Villa Oplontis

Tickets and tours: all the options

Oplontis is managed by the Archaeological Park of Pompeii. The simplest entry is a single ticket for the villa, sold at the gate and online; it is cheap compared with Pompeii and queues are almost unknown. The three-day Pompeii Plus multi-site ticket also covers Oplontis, Boscoreale and the Stabiae villas, which makes sense if you have a second day in the area. Under-18s enter free, and entry is free on the first Sunday of each month, as at other Italian state sites.

Tour operators sell a small number of products here. The main formats are a guided walk of about an hour and a half with an archaeologist, in a small group or private, an entry with an audio guide, a half-day tour that pairs Oplontis with the villa at Boscoreale, and longer private days from Naples that add Herculaneum or the Naples museum. Guided walks usually include entry; day trips from Naples include transport.

The villa is compact and the signs are clear enough to visit alone, but a guide helps you read the painted walls, which are the reason to come. For most visitors the best plan is an independent visit by Circumvesuviana on the way between Naples and Pompeii or Sorrento, adding a guided walk if you want the full story of the paintings.

A short history

The villa was built in the 50s BC on a terrace above the sea and enlarged in stages: baths were added early in the 1st century AD and a large wing with the pool under Claudius. A shard naming a freedman of Poppaea Sabina, Nero's second wife, suggested she owned it, though scholars now doubt the link. Damaged by the earthquake of AD 62, the villa was still under repair when Vesuvius buried it in AD 79. Earlier diggers tunnelled into parts of it, but systematic excavation began only in 1964. More than a hundred rooms are known, and the limits still lie under the modern town. It shares the UNESCO listing with Pompeii and Herculaneum, made in 1997.

Getting there

The villa is in the centre of Torre Annunziata, about 22 km south-east of Naples. Take the Circumvesuviana train from Naples Porta Nolana or Garibaldi on the Sorrento line and get off at Torre Annunziata Oplonti, about 30 minutes; trains run roughly every half hour. The entrance on Via dei Sepolcri is a five-minute walk downhill from the station. From Sorrento the ride takes about 40 minutes, and Pompei Scavi is only two stops away, so it is easy to combine the two on the same day. Naples airport is about 25 km away. By car, leave the A3 motorway at the Torre Annunziata exits; street parking near the site is limited, and the surrounding streets are busy.

Rules and what to bring

Do not touch the painted walls or lean on the barriers, as the plaster is fragile and many rooms are only protected by low ropes. Photography without flash is allowed; tripods and drones need permission. Large bags may have to be left at the entrance. There is no café on site, so bring water; bars and shops are in the streets around the station. Toilets are near the ticket office.

When to go

Oplontis is one of the quietest major sites around Vesuvius, and it rarely feels crowded even when Pompeii is packed. The best hours are the morning, before the sun heats the open garden area, or the middle of the afternoon on the way back from Pompeii. Groups are few and small, though school visits are common on weekday mornings in spring.

The partly roofed rooms make it a good choice for a hot day or a rainy one, and spring and autumn are pleasant for walking round the pool and gardens. In July and August the excavation pit traps the heat by early afternoon, so come early. The free first Sunday brings more visitors than usual but is still manageable. Allow about an hour for the main rooms and an extra half hour for the gardens and the pool. Check the park website before you travel, as some rooms close temporarily for conservation work.