Nothing rivals the vie of Vesuvius from Pompeii . Buried in one day and miraculously discovered some 300 hears ago Pompeii with its houses, villas, shops and taverns is a real trip back in time. Herculaneum , much smaller in scale has still many artifacts telling you about the daily life of its inhabitants. Oplontis with its spectacular villa of Poppea, the third wife of Nero, has some of the best preserved frescoes from antiquity.