Herculaneum Small Group Tour and Ticket With an Archaeologist
Description
Get the chance to visit the site of Herculaneum being guided by an Archaeologist. Get to know more about this ancient Roman city, inhabited by merchants and nobility, whose life ended dramatically fast in 79 AD. The guide will show you the waterfront where more than 300 remains of people trying to escape by sea were found, but also the Samnite house, the thermal baths, the Temple of the Augustales, the forum, the house of Neptune and Amphitrite, the Gymnasium, the house of the wooden partition and much more. You will get an intense experience: you can see not only stone, marble and ceramics left, but also carbonized wood and even more exquisite paintings and mosaics than in Pompei. Herculaneum was destroyed by a much more powerful force which instantly burnt all wood and buried the city under a thick layer which didn’t let the air go through and cause decay.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Meeting place is the Ticket Office of the Herculaneum ruins. You can get there as follows: - By car in via Pignalver (There is a not guarded parking very close the meeting place) - By train in Corso Resina 1 (Circumvesuviana train station is 10 minutes walk away)
The house receives its name from marble statues of stags/deer found in the peristyle.
M. Nonius Balbus was the city's major benefactor restoring and building many public buildings. On his death he was made patron and feted with many honours, detailed in the long inscription on his funeral altar.
It is thought that the building was a centre of the cult of the Emperor Augustus and the headquarters of the Collegium Augustalium (or possibly even the local curia).
The house possibly belonged to one of the town's leading benefactors, Marcus Nonius Balbus and is somewhat unusual in that it has its own private access to the adjoining Suburban Thermae to the south.
It is very important house for the elegant wooden partition remained.
The House of the Skeleton probably the aggregation of three smaller buildings, derives its name from the discovery of human remains in a second floor room in 1831.
The Central Thermae were built around the beginning of the 1st century AD and were divided, as was then the common practice, into men's and women's baths, each with their own separate entrances.
The House of the Black Hall is one of Herculaneum's more luxurious mansions. The house has a monumental entrance which still retains the carbonised remains of the doorposts and lintel.
The house has an arrangement that was typical of the Samnites (an ancient people of the Sabine race who occupied this mountainous part of central Italy). The splendid atrium is skirted by a gallery with Ionic columns. The rooms are decorated with frescoes.
This is one of the most original houses in Herculaneum. It has a courtyard with a stairway and a stone balcony instead of an atrium.
Beautiful domus in the Centre of the archaeological area, with various environments, collonnati, frescos e-com everywhere at Herculaneum-charred remains of wooden parts.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Dogs are allowed at the Herculaneum Archaeological Park without breed or size restrictions, however they must be kept on a leash or muzzle and it is mandatory to have bags to collect any droppings. For reasons of logistics and conservation, within the Antiquarium premises, the Boat Pavilion, and the domus featuring mosaic floors, access is permitted only to dogs that are carried in arms or transported in an appropriate carrier.
- Herculaneum ruins' entry tickets: 16 euros (adult) 2 euros (EU citizens 18-25 y.o.)
Reviews(1,140)
Luciano Leone did a great job - very informative and entertaining! Definitely recommend!
Luciano Leone was a great guide. Informative, but also very entertaining. The Herculaneum site is much smaller than Pompeii, so ideal for those with less time.
Excellent tour. Our guide Luciano Leone was a little eccentric and very entertaining: he made the tour so interesting and informative: more than happy to take questions and pointed out things you would ordinarily miss with a guide book...well worth the fee. Thank you Luciano & Askos
Fascinating, informative, and entertaining tour. We had a mix of family members (from Mom to teenagers) and they all found the tour interesting. Can’t say enough about Askos Tours, who really brought Herculaneum and the history to life. Helpful hints: It was hot on our tour day (June, 2026), so wear comfortable shoes, bring water, and wear hats.
Very engaging tour, incredible history! Our guide Luciano Leone was great! He was very knowledgable, funny and caring… definitely recommended!!!
Awesome tour with very knowledgeable guide. Luciano Leone, our guide, brought the history to life sharing both his lifetime passion and work. He was incredibly knowledgeable of the Archeological Park of Herculaneum and augmented the tour of the cite with his research and research material. He was also very concerned for the group given the heat of day. He made sure we were in the protected/shaded area as much as possible possible.
Our guide Vincenzo was excellent. I think he was an archaeologist who had worked there. He showed us all of the highlights and explained things in a really interesting way. We were late due to a hold up with the train. We were contacted on WhatsApp about it plus someone waited behind for us and then showed us how to catch up with the tour. We very much appreciate that because there is no way we could have see some of the things Vincenzo showed us if we had tried to do it on our own. I strongly recommend that people try to get on this tour if they are visiting Herculaneum. The things he showed us were amazing
Our guide, Luciano was knowledgeable, passionate, funny and never boring. He brought the ghosts of Herculaneum to life painting a picture of a vibrant town, it's streets a hive of activity. He took care to ensure everyone on the tour was included and made sure stops were in shaded areas - a small thing but much appreciated.
Luciano Leone was a great tour guide for Herculaneum - very knowledgeable and funny. I highly recommend!
Excellent tour by the enthusiastic Luciano Leonie. Great knowledge of the site and surrounding history.
