79 AD is the year that never ends: Vesuvius's eruption buried Pompeii under metres of ash and pumice, and in doing so delivered it intact to the future. The archaeological park — UNESCO-listed since 1997 and among Italy's most visited sites — preserves streets, frescoed villas, snack bars, and the plaster casts of victims that Giuseppe Fiorelli began making in 1863.
Bring serious shoes, water and at least half a day: the excavated site covers 44 hectares, and tickets should always be booked online. The modern town, with its Marian sanctuary, lives on beside the city that stopped.
Near Pompei
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
