The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 C.E. was a paradoxical thing. It was truly cataclysmic but it also yielded to history one of the most extensive and intact ruins of an ancient city. That settlement was Pompeii. The spectacular ruins are one of Italy’s most visited sites, so queues are long but not if you’ve got a skip-the-line ticket!

When Vesuvius erupted with the force of 100,000 atom bombs, life in Pompeii perished in an instant. So what you see today lends an extraordinary win-dow into life in Roman times.

With over 50 hectares to explore, you can walk around the Forum with Vesuvius in the back-ground or sit under a tree and marvel at the spectacular amphitheater. There are remnants of the all-important aqueduct, street fountains, public baths, private houses, businesses, statues, fre-scoes, as well as hundreds of haunting plaster casts of lava-fried locals!