Visit Herculaneum | Complete Guide with Visitor Tips

Navigating your way

Herculaneum is compact yet layered with history, and its narrow streets and preserved buildings can be overwhelming without a plan. Taking time to prepare your visit makes exploring the site much more rewarding.

Visitors exploring ancient ruins with Mount Vesuvius in the background, Herculaneum Ruins Guided Tours.

Timed entry

Tickets are released in timed slots to manage visitor flow and ensure a smooth experience. Booking in advance is highly recommended, especially during peak season, to avoid long queues and make the most of your visit.

Herculaneum ruins with tourists exploring ancient streets on a guided tour from Naples.

Walk the ancient streets

Follow the main path through narrow streets lined with homes, workshops, and public spaces. Along the way, you can see original wooden doors, staircases, and carbonized furniture, all preserved in remarkable detail.

Statue in courtyard of Villa of the Papyri with palm trees and building in background.

Key highlights

Herculaneum’s highlights include the Villa of the Papyri, Roman baths, the forum, colorful frescoes, intricate mosaics, and well-preserved homes and kitchens. Each area reveals everyday life in a Roman town and the extraordinary level of preservation here.

Temple of Giove ruins in Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius in the background.

Nearby insights

A visit to Herculaneum can be combined with Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius for a fuller understanding of the 79 AD eruption. Exploring these sites together allows visitors to see the scale of the disaster and how it transformed the towns and surrounding region.

How to make the most of your time

Visit type	Duration	Route	What you get
Snapshot visit	1-2 hrs	Main entrance → Central streets → Forum → Villa of the Papyri → Exit	See the key highlights of Herculaneum in a short visit, including mosaics, frescoes, and well-preserved streets.
Balanced visit	2-3 hrs	Main entrance → Forum → Baths → Villas → Ancient homes → Exit	Explore a mix of public and private spaces, gaining insight into both daily life and Roman civic culture.
Full experience	Half-day	Main entrance → Forum → Baths → Villas → Ancient homes → Streets & Shops → Exit	Tour the site thoroughly, from grand villas to bakeries and workshops, for a complete understanding of life in this Roman town before the 79 AD eruption.

Explore Herculaneum

House of Neptune

Admire the famous mosaic depicting Neptune and Amphitrite, showcasing Herculaneum’s artistic skill.

What to look out for: detailed mosaics, preserved floors, decorative motifs, Roman craftsmanship

Villa of the Papyri

Explore a luxurious villa famed for its library of ancient scrolls and elegant architecture.

What to look out for: marble floors, frescoes, courtyards, carbonized scrolls

Herculaneum Ruins ancient bathhouse interior with stone seating and mosaic floor.

Public Baths

Discover the town’s social and bathing spaces, highlighting Roman engineering and daily life.

What to look out for: hot and cold rooms, heating systems, mosaic floors, communal areas

College of the Augustales

The headquarters of Herculaneum’s elite priests, where members of the imperial cult combined religious and social life.

What to look out for: frescoed walls, atrium, ceremonial rooms, inscriptions tied to the cult

Best time to visit Herculaneum

The best time to visit Herculaneum is during the shoulder and lean seasons (November to March), when the site is quieter and temperatures are milder. For the most comfortable experience, plan your visit for early morning or late afternoon, when the light is softer and crowds are thinner. In winter, afternoon visits offer the warmest conditions and better natural lighting for photos.

If you're visiting in the peak summer months (June to September), expect hot temperatures and higher visitor numbers. Bring sunscreen, a hat, and plenty of water, and consider arriving right when the site opens to explore comfortably before midday heat sets in. This time of year still offers a great experience, just pace your visit and take advantage of shaded areas where possible.

Know more about Herculenaum opening hours

How to get to Herculaneum?

From Naples

Travel time: 15 minutes to 1 hour, depending on mode of transport
Distance: 11.6 km
Transport options: Train/bus

By train: Circumvesuviana train from the Naples Piazza Garibaldi station
Nearest stop to Herculaneum: Ercolano Scavi

Bus routes: 254, 195
Nearest stop to Herculaneum: San Ciro

Recommended tours:

From Naples: Herculaneum Skip-the-Line Guided Tour with Transfers

From Pompeii

Travel time: Approximately 45 minutes
Distance: 18.8 km
Transport options: Train

By train: L44088 from Pompeii Santuario station
Nearest stop to Herculaneum: Ercolano Scavi

Recommended tours:

From Pompeii: Herculaneum Skip-the-Line Guided Tour with Transfers

From Sorrento

Travel time: 70 minutes to 1 hour and 44 minutes, depending on mode of transport
Distance: 40.3 km
Transport options: Train/bus

By train: Take the L111018 from the Sorrento station train
Nearest stop: Ercolano Scavi

By bus: Sorrento - Afragola 1012 towards Afragola
Nearest stop: Ercolano

Recommended tours:

From Sorrento: Herculaneum Skip-the-Line Guided Tour with Transfers

Know before you go to Herculaneum

Entrances with ramps: There are two wheelchair ramps at the entrance that leads to an accessible bridge that welcomes you into the site.
Accessible toilets: Herculaneum is well-equipped with accessible and disable-friendly bathrooms around the site including at the entrance, visitor center and ticket office.
Wheelchair-friendly areas: The route along III Cardo street allows wheelchair access. Most the streets and sidewalks are step-free making most areas wheelchair-friendly and easy to access. You’ll spot plenty of metal bridges installed for wheelchair users and strollers.

