Herculaneum

You can pick up a free map at entrance as well as a booklet describing the attractions, although versions other than Italian are often out of print. Audioguides cost €10, €16 for two, ID required, turn in 30 minutes before closing. Lockers are available next to the ticket office; larger bags must be stored in a locker or at the information desk. Inside the compound, there are some vending machines offering drinks and snacks. Toilet facilities are next to the ticket office and next to the vending machines. You will need around 2 hours at a calm pace if you want to visit everything.

The male and female baths, which are next to each other, are well preserved. They were fed by a large well, which brought water from a depth of 8.25 m, heated by a large furnace and distributed around the baths by a network of pipes that also served to provide central heating.

Worth the visit for its stunning mosaics alone, particularly that of Neptune and Amphitrite (a sea goddess and wife of Poseidon), after which the house is named.

This large complex extends over much of the southeast side of the excavations and is on your right as you walk down to the ticket office.

The coastline was significantly altered by the eruption, but this large and luxurious villa used to stretch down to the sea in four terraces. Its seafront was about 250 m long. It is below you on your right as you leave the ticket office and head towards the audio guide kiosk. The villa contained a fine library of scrolls and, although these were badly carbonized, there is hope that modern technology will soon make it possible to read them without destroying them by opening them.

This was another luxurious waterfront dwelling.

This is one of the oldest properties so far discovered on the site. Excavations suggest that, at various times, the upper floor was rented out and the courtyard was sold off. What remains now is a large roofed and elegantly decorated atrium with a few small rooms around it.

The attractive courtyard is said to resemble an Italian medieval courtyard more than a Roman building. In a display case there are two skeletons fused with volcanic rock.