Porta Marina (west)
A few steps from the Pompei Scavi – Villa dei Misteri station. Minutes from the Antiquarium, Temple of Apollo, Basilica and Forum. The longest line – so buy your named ticket online beforehand.
Pompeii: Map
66 hectares of city, 44 of them excavated. Walk in without a plan and you see a lot of street and little house. This map shows where the entrances are and which route is worth it.
Photo: Sarahhoa · CC BY-SA 2.0
The planPompeii map: entrances, stops, walking routes
Three entrances, 18 stops, three routes – from two hours to a full day including the Villa of the Mysteries. The routes follow the ancient streets; the numbers are listed below and link to each stop's description. The dashed line is the city wall.
- 1 Antiquarium
- 2 Temple of Apollo
- 3 Basilica
- 4 Forum
- 5 Temple of Jupiter
- 6 Forum Baths
- 7 House of the Tragic Poet
- 8 House of the Faun
- 9 House of the Vettii
- 10 Bakery of Popidius Priscus
- 11 Lupanar
- 12 Stabian Baths
- 13 Large Theater and Odeon
- 14 Via dell'Abbondanza and the Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus
- 15 Garden of the Fugitives
- 16 Large Palaestra
- 17 Amphitheater
- 18 Villa of the Mysteries
Getting inThe three entrances – and which one suits you
Pompeii has three ticket offices, and the choice decides your first kilometer. Arriving by Circumvesuviana puts you at Porta Marina; coming from the east, or wanting to cross the whole city once, start at the amphitheater.
Piazza Esedra (southwest)
Below Porta Marina on Via Villa dei Misteri, with its own ticket office. Useful when the line at Porta Marina is long; the path leads past the Antiquarium to the Basilica.
Piazza Anfiteatro (east)
Right at the amphitheater, closest to Pompei Santuario station and the Trenitalia station. The best start if you want to cross the city from east to west and finish at the Villa of the Mysteries.
Finding your wayRegio, insula, door number: how to read a Pompeii address
The excavators divided the city into nine regions (Regio I–IX), each region into blocks (insulae), each block into doorways. "VI 12, 2" is the House of the Faun: region VI, block 12, door 2. These numbers are on signs at every corner and on the official map – once you get them, you can find any house.
Regio VII and VIII – the center
Forum, Basilica, temples of Apollo and Jupiter, Forum Baths, Lupanar, Stabian Baths, theaters. This is where the short route plays out, all on foot in two hours.
Regio VI – the grand houses
House of the Faun, House of the Vettii, House of the Tragic Poet. Narrow streets, the most famous mosaics and frescoes – and often a wait outside the Vettii.
Regio I and II – the east
Via dell'Abbondanza with the thermopolium, Garden of the Fugitives, Great Palaestra, amphitheater. A longer walk, fewer people. The Villa of the Mysteries lies outside the walls to the northwest and needs the Pompeii+ ticket or an €8 supplement.
On footThree routes – and what to see at each stop
Walking times are our estimate, not the park's; waits outside the Lupanar and the House of the Vettii are not included. The opening status per house comes from the park's "Open buildings" list (summer schedule until October 14) – the park changes it at short notice.
- from Porta Marina2 hrs
The essentials in 2 hours. For anyone short on time, for instance on a stopover between Naples and Sorrento. The route stays in the western part of the city: from Porta Marina past the Temple of Apollo and the Basilica onto the Forum, behind the Temple of Jupiter into the Forum Baths, on to the House of the Faun, then via the bakery and the Lupanar down to the Stabian Baths on Via dell'Abbondanza. Return along Via dell'Abbondanza and across the Forum to Porta Marina or Piazza Esedra. The amphitheater and the Villa of the Mysteries are left out on purpose – they lie at opposite ends of the site. The Express ticket is enough.
