kenny

i'll be in naples in may for around 1.5 days after which i'll be leaving for rome. Which are the absolute "must-see"s in Naples? Will visiting either Herculaneum or Pompeii be enough? If it is so, which one should i choose?

Walter

My three choices would be Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the Archaeological Museum in Naples. If the .5 day was in the morning I'd visit the museum, if it was in the afternoon I'd visit Herculaneum. And on the full day I'd do Pompeii with one or the other. HTH Regards, Walter <BR>

Paulo

I agree with Walter ... well, sort of Visiting both Pompeii and Ercolano and skipping the Museum is a no no in my book ... The museum is a must, and so is Pompeii. But I would give the Galleria Nazionale di Capodimente and/or a stroll through the city centre priority over visiting Ercolano (you may do both, the city centre and the Galleria about 4 hours). <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR> <BR>

kenny

i'll be reaching naples at around one thirty in the afternoon. I was thinking of using that time to make the "A Good Tour" as stated in the fodor's italy book and then split the next day between pompeii and herculaneum. the third day's morning which i hope i have some time before leaving for rome, to catch the few sights that i've missed. <BR>BUT then again, is visiting both pompeii AND herculaneum necessary?

kenny

pardon me, but where is Ercolano?

Paulo

In which season are you travelling to Naples, Kenny? And which days of week do you intend to be there? <BR> <BR>Site opening hours change quite a bit during the year (and apparently also from year to year). Some years ago, in summer, the Archaeological Museum was open in the afternoon from Tuesdays to Saturdays, mornings on Sundays and closed on Mondays. During the rest of the year it was open only in the mornings (excluding Monday). The Capodimonte Gallery was closed for restauration works for a while ... don't know its present status and opening hours. In principle, it should be open the whole day in summer from Tuesday to Saturday, in the morning on Sunday and closed on Monday. The rest of the year, once again, it should be open only in the morning (except on Mondays). <BR> <BR>The Pompeii visit should take 4+ hours. Add the train trip time back and forth, train waiting time, etc. and you'll have 6/7 hours. I, for one, never felt the urge of adding Ercolano after visiting Pompeii, specially in the heat of summer. It's just too much. After 4+ hours in the heat and dust of Pompeii all I want is to return to Naples and take it easy We actually visited Ercolano only once and in that occasion we didn't visit Pompeii. <BR> <BR>Independently on when you're going (unless it's a Monday), on your full day there you may plan to visit the Archaeological museum first thing in the morning (it should open at 9am). Unless you're an archaeology schollar, the visit should take 2 hours. In principle, you may be entering the Pompeii site around 12:30pm and be done with about 5pm. In summer, you'd still have time for a quick visit to Ercolano ... but IMO it doesn't pay. <BR> <BR>If you're going in the summer, I'd try to visit Capodimonte the day you arrive and leave the Old town stroll for the day you leave. If you're not going in the summer season, I'd leave the Capodimente for the morning before leaving and stroll the old town the day you arrive. <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR> <BR>PS. Ercolano is on the Circumvesuviana train track, between Pompeii and Naples, closer to Naples. If you take, say, the 5:07pm train to Naples, you should pass Ercolano at 5:24pm. From Ercolano to Naples it's a 10min trip and there are trains every 20 minutes or so. <BR>