Can you do a day trip from Naples to Pompeii?

Japan has its ramen onsens; the US has Bubblegum Alley and South Korea even has its own toilet-themed amusement park. Italy – when it comes to strange tourist attractions – has Pompeii: a testament to nature’s ability to come along and ruin things in a fiery instant!

Pompeii was once a thriving Roman citadel: a place where families were raised, deals were made and locals went to the theatre or the brothel for a little after work entertainment.

That was all until one wild day in AD 79, when the ominously-positioned Mount Vesuvius decided to spoil the good times once and for all. Vesuvius lashed out in an attack of fiery ash and pumice, covering the once-great city in all its spiteful anger.

This pretty much wiped Pompeii off the face of the Earth for nearly two centuries, and it went this way until some archaeologists decided to unearth its remains back in the 1700s.

Today, Pompeii stands as one of the world’s strangest tourist attractions, especially as you can see the mummified remains of the people that copped it so badly on that terrible day in the early ADs.

And, yes, you may be pleased to know that you can most certainly do a day trip from Naples to Pompeii, as the site is only a cheeky train ride from Napoli Centrale station, making getting there a simple, convenient affair, and one that will provide you with the opportunity to see these particular Pompeii sites:

The theatres

The Romans loved a good show, and so the city of Pompeii had three amphitheatres dedicated to performances. These amphitheatres are some of the best-preserved sites in the whole of Pompeii (so well preserved, in fact, that Pink Floyd were able to rock a show there!).

Wander around and imagine the grand spectacles that took happened there, as the Romans loved a show that was full of song and dance, as opposed to some of a tragedy…

The Forum

The Forum – like other Roman settlements – is where all things commerce went down. Not only will you find where people met to make deals, but you will also meander past the fantastic Temple of Jupiter and the Sanctuary of Apollo, making it one of the ultimate spots to see in the whole excavation site.

Follow this up with a trip out to the bizarre Villa of Mysteries and you’ll have yourself a pretty fascinating Pompeii experience!