Locker room: Right beside the ticket counter, there’s a luggage storage room where the visitors can leave their bags and other personal belongings free of cost.
Audio Guide: Visitors can access maps and audio tours to navigate through the site. However, for a richer experience, it is recommended to go with a certified guide who is also a trained archaeologist.
Parking: There’s parking available at an underground parking garage located near the entrance of the site. The approximate cost of parking is 2-5 euros per hour.
Refreshments: There is a snack counter from where you can grab a quick bite.

Additionally, Herculaneum also has a book shop and an information desk.

Bags or backpacks larger than 30x30x15 cm cannot be brought into Herculaneum.
It's easier to combine trips to Herculaneum and Vesuvius in one day rather than Herculaneum and Pompeii. Visiting Herculaneum and Pompeii on two separate days gives you a better chance to appreciate the two sites without being overwhelmed.
Tourists are strictly forbidden from touching artifacts like frescoes and mosaics, wooden structures, etc. as these have been carefully restored and are fragile.
Enhance your visit with a guided tour. As Herculaneum is filled with rich history, visiting each ruin with an expert guide (who is also an archeologist) is sure to help you appreciate the deeper significance of what you see.
Dogs are allowed inside the archeological park, provided they are leashed and muzzled.

Frequently asked questions about visiting Herculaneum

What are the opening and closing times of Herculaneum?

Herculaneum is open year-round for the public except on January 1 and December 25. From 16 March to 14 October, timings are from 8:30am to 7:30pm. From 15 October to 15 March, you can visit between 8:30am and 5pm. The last entry to the site is 90 before closing time.

How long do I need to set aside for my Herculaneum visit?

Typically, tourists find that they need at least 2-3 hours to fully explore the ruins. If you're looking at a guided tour, you can expect to take between 2-2.5 hours to see all the major sites of the attraction. If you're traveling solo, you can choose to spend longer, linger at objects/artifacts/houses you find fascinating without being time-bound. If you're traveling with children, then you can zip past the major sites (like the Baths, the Samnite House, House of Neptune) and complete your visit in under 2 hours.

How can I optimize my visit to Herculaneum for a more personal and less crowded experience?

Early mornings and late afternoons are considered to be the best time to visit the site, especially during the lean season (November to March). During this period, crowds are fewer and the sun isn't as relentless. An experience with your tour guide is also likely to be more personal and rewarding, due to a lower footfall of tourists.

Where is Herculaneum located?

Herculaneum is located in the commune of Ercolano, Campania in Italy. The best way to arrive is by taking a train from Naples, Pompeii or Sorrento. You can disembark at the Ercolano Scavi station, from where the ruins are about 6 minutes away by walk.

How much research should I do in advance of my visit if I’m not booking a guided tour?

While nothing quite tops a guided tour, you can still visit the site on your own and learn a great deal about ancient Roman life. You can listen to podcasts by History Hack, watch YouTube videos and read the works of Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, who heads the Herculaneum Conservation Project. If you're looking for a more comprehensive experience without an actual guide, book an audio guided tour like the Herculaneum Skip-the-Line Tickets with Audio Guide.

What are some sites / structures I should definitely see on my visit to Herculaneum?

While Herculaneum is incredibly well-preserved (more so than Pompeii) with many striking features to see, consider adding these landmarks to the top of your list: Visit the House of Neptune and Amphitrite to see the famous fresco of the god and his wife. To see a beautifully preserved wooden door that still slides on its hinges, nearly 2000 years after being buried under volcanic material, visit the House of the Wooden Partition. Go down to the boathouses to see the skeletons of people who were trying to make a last-minute escape from Vesuvius' wrath.

If I only need half a day to see all of Herculaneum, what do I do with the remainder of my time since I’m anyway in the area?

You can take a trip to Mount Vesuvius, which is a 30-minute bus journey away from the ruins. From across the Ercolano Scavi station, you can board the Vesuvio Express which will take you to the volcano. Climb the mountain and see its iconic crater up close. If you're feeling adventurous and would like to see Pompeii too, book this experience From Pompeii/Naples: Pompeii, Herculaneum & Vesuvius Day Trip

Are there facilities, activities, etc. that will make kids enjoy the visit?

Older children would appreciate a visit to the MAV (Virtual Archaeological Museum), located a short distance away from the entrance to Herculaneum. This museum has a virtual and interactive exhibition that recreates Herculaneum's structures and layout before 79 AD. There are about 70 multimedia displays with reconstructions, installation, and holograms that bring to life Herculaneum, Pompeii, Stabia, Baia and Capri ruins in an informative and engaging way. Note that tickets to the MAV will have to be purchased separately.