Temple of Apollo → Basilica → Forum → Temple of Jupiter → Forum Baths → House of the Faun → Bakery of Popidius Priscus → Lupanar → Stabian Baths
- from Porta Marina4.5 hrs
Half a day: straight across the city. For the classic first visit. First the Forum and its buildings, then a loop north to the three big houses (Tragic Poet, Faun, Vettii – do the House of the Vettii as early as possible, before the groups arrive). Via the bakery and the Lupanar to the Stabian Baths, a detour into the theater district, then east along Via dell'Abbondanza to the thermopolium, the Garden of the Fugitives and across the Palaestra to the amphitheater. You leave the site at Piazza Anfiteatro and save yourself the walk back of a good kilometer (over half a mile). The Express ticket is enough.
Temple of Apollo → Basilica → Forum → Temple of Jupiter → Forum Baths → House of the Tragic Poet → House of the Faun → House of the Vettii → Bakery of Popidius Priscus → Lupanar → Stabian Baths → Large Theater and Odeon → Via dell'Abbondanza and the Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus → Garden of the Fugitives → Large Palaestra → Amphitheater
- from Piazza Anfiteatro7.5 hrs
Full day with the Villa of the Mysteries. For anyone who wants to see Pompeii in full – this requires the Pompeii+ ticket. The route runs from east to west: the amphitheater and the quiet eastern part in the morning, along Via dell'Abbondanza into the center, the Forum and the Antiquarium at midday (there is shade there), the houses of Regio VI in the afternoon, and finally through Porta Ercolano and the Street of Tombs to the Villa of the Mysteries. Keep an eye on the clock: in summer the last passage through Porta Ercolano is at 5:30 pm, and the villa closes at 6:30 pm. The houses with admission from 9:15 am already close at 6:20 pm – which is why they come before the villa.
Amphitheater → Large Palaestra → Garden of the Fugitives → Via dell'Abbondanza and the Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus → Stabian Baths → Large Theater and Odeon → Lupanar → Bakery of Popidius Priscus → Forum → Basilica → Temple of Apollo → Antiquarium → Temple of Jupiter → Forum Baths → House of the Tragic Poet → House of the Faun → House of the Vettii → Villa of the Mysteries
Antiquarium
The park's museum sits just above Porta Marina, beneath the terrace of the Temple of Venus. Giuseppe Fiorelli had it built in 1873–74; it shows finds from everyday life in the city and casts of victims of the eruption, arranged as a walk through the city's history from its beginnings to AD 79. Start here and the ruins make a lot more sense afterward.
included in the Express ticket30 min
Temple of Apollo
One of the oldest sanctuaries in the city: excavations have identified a predecessor from the 6th century BC. What you see is a podium temple in a colonnaded courtyard with an altar at the center; the bronze figures of Apollo and Diana are copies, and the originals are in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. It lies right on the way from Porta Marina to the Forum and takes hardly any time.
included in the Express ticket10 min
Basilica
At about 1,500 square meters (16,000 sq ft), the most elaborate building on the Forum: this is where business deals were struck and justice was administered. You enter the three-aisled hall from the Forum through five entrances and see the judges' raised tribunal at the western end. The building dates from 130–120 BC, which makes it one of the oldest basilicas in the Roman world.
included in the Express ticket10 min
Forum
The city's main square, around which the administration, the courts, the market and the most important temples were grouped. You stand on a long square framed by colonnades, its axis running toward the Temple of Jupiter and, behind it, Vesuvius – the best-known view of Pompeii. Part of the travertine paving from the imperial period is still in place.
included in the Express ticket20 min
Temple of Jupiter
The temple dominates the north side of the Forum, with Vesuvius directly behind it. After the Roman colony was founded in 80 BC, it was enlarged into a Capitolium with the cult images of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. The high podium with its staircase and column stumps survives; equestrian statues once stood to the left and right.
