Recommendations for visit to Naples, apart from Pompeii?

[stevensfo]

We're planning a short visit 3-5 days, to Naples and I will finally get to see Pompeii after missing out on our school trip many decades ago.

I may be wrong, but I vaguely remember somebody once advising people to visit another historic site in that area that they reckoned was even more interesting. Any thoughts, tips of what to see?

Preferably, I would rather not rent a car!

Steve

[Percol351]

Herculaneum pretty close to Naples and more compact than Pompei.

There are trips up Vesuvius, you have to walk the last mile.

The train that runs along the Amalfi coast to Sorrento.

Boat trip across to Capri and also down the Amalfi coast to Positano and Amalfi

Percol

[Golam]

Herculaneum is the place to go. A most wonderful archaeological site. Be prepared to spend a day there. Within easy walk from the station.
Cheap and cheerful train ride to Ercolano from Naples.

[Dicky99]

This is on my to do list too. Any recommendations on a good location for the hotel choice re: access from airport and access to places of interest.

[stevensfo]

Thanks for all the advice, guys, and the reminder about Herculaneum. Forgotten about that. I'm fascinated by history and archeaology, but my wife will probably want to go to Capri, so we'll be busy.

She likes to choose the hotel and is usually quite fussy but apparently this time, she's just found an apartment in the centre that includes breakfast and is much cheaper. Since it's only for 3-5 days and we'll be out all day, I'm not too bothered.

Looking forward to brushing up my Latin so I can read that famous inscription in Pompeii about Vesuvius: 'Nothing to worry about. Probably just some kids having a barbecue on the mountain.'

Steve

[mc2fool]

Thanks for all the advice, guys, and the reminder about Herculaneum. Forgotten about that. I'm fascinated by history and archeaology, but my wife will probably want to go to Capri, so we'll be busy.

LOL! Well pretty much the whole of Italy is an archaeological site, and of course the Bay of Naples is especially important 'cos the 79AD eruption provided a rare archaeological occurrence, a complete snapshot in time (as shipwrecks do).

Pompeii is bigger, far more spread out, and has things that Herculaneum doesn't, like an amphitheatre and brothels! If you really wanted to see it all it'd take at least a very full day, and there's a lot of "generic" ruins between the interesting stuff.

Herculaneum is much smaller, and perhaps more importantly, much more compact. You can walk up and down every street and look and walk into every visitable building in a full afternoon, and there's something interesting round every corner, nook and cranny. It has more extant two storey buildings and a lot more wood that's survived, including some doors and furniture.

I'd recommend both but if you have to make a choice go to Herculaneum. Less crowded too. Oh, and the virtual museum is well worth dropping into. It's on the road from the station to the ancient town.

If you can convince the wife there are a number of impressive and well preserved villas in the area, "party pads" of the Roman elite, their primary purpose being for entertaining. There's Villa Poppea at Oplontis, a couple of stops before Pompeii, but the best two are Villa Arianna and Villa San Marco at Stabia, a few stops after Pompeii. Aside from being impressive in themselves they have great views of Vesuvius, and across the bay, and you can just imagine the view they had of the eruption. They are a bit of a walk from the station though, so if you don't have a car either get a taxi or hitch-hike!