Pompeii

Pompeii is in Campania.

Understand

On August 24, 79 AD, the volcano Vesuvius errupted, covering the nearby town Pompeii in ash and soot, preserving the city in its state from that fateful day. Pompeii is an excarvation site and outdoor museum of the ancient Roman settlement. This site is considered to be one of the few sites where an ancient city has been preserved in detail - eveything from jars and tables to paintings and people were frozen in time, yielding an unprecedented opportunity to see how the people lived two thousand years ago.

Get in

By Train: get to Naples first and change there to the Circumvesuviana local train line from the lower level of the station. 40 minutes, 5 euro. Get off at Pompei Scavio. The entrance to Pompeii is about 50m away from the station.
Tickets are about 10€ per adult (no student reductions) (July 2005).
For transport ticktes read about the unified public transport ticket Campania Unico

Get around

Walk. Note that the old roman stone roads can be quite exhausting to walk, especially in the heat of summer with loads of fellow tourists about.

See

Pompeii it a great place to go, rich in historical value.

Do

Visit also the National Museum in Naples where most of the best preserved mosaics and found items from Pompeii are kept.
Visit also the sister site Herculaneum, which is only one Circumvesuviana stop apart and suffered a similar fate to Pompeii's.
Have a look at random villas, as sometimes even small side rooms have amazing wall paintings, or should we say frescos.
Don't miss the "Garden of the Fugitives" at the south-east side where plastercasts of the victims are on display.

Buy

A decent map of the site, or you will get lost in the small roads and need to walk back and forth which is quite exhausting. In Sepember 2005, a map and small guidebook were being given away at the entrance (in several different languages).
Books are also on sale at the bookstore at the entrance, and a decent book on Pompeii may be as low as €8. Audioguides are another alternative available, and tour guides are often at the entrance and willing (for a few or 10 Euros) to give a guided tour of the site.

Eat

On the way from the station to the official entrance loads of shops try to sell stuff for very expensive prices but the food is not outstanding. Drinks, especially the freshly pressed orange and lemon juices, however, are fantastic, though slightly pricey (€ 2.50 for a glass)
There is a restaurant in the museum area. Not surprisingly, this is rather expensive and not very good. Nonetheless, it is an OK place to take a break and recuperate.

Drink

Remember to bring enough water to drink as it gets quite hot in the dusty streets. There are water taps but most of them does not work.

Sleep

Probably the cheapest way to see Pompeii is to stay in Naples and commute to the site via train.

Get out

What you get out of a visit to Pompeii is a wonderful historical experience and and interesting story to tell. There is more than history in Pompeii also, it is a triving and intricate part of the world and is a great place it go!