Things to do
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Herculaneum
Smaller and wealthier than its neighbour, this seaside town was buried by hot mud that carbonised wood, so doors, beams, furniture and even a boat survive. The excavated quarter sits in a deep pit below the modern streets of Ercolano, compact enough for a morning. Trains on the Circumvesuviana line stop a short walk from the entrance.
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Mount Vesuvius
Still an active volcano, the cone above the bay is reached by road to a car park at around a thousand metres, then a gravel path of some twenty minutes to the crater rim. The walk is steep, loose and exposed, and rangers close the summit in high wind or storm. Entry is timed, and the view back over the gulf is the reward.
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Oplontis
At Torre Annunziata, a villa complex often linked to Nero's wife Poppaea holds some of the finest wall painting of the Bay of Naples, with a garden pool and rooms of architectural illusion. Visitor numbers stay low because the way in is an unmarked gate in a working town, two streets from the station. Allow an hour and carry the combined site ticket.
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Pompeii
Volcanic ash sealed a Roman town in 79 AD and preserved its streets, shops, bakeries and painted houses close to their full height. Walking the whole grid takes most of a day, and the richest houses open on a rota, so the map at the gate is worth reading first. Shade is scarce and the paving stones are hard going.
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Villa dei Misteri
Outside the city walls at the far end of the site, a suburban villa keeps the fresco cycle that gives it its name: near life-size figures on deep red, read by scholars as an initiation rite. The walk out adds a good fifteen minutes each way from the forum, which keeps the rooms calm. Access comes with the main ticket.