Pompeii was a mess, this summer. Streets were closed and facades of houses badly shored.
To walk around in the city was only to experience the idea of everly day life in a roman city.
Herculaneum was a relieve! And less touristic in the summertime. No thanks to Italian bureaucracy.
But, if you really want to visit a well preserved huge house, I recommend the villas at Oplontis
(http://oplontisproject.org/) nearby Pompeii. What a marvellous job! Also with help from abroad.
When you visit the Naples area, I suggest to visit the three of them in this order. Next thing to
do is to visit the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli.
And afterwards, take a pizza and read Robert Harris "Pompeii", while nipping your limoncello('s).
I like the Italians a lot, but preserving their roman heritage, they obviously need a lot of help.
Jeroen H de Lange,
Amsterdam