included in the Express ticket5 min
Forum Baths
Public baths just behind the Temple of Jupiter, built shortly after 80 BC, with separate sections for men and women. In the men's baths you can follow the sequence of rooms from the changing room through the cold bath to the hot bath, along with stucco vaults, niches with terracotta telamons and a large bronze brazier. More compact and usually less crowded than you would expect – the best place to understand how a Roman bathhouse worked.
included in the Express ticket15 min
House of the Tragic Poet
A fairly small atrium house, famous for the mosaic at the main entrance showing a chained dog and the warning CAVE CANEM, now under glass. Visitors come in through a side entrance straight into the peristyle with the household shrine; in the living room you can still see the wall painting of Ariadne abandoned by Theseus. The remaining mosaics and paintings are in the museum in Naples.
included in the Express ticket10 min
House of the Faun
At about 3,000 square meters (32,000 sq ft), one of the largest houses in Pompeii – it fills an entire city block and goes back to the 2nd century BC. The inscription HAVE greets you on the sidewalk; inside come two atria and two colonnaded gardens. The dancing faun in the water basin and the Alexander Mosaic are copies; the originals are in Naples.
included in the Express ticket20 min
House of the Vettii
The house of two freedmen who grew rich through trade, Aulus Vettius Restitutus and Aulus Vettius Conviva, and one of the most lavishly painted in the city. A painted Priapus stands at the entrance as a symbol of prosperity; the centerpiece is the colonnaded garden with statues and fountains, next to it the hall with the frieze of cupids at work. Because of the crowds, this is where you are most likely to have to wait.
included in the Express ticket25 min
Bakery of Popidius Priscus
Mill and bakery in one: five well-preserved millstones of lava rock – a cone-shaped lower stone and an hourglass-shaped upper stone turned by slaves or animals – stand next to the large oven. There is no sales counter; the bread was probably sold to order, wholesale or through street vendors. A short stop that brings everyday life in the city across better than many a house.
included in the Express ticket5 min
Lupanar
The city's brothel, a small two-story corner building: on the ground floor, five cubicles with masonry beds open off a corridor, and small erotic wall paintings hang above the doors. You walk through one way – in on Vicolo del Lupanare, out on Vicolo del Balcone Pensile. The visit takes just minutes; the line outside often takes longer.
included in the Express ticket10 min
Stabian Baths
Pompeii's oldest bath complex, from the 2nd century BC, and one of the oldest in the Roman world. From the entrance on Via dell'Abbondanza you reach a large courtyard with a swimming pool and a colonnade; in the men's section, the raised floors and wall flues show how the hot-air heating worked. The women had their own, plainer section with a separate entrance.
included in the Express ticket20 min
Large Theater and Odeon
The Large Theater, from the mid-2nd century BC, uses the natural slope for its seating and was the first large public building to be fully excavated. Right next to it is the small, once-roofed Odeon for music and mime, and behind that the colonnaded courtyard that last served as gladiators' barracks. From the top tier the view reaches over the stage and out across the plain.
included in the Express ticket20 min
Via dell'Abbondanza and the Thermopolium of Vetutius Placidus
Via dell'Abbondanza is the main shopping street and the natural route from the Forum to the amphitheater, lined with shops, cookshops and election notices on the facades. The best example is the snack bar of Vetutius Placidus: a masonry counter with colorful facing and built-in storage jars, and on the back wall a painted household shrine with Mercury and Dionysus. One of the jars held almost three kilos (about 6.5 lb) of coins – probably the last takings.
included in the Express ticket10 min
Garden of the Fugitives
A former residential quarter that had been turned into a vineyard with an outdoor dining area under a pergola before the eruption. Thirteen people were found here, adults and children, who fled toward Porta Nocera over a pumice layer already 3.5 meters (11 ft) deep and were overtaken by the pyroclastic flow. Their plaster casts lie in a glass case against the back wall of the garden – the most affecting place on the site.
