Anyone been to Oplontis?
 

I understand that Opolontis, near Pompeii, has well-preserved ruins of the villa where Nero's empress lived. I'll only have time to visit either Ercolano OR Opolontis (in addition to Pompeii, of course). Which would you recommend?

I'm replying to get this to the top, as I have the same question. <BR> <BR>I posted the question last week, but didn't get any answers. This surprised me, as I would have thought that someone here must have visited Oplontis! It sounds really great!

We're just back from the area and went to Pompeii. We then had time enough for either Oplontis or Ercolano and chose Ercolano. Much less touristy than Pompeii - no circus going on outside the gates whatsoever. Also much smaller than Pompeii, with less than half excavated. It was definitely worth visiting, but I am left wondering if we should have opted for Oplontis, with our limited time. Next trip, I guess! <BR> <BR>Would love to hear your opinion of Oplontis if you go there.

How did your Ercolano experience differ from Pompeii? I'm still trying to decide whether to see Ercolano or to take a chance on Oplontis!

if i remember correctly,there was not much to see at oplontis compared to pompeii or ercolano.i liked ercolano more because was smaller and less crowded,but can't go wrong with either.lived in napoli for three years.my favorite city in europe so far!!

Oplontis is neat if you want to sample ancient Roman villa life, but it's just one villa. The best thing was the huge swimming pool, garden, and a real bathroom! The bathroom shows how the marble slab has several seats available and how the water used to come into the room for carrying away dirty water. Other than that there are the slave quarters, and some rooms with some frescoes. It was 8 years ago, and maybe they have excavated some more since then. You have to go out of your way to get to this place, wasting precious gelato and caffe time... <BR>Ercolano is low-key and you see where the wealthy spent time in villas in this resort town on the sea. Look for the ancient man-hole covers in the newer side of town,and the vomitorium. (The romans ate to excess to show their wealth - they "got rid of" the food they ate, and ate some more - all day... Pompeii was a huge town for trading and merchants, a brothel and where all the tavernas were as well as the "town hall". Look for the old lead pipes slightly submerged along the roads -the folks in rome were dying of lead poisoning, but the excessive minerals in the water at Pompeii coated the pipes and the the water was lead-free... <BR>Enjoy whichever location you choose! <BR>