Herculaneum excavations: opening times, tickets, free Sundays

The excavations of Herculaneum have become world famous not only for the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. that destroyed and buried them completely, but above all for the exceptional state of preservation of the archaeological site.

Here, in fact, the houses, the streets, the furniture, the frescoes are perfectly visible, it is as if time had stopped on that terrible day of 24 October in 79 AD.

Precisely because of the unique details that can be seen at the Herculaneum Excavations, the number of visitors over the years has grown more and more. And many people decide to visit this spectacular archaeological site.

Here in our guide you will find all the information you need for your visit to the Herculaneum Excavations:

• Purchase of entrance tickets to the excavations
• Admission ticket prices
• Free Sundays
• Entrance hours Herculaneum excavations

Buying entrance tickets to the Herculaneum excavations

Entrance tickets for the Herculaneum excavations can be purchased either at the ticket offices located at the Corso Resina and Via dei Papiri Ercolanesi entrances, or online through the archaeological park’s only authorised retailer, COOPCULTURE

• The Corso Resina entrance is located at 187 Corso Resina, 600 metres from the Circumvesuviana railway station.
• Entrance on Via dei Papiri Ercolanesi, can be reached by car or caravan, where there is also a municipal car park for convenient parking.

For your visit to the Herculaneum excavations, however, I recommend that you purchase your entrance tickets online from the only retailer authorised by the Archaeological Park.

Buying online is convenient, safe, and saves you precious time by avoiding the queues that form at the entrance to the ticket office, especially if you are in the company of children, the disabled, or the elderly. Moreover, during the summer, temperatures can reach 35-40° and you will find yourself queuing in the hot sun.

For this reason, I recommend that you buy your Herculaneum excavation entrance tickets online.

Tickets purchased online must be presented at the entrance either by means of the QR code generated directly on your smartphone or tablet, or they can be printed out in hard copy from home.

N.B. It is essential to keep the ticket until the exit to register it at the turnstile.

Ticket prices for the Herculaneum excavations

The cost of the entrance ticket to visit the excavations of Herculaneum is € 13.00, reduced to € 2.00 for EU citizens aged between 18 and 25 years.

It is free for minors, disabled people and their families, Italian citizens living abroad and teachers.

To purchase a ticket online, if you belong to one of the categories entitled to free admission, you must select the free category during purchase on the authorised retailer’s website.

Before entering the Herculaneum excavations, however, you will be asked by the staff to show the documentation certifying free admission.

To check all the categories entitled to free admission and the documents to be presented click here.

Admission to the Herculaneum excavations is free on national holidays, so April 25, June 2 and November 4.

Take advantage of the free admission to visit Herculaneum together with an experienced tour guide and discover all the customs and curiosities of this small but fascinating city.

Free Sunday at the excavations of Herculaneum

On the first Sunday of every month, free admission to the archaeological excavations of Herculaneum has been reintroduced after the removal of covid restrictions.

Also in this case, in order to gain access you will have to buy your free ticket either at the ticket offices on site or online at the authorised retailer of the archaeological park ticket one.

For your visit to the excavations of Herculaneum on the first Sunday of the month, I recommend that you leave early in the morning due to the large influx of tourists on this day and book your free ticket online at the authorised retailer.

Entrance hours Herculaneum excavations

Entrance hours are divided into two bands: summer hours and winter hours.

The winter timetable comes into effect on 15 October and ends on 15 March.

The first entrance to visit the Herculaneum excavations during the winter period is allowed from 8:30 a.m. and the last at 3:30 p.m. 

You will have to leave the archaeological site by 4.40 p.m. before the scheduled closing time of 5 p.m.

15 October to 15 March

The summer timetable comes into effect on 16 March and ends on 14 October.

The opening hours of the Herculaneum excavations during the summer period are at 8.30 a.m., with the last entry allowed until 6 p.m.

You will have to leave the archaeological site at 7 p.m., before the scheduled closing time of 7.30 p.m.

15 March to 14 October

Closed on: 25 December, 1 January

Altri informazioni utili

• How to get to Herculaneum

  Come raggiungere comodamente Ercolano da Napoli o Pompei, con il treno o l’auto.

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• What to see at the Herculaneum excavations

  La piccola città distrutta dall’eruzione del Vesuvio e ritrovata in perfetto stato di conservazione come 2000 anni fa

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• Guided tour of Herculaneum

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