Pompeii: top attractions & road trip guide
Pompeii was a thriving Roman city buried under volcanic ash and pumice when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, killing many residents and sealing streets, houses, and public buildings beneath the debris for over 1,600 years. Rediscovered in the 18th century, it is now one of the most extensive and best-preserved archaeological sites in the world, offering an unusually direct view of daily Roman life.
On a road trip, Pompeii sits between Naples and Sorrento at the base of Vesuvius, just off the main coastal highway, making it an easy stop for drivers heading toward the Sorrentine Peninsula or the Amalfi Coast. The site is large and mostly uncovered, so visiting comfortably takes at least half a day, and a paid car park near the Porta Marina entrance is the most convenient option for those arriving by car.
Top attractions
Pompeii Archaeological Park
The full excavated city, covering roughly 44 hectares of streets, houses, temples, and shops laid out on the original Roman grid.
Forum of Pompeii
The rectangular civic and religious center of the city, once lined with colonnades and flanked by the Temple of Jupiter, with a direct view of Vesuvius framed at one end.
House of the Faun
One of the largest and richest private residences in Pompeii, named for its bronze statuette and famous as the original find site of the Alexander Mosaic.
Amphitheatre of Pompeii
The oldest surviving Roman amphitheater known, built around 70 BC and capable of holding roughly 20,000 spectators for gladiator contests.
Garden of the Fugitives
A vineyard area where plaster casts of victims, made by pouring plaster into the voids left by decomposed bodies in the ash, show the final moments of people trying to flee the eruption.
Villa of the Mysteries
A well-preserved suburban villa just outside the city walls, famous for a nearly complete cycle of large frescoes believed to depict a ritual initiation into a Dionysiac mystery cult.
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