A Travel Guide to Pompeii: Visiting the City in One Day

Ancient Pompeii, a city “frozen in time” by the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, stands as a captivating testament to ancient Roman life. A day trip to Pompeii offers a journey into the past, revealing remarkably preserved ruins that provide insights into daily life, architecture, and the art of a bygone era. In this guide, we’ll explore the must-see sights that make Pompeii an archaeological marvel.

Start your day at the heart of ancient Pompeii: the Forum. Pompeii’s Forum, the town’s civic and social epicenter, stands as a poignant testament to ancient Roman life. This expansive public square, surrounded by grand structures, including the Temple of Jupiter and the Basilica, was the heart of political, religious, and economic activities.

The Forum’s well-preserved remains reveal the city’s vibrant civic life, where public discourse and legal matters unfolded against a backdrop of imposing columns and architectural splendor. Step into the trading areas, including the Building of Eumachia, the building of which was made possible by a female donor. You also cannot miss a picture at the Temple of Jupiter, with its iconic columns leering over the Forum, as well as the nearby Basilica and Comitium, where political discussions and legal matters once unfolded.

While on your walk, feel what it would have been like to order fast food 2,000 years ago at the Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus. This establishment, dating back to the 1st century CE, features a counter with circular openings containing dolia (jars) for hot and cold food storage. The vivid frescoes on the counter depict various food items from the Roman diet, offering a visual menu of the delicacies available.

Archaeologists discovered remnants of beans, lentils, and other food items in the containers, providing valuable insights into the daily diet of Pompeii’s residents. The Thermopolium stands as a vivid snapshot of the bustling street life and gastronomic preferences of ancient Pompeii.

A Roman politician’s main weapon for achieving office was to give bread (a staple of the Roman diet) and public games to the public (plebeians). This was known as panem et circenses (“bread and circuses”). Pompeii was full of bakeries and just over 30 have been discovered to date. Drop in on one of these as you head east on your way down the Via dell’Abbondanza.

Situated on Via dell’Abbondanza, across from the House of Trebius Valens, this bakery contributed to the region’s renowned bread, a specialty of the Vesuvius area. Despite lacking a storefront, the bakery was one of many culinary establishments in Pompeii. Sotericus, the reputed owner, is commemorated on the neighboring inn’s façade.

The expansive workspace, spanning two older structures, featured shelves, work surfaces, and a dough-kneading apparatus. Additionally, it housed an oven, grain storage, a worker’s sleeping quarters, and four donkey-operated machines of varying sizes, housed in the adjacent stable. The bakery’s products were likely distributed elsewhere in the town.

Next, it is time to take in the atmosphere of Pompeii’s Amphitheater. While on your way, try to find one of the many urban market gardens that defined this region of the town in antiquity.

Each town in the Roman period across the world had an amphitheater for hosting gladiatorial games, plays, animal shows, and even ship battles. The Amphitheater in Pompeii is a grand elliptical structure with a seating capacity for approximately 20,000 spectators. The arena measures about 135 by 104 meters (442 to 341 feet), making it an imposing and spectacular venue for public spectacles and events.

With its well-preserved seating tiers and impressive architecture, the Amphitheater now stands as one of the oldest surviving Roman amphitheaters in the world, offering a vivid picture of ancient entertainment and spectacle.

From the Amphitheater, take a walk through the Large Palaestra, the exercise courtyard of Pompeii. Here, people would have taken a swim in the large swimming pool at the center, milled about, shopped from pop-up stalls in the columned walkways, and exercised in the open areas. Children would have also taken school lessons in the walkways; here, graffiti written at a small child’s height appears to be the remains of an ABC practice session.

Once you have walked the perimeter, taking in the ancient frescoes and temporary exhibitions on your way, take a short stroll down to the Vicolo dei Fuggiaschi. Here you can take a ramp down to the garden below known as the Orto dei Fuggiaschi, or the Garden of the Fugitives. In this garden, vegetables and vines were grown for local sale. It was at the bottom of this garden that a group of thirteen individuals, including men, women, and children, took refuge during the eruption of Vesuvius, hence the name of the garden. As the eruption intensified, they were unable to escape, and their forms were preserved in the ash and pumice that engulfed them.

Archaeologists discovered the Garden of the Fugitives during excavations. Discovering the voids left by the decomposed bodies in the ash layers, plaster casts were made by pouring liquid plaster into the voids. The resulting casts provide a haunting glimpse into the final moments of these individuals, capturing their poses and expressions at the time of their death.

