The best time to visit Pompeii

Pompeii can be visited all year round, but the right moment changes the experience a lot: it’s an ancient city of dozens of hectares, almost without shade, and the difference between an April morning and an August noon is enormous. Here’s how to choose.

The season

• Spring (April–June) and autumn (September–October): the best. Mild weather, lovely light, manageable crowds. The ideal window.
• Summer (July–August): the hardest. It gets genuinely hot, and across the 44 hectares of the site there’s very little shade. Perfectly doable, but with a strategy (see below).
• Winter: the quietest. Few people and a crisp light; hours are shorter, though (closing at 17:00, last entry 15:30).

Full hours, tickets and entrances are in the Visiting Pompeii guide.

Month by month

• January–February: cold and quiet, very few people; shorter hours (closing 17:00).
• March: from the 16th the long hours return (until 19:00); mild weather, an excellent month.
• April–May: among the very best; ideal weather, busier at Easter and on public holidays.
• June: lovely, with long days; the heat begins.
• July–August: strong heat and peak crowds (especially August); go at dawn or late afternoon.
• September: one of the best months: the heat eases and the crowds thin after mid-August.
• October: excellent until the 14th (long hours); from the 15th shorter hours, and beautiful light.
• November–December: cool and quiet, shorter hours; closed on 25 December.

The time of day (what matters most)

In summer there’s one rule: go at opening (9:00) or in the late afternoon, and avoid the middle of the day. Here’s the advantage of sleeping close by: you go in early, when it’s cool and the light is low, come home during the hot hours for lunch and a rest, and return later if you like. It’s the opposite of the midday marathon under the sun.

The crowds

• Weekends and public holidays are the busiest; a weekday early morning is another thing entirely.
• On the first Sunday of the month entry is free for everyone: wonderful, but also the peak day.
• August combines heat and crowds: if you can choose, it isn’t the best month.

Summer evenings

In the warm months the Park puts on evening concerts and performances in the Amphitheatre and the Large Theatre, with evening openings on specific dates: a different, cooler way to experience it. The programme changes every year and is on the official Park site.

A tip from someone who lives here

If you can, aim for late September, October and November: the heat has passed, accommodation prices come down and the ruins are a pleasure to see at your own pace. It’s also when our minimum stay is three nights and there’s more availability — a fine time for a quiet base from which to see everything. → The houses