included in the Express ticket10 min
Large Palaestra
A huge sports ground framed by colonnades, about 140 by 140 meters (460 by 460 ft), with a swimming pool in the middle, laid out at the beginning of the 1st century AD for training the city's youth. Of the plane trees, only the casts of the roots remain; the walls and columns carry plenty of graffiti. In the colonnades the park shows a permanent exhibition of casts and organic finds.
included in the Express ticket20 min
Amphitheater
The oldest known amphitheater in the Roman world, built around 70 BC for up to 20,000 spectators – which is why it stands at the edge of town, where there was room for the crowd. External staircases lead to the upper tiers, a sloping passage down into the arena. In AD 59 a show here ended in a bloody brawl with visitors from Nuceria, after which the Senate had the arena closed for ten years.
included in the Express ticket15 min
Villa of the Mysteries
A suburban villa outside Porta Ercolano with the most famous wall painting in Pompeii: a continuous frieze across three walls shows a ritual of the cult of Dionysus, with almost life-size figures against a bright red background. The other rooms are also decorated in the Second Style with painted illusionistic architecture, and the working part of the villa has a reconstructed wooden wine press. The route leads along the Street of Tombs past the Villa of Diomedes and is worth the detour.
Pompeii+ (25 €) or 8 € add-on to the Express ticket required40 min
Outdated onlineWhat other sites get wrong
“You can "do" Pompeii in a morning.”
The excavated area covers 44 hectares and the streets are paved and uneven. Two hours cover the center, half a day a walk straight across the city, a full day includes the Villa of the Mysteries.
“All entrances are the same.”
Porta Marina has the longest line and sits at the Circumvesuviana station; Piazza Anfiteatro is at the far end of the city near the Trenitalia station. Start at the wrong one and you walk an extra kilometer.
“The Villa of the Mysteries is included in the standard ticket.”
It lies outside the walls and is only accessible with Pompeii+ (€25) or an €8 supplement to the Express ticket.
“Maps are only on Google Maps.”
The park hands out a printed map at the ticket offices and publishes it as a PDF; the Regio–insula numbers on it are also posted at every street corner.
Quick answersQuestions about the Pompeii map
Where do I get a map of Pompeii?
Printed at each of the three ticket offices, as a PDF from the park (PompeiiMAP.pdf) – and above as a map with entrances, stops and routes along the ancient streets.
How big is Pompeii?
The ancient city covered about 66 hectares (163 acres) inside the walls; about 44 hectares (109 acres) are excavated. From Porta Marina to the amphitheater is about 1.5 km (0.9 miles) as the crow flies – considerably more on foot over the paved streets.
Where is the amphitheater on the map?
At the far east (Regio II), right by the Piazza Anfiteatro entrance. From the Forum it is about 20 minutes on foot along Via dell'Abbondanza. According to the park's list it can currently only be viewed from the southern entrance.
Where is the Lupanar?
In the center in Regio VII, in a side street between the Forum and the Stabian Baths (stop 11). There is almost always a line outside, because only a few people are admitted at a time.
Where is the Villa of the Mysteries?
Outside the city wall to the northwest, a good ten minutes on foot from Porta Ercolano (stop 18). It needs the Pompeii+ ticket or an €8 supplement; the full-day route ends there.
Which entrance is near the train station?
Porta Marina and Piazza Esedra are at the Circumvesuviana station Pompei Scavi – Villa dei Misteri; Piazza Anfiteatro is at Pompei Santuario station and close to the Trenitalia station Pompei.
Is this map official?
No. It is drawn from OpenStreetMap data, and the stops and routes are our selection. The official one is the park's PDF map, which we link.
Sources · accessed on 25 September 2026
- Parco Archeologico di Pompei – official map (PDF) and Map and guide to the excavations
- Parco Archeologico di Pompei – "Open buildings" list and building pages (opening status, Regio details)
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) – streets, footprints and city wall, extract of September 25, 2026
- Our own fact sheet
pompeji-highlights.json: coordinates of ticket offices and stops, routes (walking times estimated) - Photos: Sarahhoa (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons
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