The Greek temples at Paestum, south of Salerno, in the Campania Region, are among the wonders of ancient architecture in Italy.

You can very easily visit the temples as a daytrip from Naples, Salerno, Amalfi or Positano (from Amalfi or Positano requires travelling to Salerno by ferry or bus).

Here are the scheduling possibilities out of Naples (all trains stop in Salerno as well):

lv. Naples 7:50 or 8:50 (travel time approx. 1.5 hrs.)

Return trains from Paestum leave at 13:43, 14:39, 15:44, 16:42, 17:43 and 18:42.

The distance from the Paestum train station to the archeological area is approx. 700 yards (8-10 minutes on foot).

The Paestum station is unmanned, so you should purchase a return ticket.

From Salerno, there is also hourly bus service (except on Sundays), but the bus takes twice as long as the train.

www.trenitalia.com

Hi,

I was considering Paestum for next year's Italy trip but ruled it out as a bit difficult from Sorrento. And, after looking at photos on the web wasn't sure it was a wonderful enough site to warrant lots of traveling.

What makes these temples so wonderful? It appeared, at best, that there were mostly fragments and perhaps one standing temple that looked similar to the Parthenon.

To go to Paestum we would have to either take part of a day from Naples or take a day from Umbria/Tuscany. Here's what we have planned for the Sorrento area: Pompeii, Herculanum, AC (Ravello, etc.), Naples (mostly for the archeology museum).

Should we change our itinerary and include Paestum? I am interested in the ancient stuff.

Thanks,

Adrienne

There is also a museum at Paestum with interesting objects, sculptures from the temples and the famous tomb painting the meaning of which, as far as I know, has never been fully determined. It's generally called "The Diver."

Adrienne: Paestum is logistically a little challenging as a day trip out of Sorrento, inasmuch as it requires a connection in either Naples (by Circumvesuviana train) or Salerno (by ferry boat).

I would certainly not try to do Paestum as a day trip out of Tuscany or Umbria.

Paestum is really a very, very beautiful site. If you have never seen Greek temples and are interested, you should seriously consider it. If your interest is only lukewarm, I would instead concentrate on the other sites you've mentioned above.

Just returned from Italy and went to Paestum from Positano. There actually are 3 temples in better condition than the Parthenon. The other portions of the sight are actually in bad shape.

If really interested in ancient civilzations go although the logistics as pointed out are tough from Sorrento.

Perhasp, with limited time it would be best to leave it for another time.

David

"What makes these temples so wonderful? It appeared, at best, that there were mostly fragments"

adrienne, Paestum is amazingly preserved. Take a look at my photos:
http://www.slowtrips.com/photo/showg...&password=

It is also a bit off the beaten track so we didn't find any crowds there, but then again, it was March.

Paestum from Sorrento is not that difficult. We did it by taking a ferry to Amalfi, a bus to Solerno and another bus to Paestum. It was a very pleasant journey. After three weeks in Italy and all the Roman Ruins, Paestum was a wonderful change of pace. Roman Ruins are impressive, even awesome. But, Greek Ruins are just beautiful and you really can't appreciate the difference until you see it.
We had one of the most satisfying travel experiences we have had in all of our travels on our return from Paestum, but, I have written about that before and I can't promise you the same. By all means, go to Paestum. I don't think you will be disappointed.

I visited Paestum two years ago as a daytrip from ROME! Also spent a couple hours wandering in Amalfi, and had a pizza dinner in Naples. It was a wonderful day, but a long day. It started out as an overnight visit but some unexpected train strikes messed up my original plans.

Here's a sample schedule from ROME to Paestum and return:

lv. Rome Termini 6:45 Eurostar train
ar. Salerno 9:16
lv. Salerno 9:42 Local train
ar. Paestum 10:16
fare: Euro 27.33 in 2nd class

lv. Paestum 15:44 Local trai
ar. Naples 17:10
lv. Naples 17:30 Eurostar train
ar. Rome Termini 19:16
fare: Euro 25.70 in 2nd class

This involves 7 hours on the train (!!!!) and a return fare of over 50 Euros! Recommended only for die-hards of Greek temples! Five hours in Paestum are ample to visit the archeological area and the museum, plus lunch in a cafe overlooking the temples.

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for all your responses and for the info on Paestum.

GAC - I wasn't going to do this from either Rome or Umbria/Tuscany; I meant that we would have to forgo one of our days in Umbria/Tuscany or Rome to see Paestum. I'm in favor of the train to Naples and then to Paestum since I hate buses and love trains (even the Circumvesuviana).

The problem is I want to do everything and I only have 3 weeks. Already the itinerary is enough to cover 4 weeks and we haven't finalized Umbria/Tuscany!

Lorac - loved your photos. I see you went to Caserta too. It's on my list and I hope to fit it in. How did you like it? Any tips for Caserta?

Hi Lorac,

I continued looking at your photos. The one of Herculaneum are so exciting, especially #55. I can't wait to get there. This place makes Pompeii pale in comparison! Thanks again for sharing.

Where in Salerno were the photos taken? Do you have a trip report on slowtrav?

adrienne, yes, I do have a trip report--here is the link: http://www.slowtrav.com/tr/TripReport.asp?tripid=460

This was our second trip to Caserta. Since we visit family there, they are wonderful and have taken us everywhere we wanted to go: Paestum, Herculaneum, Capri, Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, etc. In Caserta, we did visit the Palazzo Reale which was magnificent.

The photos of Salerno were taken from a road above the coast...I have no idea which road though.

Herculaneum was wonderful. Must more intimate and smaller than Pompeii, but we loved Pompeii as well. If you have any more questions, write me at [email protected].

Carol