Pompei is the most known and the biggest archeological site in the area, i think. However,Herculaneum (Ercolano) is wonderful,less crowded,smaller,well preserved and open to the public since only 10 years or so... The site is engaged in a hole surrounded by a wall.You will have a beautiful afternoon to spend there.I recommend it all the way and also Pompei!

I know this is hard to believe, but it is true, This city is much more well preserved from the eruption and has many homes and art in tact. It is less crowded than Pompeii and is well worth the visit.

Herculaneum is not just another Pompeii, it's a much smaller site and the buildings are much better preserved. It's amazing to walk around buildings that were lived in so many years ago, but sobering to think how the occupants died. Do visit Pompeii as well, a joint ticket to both sites will save you 2 euros.

Marvellous site and very interesting. Many ancient features still intact. Don't be tempted to pass it by in favour of Pompeii only. Get the combined ticket. They're both on the same train line. Mind you Pompeii is a much larger site and allow 3-4 hours to see there. Herculaneum will take approx 1-2 hours. Enjoy!

Cruise ship passengers are taking over the area and crowding some of the most popular sites. Herculaneum is a great alternative (or addition) to the tourist trap that Pompeii has become. This city was covered by lava which caused it to be even better preserved. You can still see some of the color schemes residents used, many mosaics. Not the... More

Much better state of preservation than Pompei. Much smaller , more compact and better for it. Absolute bugger to find by car, parking is difficult. We parked up the road about half a mile away for free

We booked a tour to Herculaneum through Rome Cabs as we were only going to be in Italy a few days. It was amazing how well the ruins were preserved with even art still found on various walls. We elected to not hire a guide but to just walk around and enjoy everything on our own pace. Some people might... More

We arrived at the site in the mid-afternoon after a visit to Pompeii. The town is much smaller than Pompeii but there were probably less than 50 people there. The houses and the streets are not as grand as those in Pompeii but we could go inside some of the larger homes and the baths and be alone. As a... More

Lots of interesting buildings to review. In many ways, in better condition than Pompeii. Since it's a more compact site, shouldn't take all day to explore.