Pompeii in a wheelchair or with a stroller

Yes, it can be done, and there is a proper route for it. But Pompeii is a Roman city that was never adapted, and the honest version of this answer includes the parts that are hard. Better to know them now than at a crossing halfway across the site.

What the ground is actually like

The streets are the original basalt paving. They are rutted where cart wheels wore grooves into the stone over two centuries, and at the crossings there are raised stepping stones — blocks set above the road surface so pedestrians could cross without stepping in the water and waste that ran down it. They are still there, and they are still raised. This is the single thing most visitors are not prepared for.

The Pompeii for All route

The park maintains a barrier-free itinerary of more than 3.5 kilometres, running from the Piazza Anfiteatro entrance to the Sanctuary of Venus along the main streets, and reaching a good number of the significant buildings and houses. Start there rather than improvising, and enter at Piazza Anfiteatro rather than Porta Marina.

The caveats, in the park’s own words

The park is unusually candid about the limits of that route, and it is worth repeating exactly:

• the incline of some ramps and slopes can exceed 8%
• there are small but sudden changes in height, typically under 5 cm
• some stretches use ancient, uneven paving
• there are no wheel stoppers along the pavements and at crossings
• in places there is not room for two wheelchairs to pass at once

None of that makes the visit impossible. It does mean that going alone with a self-propelled chair is a different proposition from going with someone pushing, and it is worth deciding which of those you are before you buy a ticket.

With a stroller

The same route is the right answer, and the same caveats apply. Practical additions: there are three baby-changing facilities along the itinerary, and a stroller with larger wheels handles the uneven stretches considerably better than one with small hard casters. Shade is the other factor — there is very little of it anywhere on the site.

Deaf visitors

The park has staff trained in Italian Sign Language (LIS) who provide dedicated support. Arrange it in advance rather than assuming someone will be at the gate.

Updated 2026-09-10