arrived.
It’s impossible to imagine how terrifying it must have been. You can still see some of the body casts around Pompeii, with a group of them laid out in the Garden of the Fugitives where people tried to hide in an orchard. But many casts and other relics and artworks from Pompeii were removed from the site and are now on display in Naples’ Archaeological Museum.

The Villa dei Misteri
One of our last stops and a highlight of the tour was the Villa dei Misteri – Villa of the Mysteries. The villa is just outside Pompeii’s city walls, so it’s quieter than the main site (with 2.5 million visitors a year Pompeii can get pretty busy). It was the holiday home of a wealthy merchant, which had a fantastic location on the waterfront. The villa survived the eruption relatively unscathed and has one of the best preserved frescoes in Pompeii, with amazing vivid colours.
There’s also a mystery that gave the villa its name, as no one can agree on what those frescoes show. It is a young woman preparing for marriage, the life story of the god Dionysos, or women being inducted into a mystery cult dedicated to the Greek god Bacchus? Either way it’s spectacular to look at, but reminds us that however much we can learn about them from the ruins of Pompeii, the Romans still keep a few secrets to themselves.

The mysterious fresco at the Villa dei Misteri
Tips for visiting Pompeii
How to get to Pompeii
The ruined city of Pompeii is located 25km south of Naples and 26km north of Sorrento – not to be confused with the modern town of Pompei next to it. The easiest way to get there is the train to Pompeii Scavi – Villa dei Misteri. There are two train services available: Circumvesuviana local trains which run every half hour year round, and the faster Campania Express tourist service which only runs four times a day in each direction between March and November.
From Sorrento: Trains to Pompeii take around 20 minutes on the Campania Express or 30 minutes on the Circumvesuviana. There are also full day tours tours available which combine Pompeii and Vesuvius, and include transport by minibus and a guide.

Pompeii mosaics
From Naples: Trains to Pompeii take 22 minutes on the Campania Express or 35 minutes on the Circumvesuviana. Both services stop at Naples Porta Nolana and Garibaldi stations. Garibaldi is handy if you’re travelling by train from elsewhere in Italy as it’s underneath Naples Centrale mainline station. But if you don’t have heavy bags it’s worth the short walk to Porta Nolana – trains get busy and this is the first stop on the route so you’re more likely to get a seat.
If you’re in Naples on a cruise and want to visit Pompeii, airport buses connect the Stazione Marittima port with Naples Centrale station, where you catch the train to Pompeii. There are also day tours available from Naples port or city centre to Pompeii and Vesuvius or Sorrento.
Read more: One-week Italy by train itinerary

Villa at Pompeii
When is Pompeii open?
The Pompeii archaeological site is open from 8.30am until 7.30pm from April–October or 5pm from November–March, with the last admission 90 minutes before closing time.
How do I buy tickets for Pompeii?
You can buy tickets to Pompeii online, though you need to choose a specific date. Entry costs €15 for adults, €9 for EU citizens aged 18–24 or is free for EU citizens under 18. You can also get a combined ticket which includes the archaeological sites Oplontis and Boscoreale for €18/€10. Or there’s a ticket which also cover Herculaneum for €22, but it’s not available online.

Statue at the House of the Faun
Do I need a guide to visit Pompeii?
There’s no requirement to have a guide and you can pick up a basic map when you arrive. But interpretation around the site is limited so it’s useful to have some sort of explanation of what you’re seeing. Plus with Pompeii covering over 160 acres it helps to have some advice on what the most important areas to focus on are, especially if you’re limited on time.
Audio guide apps are available for download or you can rent an audio guide. Or there are a variety of guided tours available. Guides gather around the entrance to Pompeii – look for red wooden neck tags which show guides are authorised by the region of Campania. Or you can pre-book a guided tour which includes skip-the-line access to avoid the queues, with small-group tours led by archaeologists available through Get Your Guide and Walks of Italy.

