Pompeii Day Trip from Naples

Pompeii is 35 minutes from Naples Centrale by Circumvesuviana train (Sorrento line, get off at Pompei Scavi, EUR 3.60 each way). The site admission is EUR 18 and the site is open daily. Pompeii was a prosperous Roman city of 20,000 people buried under 4-6 metres of volcanic ash and pumice in 79 AD when Vesuvius erupted. Excavations since 1748 have uncovered about two-thirds of the city. What you see is not reconstruction but preservation: the buildings, streets, mosaics, garden walls, and shop fronts are mostly original material. The Forum, the Amphitheatre (the oldest surviving Roman amphitheatre, built in 70 BC), the Lupanar (the brothel, the most visited building in Pompeii, small rooms with stone beds and erotic paintings), the Villa of the Mysteries (the best-preserved paintings in the ancient world, the Dionysiac frieze is extraordinary), and the plaster casts of the victims are the essential stops. Allow 3-4 hours minimum. An official audio guide is EUR 8-10. A guided tour (EUR 120-150 for a private group) dramatically increases comprehension: the context for what you are seeing is half the experience.