Herculaneum
UNESCO World Heritage Site (Archaeological Areas Of Pompei, Herculaneum And Torre Annunziata, 1997); Parco Archeologico Di Ercolano, Ministero Della Cultura · Ercolano, Campania
The smaller, richer town that Vesuvius destroyed in AD 79, and in many ways the better site. Pompeii was buried under four metres of ash; Herculaneum took twenty metres of pyroclastic surge, hot enough and airless enough to carbonise organic material rather than burn it. So the wooden beds, doors, roof timbers, a linen-lined cradle, loaves of bread and an entire library of papyrus scrolls survived here, along with upper storeys that collapsed everywhere else. Around three hundred skeletons lie where they died in the boat arches on the ancient shoreline, reached through a tunnel that reopened in July 2026. Over three-quarters of the town is still underground because the modern one sits on top of it, which makes what you can walk compact enough to see properly in two hours. In June 2026 researchers read a scroll from its library end to end without ever unrolling it, the first time that has been done.
Corso Resina 187, Ercolano, Campania, 80056, Italy
16 March to 14 October 08:30-19:30, last entry 18:00, site cleared by 19:00. 15 October to 15 March 08:30-17:00, last entry 15:30. Closed 1 January and 25 December only. Full-price tickets need no booking; reduced and free tickets must be booked.