Columns at Pompeii
What to take with you
Visiting Pompeii involves a lot of walking, often on cobbled streets with not a lot of shade from the sun, so wear comfortable shoes and pack a hat, sunscreen and a water bottle which you can refill at the water fountains around the site. There are public toilets and a restaurant on site but it’s not very exciting so you can also bring your own food to eat at one of the picnic areas.
Read more: The ghost city of Herculaneum
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29 Comments
2 Rivers Photos
May 31, 2012 at 8:52 pmGreat photos… we spend a full day there too, and it wasn’t enough… we were also amazed at how large the city was considering the time & age!
Did they take out all the body casts by now? We saw at least 7-10 back in 2000 that were behind a cage in and they were exposed to the elements!!
Lucy Dodsworth
June 1, 2012 at 11:06 amI definitely could’ve spent a few more days wandering around, and didn’t have chance to make it to Herculaneum this trip either, All good excuses to go back!
There are still a few body casts left on the site, but most are in glass cases now to protect them.
Cole @ Four Jandals
June 1, 2012 at 3:57 pmHeaded here in about 3 weeks. Might have to get in touch with the Walks of Italy folks! Cheers
Lucy Dodsworth
June 1, 2012 at 4:03 pmYes definitely do, they were really great and organised both our Pompeii and Vesuvius trips in the same day and sorted out a taxi in between the two as well. Have a fantastic trip!
Gerard
June 1, 2012 at 8:21 pmExcellent post! I love your pictures and your essay. Thank you for sharing.
Lucy Dodsworth
June 5, 2012 at 4:14 pmThanks, I’ve wanted to visit for so long and it was just as great as I was hoping it would be.
Rachael
June 2, 2012 at 11:12 pmI have been here thrice! Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Lucy Dodsworth
June 5, 2012 at 4:13 pmThree times is impressive – though it’d probably take about 10 trips to see everything!
nuresma
June 3, 2012 at 9:41 amVery nice post, whit plenty of information! Thanks 🙂
Lucy Dodsworth
June 5, 2012 at 4:13 pmThanks, it’s such an interesting place to visit, you really get the sense of how people used to live there.
John Parkinson
July 10, 2012 at 11:05 amOk enough already with the great posts. I found Pompeii and Herculanium kinda spooky in a good way. To be able to associate individual people with their homes and pets from that long ago is wierd, I know it shouldn’t be and we should be forever grateful for the insight. Two days it took us to look around here. A couple of books from Amazons used section and a rucksack full of water and away we went. Again really enjoyed refreshing my meories with this post.
Lucy Dodsworth
July 10, 2012 at 11:50 amI didn’t have chance to make it to Herculaneum, but there is something about the little details you can still see at Pompeii that does really bring it to life, and you can still imagine people living there, much more so than any other archaeological site I’ve been to.
twoblackdoggies
July 8, 2013 at 2:54 amVisiting Pompeii was a dream come true, having grown up watching documentaries about the eruption of Vesuvius and later excavation of Pompeii. The first time was almost 14 years ago so I couldn’t wait to share the experience with my husband but was disappointed that a number of the prime sights were closed as a result of collapses and potential dangers. It was still incredible to explore the ruins and next time we hope to visit Herculaneum.
Lucy Dodsworth
July 9, 2013 at 11:59 amMe too, I had read so much about it that I couldn’t wait to go but it is a shame that there just doesn’t seem to be enough money to maintain it all properly and keep up with the excavations as who knows what else might be there. I’d love to visit Herculaneum too and see how that compares.
twoblackdoggies
July 20, 2013 at 8:43 amWith so many heritage sights in Italy it must be extremely expensive keeping them all maintained and it is sad to think that a lack of funds could result in further ruin. Herculaneum is on our list for the next time we’re in that part of Italy (could be several years though) and possibly Ostia Antica.
Marni
January 23, 2015 at 4:40 pmPompeii has fascinated me since before I even went to high school. I have always wanted to go there! I thought I was going to get my chance on a 2006 high school Italy trip, but not enough people originally wanted to do the extra two excursion through Pompeii (though once we were in Italy, several claimed they didn’t know about it and/or had actually been interested). Your pictures are absolutely breath-taking! Did it live up to your fascination of it?
Lucy
January 24, 2015 at 5:37 pmThere is something so compelling about the story of Pompeii, it was amazing to get there and see it in person. It did live up to my expectations, though having been to Herculaneum recently I think I might have liked that even more – the buildings are better preserved and there are a lot less people. Both are fascinating though and well worth the trip.
Darlene
November 18, 2015 at 7:09 pmWe just came from Pompeii as it was a stop on our latest cruise. I loved it, an amazing place. Excellent photos and article!
Lucy
November 18, 2015 at 7:57 pmThanks Darlene, yes it was just fascinating, and such a huge place! Hope you enjoyed the cruise.
becky
March 18, 2016 at 9:55 pmMy daughter and will be in rome in April and we are doing pompeii, Almifi coast , positano wit Walks of Italy. Can’t wait!
Lucy
March 21, 2016 at 8:09 pmThat sounds like a great itinerary – have a fantastic trip!
Alberto Calvo
August 3, 2016 at 1:22 pmGreat article! I recently had the chance to visit Pompeii and the ruins are just spectacular!
Lucy
August 5, 2016 at 3:36 pmFascinating place isn’t it!
howanietz63Friedrich Howanietz
April 16, 2017 at 11:20 amI was there and I liked it a lot. I made a story myself maybe you like it too. Greetings from Europa Vienna.
Lucy
April 17, 2017 at 9:44 pmThank you – and looks great!
Bill Quinn
April 25, 2018 at 12:26 amThanks for this great information. One of my life’s dreams is to visit Pompeii. I recently saw the Pompeii exhibition at Arizona Science Center, Phoenix. Now I want to go to the real thing more than ever.
Lucy
April 30, 2018 at 10:37 amIt is a really amazing experience – hope you get to make it out there someday!
Greg
December 5, 2019 at 12:11 amI was in Pompeii and I liked it very much. I didn’t think it would make such a big impression on me.
Lucy
December 12, 2019 at 9:37 amIt is such an atmospheric place isn’t it.