My adventure continues with the Danetre and Southbrook Learning Village group on their geography trip in Sorrento. Today we visited Herculaneum and Pompeii and I am sure many people are wondering why we visited both when surely they are the same when all is said and done. Both cities were destroyed by the 79AD eruption of Vesuvius, both cities have been excavated and both are main tourist attractions for the region. However each site offers something different and there are many differences between the two.
Luckily we had the same guide, Nina, to take us round both sites and she was able to navigate us around all the other tourists at each site so we could see the highlights. Her knowledge about both sites was amazing and she truly brought it all to life for us.
Personally I loved both sites and loved learning about the history of each of them, particularly how the eruption in 79AD affected them both differently.
Herculaneum, which we visited first, is a smaller town than Pompeii and it was considered a rich town, whereas Pompeii was a merchant city.
Pompeii is a much larger site with a lot to see and get round, so a guide is a great help so that you can see the highlights. You are able to see how people lived 2000 years ago and get to see the real consequences that a volcanic eruption can cause – learning outside the classroom at it’s best!
I would wholeheartedly recommend both sites and cannot choose between them. If you are able to add both to your itinerary do so and definitely consider having a guide to help bring everything to life.
Tomorrow we are off to Capri and I cannot wait!
~ Meg