Sightseeing in Pompei

Sightseeing in Pompeii is a walk with four levels of access, and a tour is mostly a decision about which to include. The public monuments, among them the Forum, the Basilica, the Macellum, the Large Theatre and, in the south-east corner by the Piazza Anfiteatro gate, the Amphitheatre, keep the site's full hours. The houses, including those of the Vettii and of Menander, plus the Stabian Baths and the Lupanar, run on shorter hours with an earlier last entry, and the official list marks other buildings as visible from the street only. The villas outside the walls, Diomede and the Mysteries, are reached from the Herculaneum Gate and have a cut-off of their own.

Pompeii sightseeing tours differ most in where the day starts. From Naples, coaches and minivans pick up at hotels and at Molo Beverello between about 7:30 and 8:45, and one tour in Spanish, Portuguese and English goes by train. From Naples or the Sorrento coast the drive to the gate is about 40 minutes; cruise passengers are collected at the terminal and returned to it, and a private day from Rome with Sorrento runs twelve hours. Several coach tours stop first at a cameo-and-coral workshop. The guided visit inside is nearly always two hours; the rest of the day is Herculaneum, Vesuvius with a vineyard lunch, Sorrento or Naples.

Practical. From 16 March to 14 October the site opens at 9:00, admits its last visitor at 17:30 and closes at 19:00; the houses stop admitting at 18:00. Naples highs average 23-24C in May and October and 13-14C from December to February, so the shoulder months suit a long walk. The paving is original and uneven. Pompeii for All, an accessible route of more than 3.5 km, starts at the Piazza Anfiteatro gate. A few listings carry a 20-day cancellation window, so read it before you book.