Herculaneum: A Town Under Twenty Metres of Rock

🚶 2 km · 📍 8 stops · ⏱ ~150 min

Pompeii's smaller, richer neighbour, buried so thoroughly that things survived here that burned everywhere else. The walk goes from the entrance above the town through a tunnel down to the ancient beach, then up into the streets, past a villa with a sea view, a wine shop, the baths and the hall of the priests of the imperial cult, all the way to the main street. About 2 km over uneven paving and ramps; allow a good couple of hours, three if you linger. GETTING THERE: take the Circumvesuviana local line from Napoli Garibaldi or Porta Nolana towards Sorrento to Ercolano Scavi, then walk about 500 metres downhill to the entrance of the excavations. OPEN every day except Wednesday, longer in summer than in winter; last entry is an hour and a half before closing. Buy your ticket online in advance and check the opening hours on the park's website. Some sites are sometimes closed for restoration, so you can change the order of the stops.