MANN, National Archaeological Museum of Naples: tickets and visit

Why visit the National Archaeological Museum of Naples

MANN is one of the world’s great archaeology museums and the key to understanding Pompeii and Herculaneum. It fills a late-16th-century palace that began as a cavalry barracks, housed the University from 1616 to 1777 and became the Real Museo Borbonico after 1816. In 1957 the paintings moved to Capodimonte, leaving archaeology here.

The collection has two cores. One is the material from the Vesuvian towns: frescoes, mosaics, bronzes, furniture, jewellery and ordinary household objects. The other is the Farnese collection, begun by Alessandro Farnese (Pope Paul III from 1534) and inherited by Charles of Bourbon through his mother, Elisabetta Farnese. Around them sit the Egyptian collection, the second largest in Italy after Turin’s, and sections on Magna Graecia and the prehistory of Campania.

Open rooms and current closures

The museum publishes a schedule of open rooms, currently valid until 30 November 2026. Read it before you choose a day, because it changes a lot about what you will see.

Mosaics closed until 30 November 2026

The mosaics section, with the Alexander Mosaic and the House of the Faun rooms, is closed from 21 September to 30 November 2026 for refurbishment. The epigraphy section is also closed.

Farnese sculpture and gems

The Farnese sculpture galleries are partly closed until further notice, and only rooms 1–7 and 25–29 are guaranteed. The Farnese Hercules and Farnese Bull, in rooms 11 and 16, sit outside that area: if they are why you are going, email the museum first. The Farnese Gems, including the Farnese Cup, get conflicting information on the official site (open at weekends according to the schedule, closed according to the collection page).

Rotating sections

• Monday and Friday: Prehistory and Protohistory, Ischia and the Campanian Plain 9:00–14:00; Magna Graecia 14:30–19:30.
• Wednesday and Saturday: the other way round.
• Thursday and Sunday: these sections are closed.
• Villa of the Papyri and coins: daily 10:00–18:20.

Open every day: the Egyptian collection, Roman Campania, the Secret Cabinet, everyday objects, frescoes, the Temple of Isis and the Pompeii model. Rooms can close without notice, and tickets are not refunded when that happens.

What to see at MANN: the highlights

With 2–3 hours, focus on these sections (room numbers from the museum’s official map).

Frescoes and life in Pompeii

Rooms 67–78 hold some of the best-known paintings of Roman antiquity: the Sacrifice of Iphigenia from the House of the Tragic Poet, the Brawl in the Amphitheatre, the Flora from Stabiae, the portrait of Terentius Neo and his wife, and the so-called “Sappho”. Room 96 has the large 19th-century cork model of Pompeii, a handy way to get your bearings before visiting the site.

The Secret Cabinet

Room 65 holds around 250 erotic objects from Pompeii and Herculaneum, censored on and off for centuries and permanently reopened in 2000: the Pan and the goat group from the Villa of the Papyri, brothel frescoes, tintinnabula and the famous “Venus in a bikini”.

Villa of the Papyri, Farnese and Egypt

Rooms 114–117 show the bronzes from the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum: the “Dancers”, the resting Hermes, the drunken satyr, plus Piaggio’s machine for unrolling the carbonised scrolls. In the open Farnese rooms you will find the Tyrannicides, the Farnese Atlas and the Callipygian Aphrodite (room 25). The Egyptian collection (rooms 17–23) includes the “Lady of Naples” and crocodile mummies. Also look into the Great Sundial Hall and the Temple of Isis rooms.

Prices, concessions and free days

• Full €20: collections and temporary exhibitions.
• Reduced €2: EU/EEA citizens aged 18 to 25, Swiss and Uruguayan citizens, and non-EU visitors with a qualifying residence permit. The Italian Carta della Cultura also gets the €2 rate.
• Free: under-18s, visitors with disabilities, teachers in Italian schools with a certificate.
• €10 with the Campania Artecard, once the card’s free entries are used up (see our Artecard guide).

Entry is free on the first Sunday of the month, 25 April, 2 June and 4 November, and for women on 8 March. On those days you cannot book: tickets are issued only at the desk, and the Egyptian collection, the Secret Cabinet and Magna Graecia stay closed.

If you will come back often, the OpenMANN annual card costs €25 (€5 for ages 18–25, €10 for university students) for unlimited entry over 365 days. A day ticket also gets you 25% off at around 35 partner sites, including the Bourbon Tunnel, the Catacombs of Naples and the Royal Palace of Portici. The audio guide can be rented at the ticket desk for €5 (Italian, English, French, Spanish, German).

Official ticket, Tiqets or GetYourGuide?

For entry alone, the museum’s own website is the cheapest channel: €20, no fee, and you choose your entry time. The downside is that it is non-refundable. The Tiqets ticket costs €24: you pay €4 more but can cancel until 23:59 the day before and get a city audio guide. Note that the Tiqets page itself says the Magna Graecia collection is not included.

The Tiqets guided tour (€44) makes sense on a first visit if you want an archaeologist to walk you through the rooms; its reviews are very good. The GetYourGuide option at €26 pairs entry with an audio app: check the product page for what it covers, since it costs €6 more than the official ticket. For our take on the official channel, see our MANN operator review.

We are an independent guide: if you book through the Tiqets or GetYourGuide links on this page we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

Getting there and where to enter

The museum is at Piazza Museo 19, on the northern edge of the historic centre. The Museo stop on Metro Line 1 comes out almost on the museum steps; Line 2 stops at Piazza Cavour, a short walk away. From the port, take Line 1 from Municipio to Museo, or bus R1 or 201; from the airport, take the Alibus to Centrale station and then the metro. More on fares and lines in our guide to getting around Naples.

While the main entrance is being refurbished, you enter through the western gate, which is step-free. Each lift serves one wing: on the first floor you have to return to the ground floor to switch wings, while on the second floor you cross through the Great Sundial Hall. Toilets are only on levels −2 and +3. Visitors with disabilities, pregnant visitors and those with reduced mobility skip the queue, and free touch tours are available on request.

Rules and tips for your visit

• Photos: allowed for personal use, without flash, tripods or selfie sticks.
• Bags: free lockers at the entrance, compulsory for backpacks and large bags.
• Magna Graecia: flat, heel-free shoes and the shoe covers handed out by staff, to protect the mosaic floors.
• Children: under-12s must stay with an adult. Small pets only in arms or in a carrier.
• Food: only in the café and gardens.

The best time is the 9:00 opening on a weekday, with a ticket bought online. If you buy at the door, quick entry is not guaranteed.

Planning your day: MANN, Capodimonte and the ruins

MANN pairs well with Capodimonte: the official “Two Museums” walking route climbs through the Sanità district in about 30 minutes (2 km). Or head down into the historic centre and the Sansevero Chapel. If Pompeii and Herculaneum are coming up, visit the National Archaeological Museum of Naples first: the Pompeian rooms give context to everything you will see on site. If you have several museums lined up, look at the Campania Artecard, which includes MANN.