Complete Pompeii tour:
The ruins with an archaeologist
Destination
Pompeii, Italy
Duration
3 hours
Tour size
Max 15
Language
English
Overview
Pompeii is enormous and barely labeled, and the faded signs leave most visitors guessing at what they're looking at. This Pompeii day tour puts an archaeologist beside you for three hours, covering more of the city than a standard visit and translating its streets, homes, and plaster casts into the living Roman city they once were.
- •Walk the Roman Forum, the theater, and the baths at the city's civic heart
- •Step inside preserved Domus homes for a look at everyday Roman life
- •Stand before the plaster casts of those caught in the eruption
- •See the thermopolia, the bakery, and the shops that fed a Roman city
- •Reach the newest excavations, with a guide who tracks the digs as they happen
What's included
- Pre-reserved entrance tickets to Pompeii
- An official archaeologist guide
- A small group of 15 guests maximum
- Headsets when needed
You will visit
- The Roman Forum
- A Roman theater and the baths
- Preserved Domus houses
- Pompeii's main street, ancient shops, and a thermopolium
- The plaster casts and the brothel
- Newly excavated sites and a panoramic view of the city
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What to expect
The Forum and the public city
You'll start where Pompeii's public life happened, the Roman Forum, with the theater and the baths nearby. Your archaeologist reads the layout for you, so the broken columns become a working city again. Along the main street you'll pass the thermopolia where Romans bought hot food and a bakery that still has its ovens.
The homes and the casts
Inside the preserved Domus houses, you'll see how Romans actually lived, from frescoed walls to the layout of daily life, with a stop at the brothel that surprises most visitors. Then come the plaster casts, the forms of people caught in the eruption, cast from the voids they left in the ash. It's the moment Pompeii stops being ruins and becomes personal.
"The casts are always incredibly moving to see. I can explain the eruption all day, but standing in front of a person frozen mid-moment, two thousand years on, is when it becomes real."
Maria,
Pompeii archaeologist guide
"I read the new excavation reports every week. So no two of my tours are quite the same. If something cool was recently discovered and it's open, I'll take you there!"
Vito,
Pompeii archaeologist guide
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Frequently asked questions
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