MAV - Virtual Archaeological Museum

This museum is based on videos on the walls and audios in italian or english that you can hear on your Phone. In our opinion it should be more interactive. What we found interesting was to see recreations of Pompei and Herculaneum.

Interesting place and worked well to do before visiting Herculaneum. We got the train in and it was a straight walk down between the station and Herculaneum. The staff were friendly and helpful. The 3d film was good and a bit different, narrated from the perspective of Vesuvius. Some of the exhibits weren't working, but without a sign you had to guess by waving in front of them to see if anything happened! Well worth a visit.

Having just visited both Pompeii and Herculaneum we found this museum a superb insight as to how life and the town was back in AD79 before Vesuvius erupted. The virtual reality videos (one is a 3D re-enaction) and screen displays combining both then and now really helped bring everything to life. Really enjoyed this museum and well worth visiting after visiting Herculaneum. Friendly and helpful staff. Definitely would recommend.

Disappointing Experience – Not Worth the Money We had high expectations for MAV – Museo Archeologico Virtuale, but unfortunately, we were deeply disappointed. Right at the entrance, we were met by a staff member who seemed both grumpy and completely uninterested. No smile, no information – just the feeling that we were a bother. To visit the museum, you had to download an app, which was difficult to install and only worked partially. Several of the interactive exhibits were out of order or didn’t work properly. What should have been an exciting and educational experience ended up being both frustrating and boring. The place feels dull, worn-out, and neglected – as if it’s on the verge of shutting down. The exhibitions are outdated, the technology is unreliable, and there’s a complete lack of energy and enthusiasm. Overall, it was a flat experience and a waste of money. MAV has potential, but in its current state, I can’t recommend visiting. You're better off going straight to the Herculaneum ruins – they’re much more interesting and well worth the money.

Would have been good if the QR code scanner took you to the right subject rather than just opening the app. Could have been a good visit if the tech worked.

An easy to miss highlight of any visit to Herculaneum. The museum is virtual so an up to date smart phone is needed. You will need to download their app and log into the wi-fi. Once that is done, you are underway. The tour starts with a 3-D film about the volcano and how the eruption covered the two towns. After that you go downstairs and each section you can interact with using your phone. There is a nice drone sequence of the Roman town using a games controller. There is another area where they have linked up different names to the images found in the ruins, and you can find out about the people on a personal level. It is well worth a visit when you come to see Herculaneum. In fact you have to pass it from the train station. The gift shop is aimed at children more than Herculaneum with rubbers, pens, pencils and imitation coins. The cafe is great and it is very cheap. Don't miss it.

I didn’t listen to all the terrible reviews because so many others rated it highly. The terrible reviews are absolutely correct. I’m positive you can find every video they show on YouTube. The augmented reality exhibits were probably cool when augmented reality came out, but now more than disappointing. Worth maybe 2 euro for the air conditioning and somewhere to sit if you need to kill some time. Otherwise skip this and walk 10 minutes down the road and visit Villa Campolieto or the Reggia di Portici.

If you have 8 - 10 y.o. kids than this is the place to go. The NFC doesn't always work, which is a joke in a digital museum. Luckily I had the artecard so entrance was reduced to € 5,00..otherwise itvwould have been a one star review.