Pompeii or Herculaneum?
Choose Pompeii for a full first visit. I'd choose Herculaneum if I'd already seen Pompeii, or had only two hours. Pompeii is a town of streets, the Forum and the Amphitheatre: €20 to €30, and a day. Herculaneum is more than four hectares of houses, with the Central Baths and the College of the Augustales among the buildings the park highlights: €16, and two hours. Both are on the same train line, and you can do both in a day if you start early.
By Chiara Vitale · Sources checked
- Pompeii €20, €25 with the villa · Herculaneum €16
- Pompeii 9:00–19:00, last entry 17:30 · Herculaneum 8:30–19:30, excavations close 19:00, last entry 18:00
- Pompei Villa dei Misteri and Ercolano Scavi, both on the Naples–Sorrento line
- Pompeii: 67 buildings on the park's list, 52 open · Herculaneum: more than four hectares visible of about twenty
Pompeii
- Two hours for the Forum and the houses around it; four for my Amphitheatre-to-Forum route, a full day with the Villa of the Mysteries
- €20 city; €25 with the Villa of the Mysteries; €30 Pompeii Plus, three days. Named, 20,000 a day, no re-entry
- The Forum, the Amphitheatre (the oldest known Roman one), the casts, the Lupanar, the baths, the villa
- Two gates on two lines: Villa dei Misteri for Porta Marina, Pompei Santuario for the Amphitheatre
Herculaneum
- Two hours is my planning estimate; the site is a few streets deep, under 20 m of hardened flow
- €16; €2 for ages 18 to 24; free on the first Sunday. Online through CoopCulture or at the gate
- The Central Baths and the College of the Augustales, among the buildings the park highlights, the Suburban Baths, the boat sheds with the skeletons of some 300 people
- Ercolano Scavi station, on the Naples to Sorrento line. Villa of the Papyri and the theatre closed
Archaeological Park of Pompeii (ticket table, list of open buildings); Archaeological Park of Herculaneum (tickets, hours, "Archaeological Area", "The Eruption").
Which one for you?
Herculaneum park, "The Eruption" and "Archaeological Area"; Pompeii park hours.
The two, side by side
| Pompeii | Herculaneum | |
|---|---|---|
| Ticket | €20 city · €25 with the Villa of the Mysteries · €30 Plus, 3 days · €2 reduced | €16 · €2 reduced, 18 to 24 |
| Where to buy | pompeii.vivaticket.it or the offices at three gates; named tickets, 20,000 a day | CoopCulture online or the box office at the gate |
| Summer hours | 9:00–19:00, last entry 17:30 (March 16 to October 14) | 8:30–19:30, excavations close 19:00, last entry 18:00 (March 16 to October 14) |
| Winter hours | 9:00–17:00, last entry 15:30 | 8:30–17:00, excavations close 16:40, last entry 15:30 |
| Closed | January 1, December 25 | January 1, December 25 |
| Size | 67 buildings on the park's list, 52 open this season | More than four of the ancient city's twenty hectares are visible; the rest lies under modern Ercolano |
| Time needed | The park's minimum is 2 to 3 hours; I'd allow 4 for my Amphitheatre-to-Forum route | About 2 hours, my planning estimate |
| Station | Pompei Villa dei Misteri (Sorrento line) · Pompei Santuario (Poggiomarino line) | Ercolano Scavi (Sorrento line) |
| Closed or restricted this year | Amphitheatre open 9:00–19:00 but seen from the southern entrance only since June 14; four houses closed August 15 | Villa of the Papyri and the ancient theatre |
| Free day | First Sunday of the month | First Sunday of the month; April 25, June 2, November 4 |
Both parks' official pages. Pompeii prices from January 12, 2026.
Can I do both in one day?
- Buy the Pompeii ticket before you go. It's named; choose the morning period if that's the one you need.
- Pompeii from 9:00. Porta Marina from Villa dei Misteri station, or the Amphitheatre gate from Pompei Santuario. Give it four hours for my Amphitheatre-to-Forum route.
- Train to Ercolano Scavi, toward Naples on the same Sorrento line.
- Herculaneum by 16:00 in summer. In winter the last entry is 15:30, leaving 70 minutes before the excavations close at 16:40. Last entry 18:00 in summer; two hours is my estimate, and the site closes at 19:00.
Park hours and "How to get there" pages of both parks.
Or a tour that does both
Pompeii and Herculaneum tours, compared →Both sites in one day with a guide, the two tickets in the price and the train or coach between them handled. What to compare: how you move between the sites, hours at each, and whether both entries are in the price.
Pompeii and Herculaneum Small Group Tour with an Archaeologist
Pompeii & Herculaneum by Train from Rome with Pizza Lunch
Guided Day Tour of Pompeii and Herculaneum with Light Lunch
Viator records fetched September 19 and 20, 2026.
People also ask
Is Pompeii or Herculaneum better?
Choose by the time you have. A day: Pompeii. Two hours: Herculaneum. Both: Pompeii first.
How much of Herculaneum is visible?
More than four of the ancient city's twenty hectares are visible; the rest lies under the modern town, beneath around 20 m of hardened volcanic material. Pompeii is a whole city on the surface.
Are the skeletons in Herculaneum real?
Yes. Some 300 were found in 1980 in the boat sheds on the ancient beach, in nine of the twelve vaults. The Martusciello Gallery reopened on July 15, 2026. Its path runs over 100 m down to the Ancient Beach.
Which is the base for Vesuvius?
Either. The national park lists taxis and shuttles from Ercolano Scavi station, and EAV buses from Pompei Villa dei Misteri station. The crater ticket is €10, online only, whichever you start from.
Is there a combined ticket?
Each park sells its own: Pompeii on Vivaticket, Herculaneum through CoopCulture. Pompeii Plus, €30, covers Oplontis and Stabiae, not Herculaneum.
Which is better with kids or in the heat?
Herculaneum: two hours, my planning estimate, on a compact site. Pompeii is a whole town of streets. What I'd do: in August, Pompeii from 9:00 and out by lunch, Herculaneum another day.
Both parks' official pages; Vesuvius National Park for the buses.