One, known as the garden’s merchant, raises up his hand to protect himself from the oncoming pyroclastic flow. A woman found near two boys, aged between two and five years old, is presumed to have been their mother. Alongside them were also the remains of a young couple, a toddler of about one year old, and a teenage boy.

A trip to Pompeii is not complete without taking in the sights of the town’s grandest residences. First stop: the House of the Faun. Wander through the well-preserved ruins of this lavish domus (house), one of Pompeii’s grandest residences.

Named after a bronze statue of a faun discovered on the premises, this sprawling villa showcases exquisite frescoes, mosaic floors, and intricate architecture. Explore its various rooms, including the famed (and very large) Alexander Mosaic on the floor of the tablinum (ancient equivalent of a study) depicting the Battle of Issus in 333 BCE between Alexander the Great and King Darius III’s forces, and the peristyle garden.

For a glimpse into ancient Roman beliefs and rituals, head to the Villa of the Mysteries just a short walk outside of the Herculaneum Gate in the north-west corner of the town. This remarkably preserved villa features a series of frescoes that depict mysterious religious ceremonies, believed to be associated with the cult of Dionysus. The vivid artwork and enigmatic scenes offer a unique perspective on the spiritual practices of the time.

In particular, the Room of the Mysteries offers a panoramic view of one of the best-preserved and most vibrant frescoes from ancient Rome. Despite its beauty, the subject of the paintings is still unknown, hence the name of the villa.

Walking back into the town, head over to the Casa dei Vettii (House of the Vettii). The House of the Vettii is one of the well-preserved and affluent residences in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. This archaeological site provides valuable insights into the lifestyle of the upper class during the Roman Empire. The house is named after its presumed owners, Aulus Vettius Conviva and Aulus Vettius Restitutus.

While here make sure you take in the beautiful frescoes and mosaics in the atrium (entrance hall), cubiculae (bedrooms), and triclinium (dining room). And do not miss the aediculum where the household gods would have been worshipped by the resident family. Spot the “lucky” Priapus, the Greek god of fertility, on your right as you walk through the front door.

Head to Region VII for a quick tour of the buildings used by Pompeii’s population to pass the time in leisure. The first stop is a very popular one in Pompeii: the lupanar, or brothel. The Lupanar is a two-story building with several small rooms thought to have been used as private chambers for sexual encounters. The ground floor contains a series of small rooms with stone beds, each with a built-in “pillow.” The explicit artwork found on the walls provides a glimpse into the kinds of activities that took place in this building.

Next, take a short walk to the next block where you will find the Terme Stabiane or Stabian Baths. Dating back to the 2nd century BCE, and therefore ranking among the oldest Roman public bath remains, this sprawling site acted as the swimming baths for the local population. Here, customers would have paid a small entrance fee and used the various hot, cold, and warm baths to get clean, get a massage or scrape down from a slave, socialize with friends, or even play a board game or two.

Upon entering, visitors will find a pool to the left, while on the right, a colonnade directs visitors to the men’s quarters. This is divided into the apodyterium (dressing room) and the frigidarium (for cold baths), which leads to the tepidarium (for medium-temperature baths), and finally to the caldarium (for hot baths). The heating system relied on a network of pipes within the walls and double floors, facilitating the circulation of hot air from furnaces and mobile braziers.

Adjacent to the men’s quarters, the women’s area followed a similar layout with an apodyterium, tepidarium, and caldarium. However, the women’s quarters were comparatively smaller and lacked the opulent decorations of the men’s section. Women accessed their quarters through a distinct entrance in the northwest corner of the courtyard, labeled “Mulier” (woman), opening onto Via del Lupanare.

Now you have your day planned out, it is worth considering a few things before your visit. To get to the site, take the Circumvesuviana to Pompei Scavi, but watch out for pickpockets outside the station. The site is then just a short walk from the station. Pompeii is incredibly large and it takes a lot longer than a day to visit all of the regions in detail. Therefore, it is important to have a vague route planned before visiting. It is also recommended that you wear very comfortable shoes to navigate the many cobbled and uneven streets with ease. You might also want to take a reusable bottle to fill up at one of the many (ancient) fountains dotted around the site.

Also, be aware that there are very few areas in Pompeii with shade. Use the free maps provided at the entrance gates but do try to avoid the local tour guides as they are not as accurate about the remains as they like to imply.

Once inside the site, take it all in and use your imagination! Respect the monuments, do not touch the artwork or walk or sit on the remains, and avoid flash photography near the frescoes. It is an incredible day out, and one that visitors do not forget in a hurry.