By bike: Pompeii – Vesuvius round trip

To the volcano that buried Pompeii. A bicycle round trip of about 51 km from the ruins of Pompeii to the end of the road on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius at about 1,000 m, and back. About 1,000 m of climbing, mostly on the winding road from Ercolano (Herculaneum) up to the national park car park.

The route. Pompeii – Torre del Greco – Ercolano – the Vesuvius road – the Vesuvius National Park – and back the same way.

On the way. In AD 79 an eruption of Vesuvius buried Pompeii under ash and pumice and Herculaneum under a flow of hot mud; both towns are now among the best preserved Roman cities in the world and are UNESCO World Heritage sites. Torre del Greco is known for its coral jewellery. At the top of the road a footpath of about half an hour climbs to the crater rim at 1,281 m; Vesuvius last erupted in 1944 and is monitored all the time.

Good to know. The road is busy with buses and cars on summer weekends and the slopes are very hot in July and August: go early. Booking is needed for the crater path; the park rules change, so check the park site first. The music is Italian.

Picture: The Forum of Pompeii with Vesuvius behind it, Adam Harangozó, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.