Campania ArteCard — complete guide for 2026
Campania: Artecard 3-7 Day or Gold/Lite 365 City Pass
Is the Campania ArteCard worth buying?
It depends entirely on your itinerary. The 3-day Naples card (€27) pays off if you visit the MANN, Capodimonte, and Certosa di San Martino in the same trip. The 7-day Campania card (€43) is excellent value if you add Pompeii and Herculaneum. If you are visiting fewer than 3 museums or archaeological sites, the individual tickets work out cheaper.
Quick answer: The 7-day Campania card (€43) is worthwhile if your trip includes Pompeii, Herculaneum, MANN, and Caserta. The 3-day Naples card (€27) works for a city-focused stay. For fewer than 3 museum visits, individual tickets are cheaper.
| Naples 3-day | around €27, city sites + Naples transport |
| Campania 3-day | around €41, adds Pompeii/Herculaneum/Paestum/Caserta |
| Campania 7-day | around €43, same regional coverage over a week |
| Break-even | roughly 2 paid sites plus transport |
| Not covered | Circumvesuviana, ferries, Cappella Sansevero |
What the Campania ArteCard actually is
The Campania ArteCard is a tourist pass managed by Scabec (regional culture organisation) and sold by the Campania regional government. It has been available since 2002 in various forms and updated annually. The core value proposition is: entry to multiple participating sites at a discount or free, plus public transport in Naples.
The card is worth understanding in detail because the benefit calculation is non-obvious. Whether it saves you money depends entirely on which sites you plan to visit and in what order.
The three main card types (2026)
Campania ArteCard — purchaseNapoli 3 days — €27
Coverage: 3 consecutive days from first use.
What is included:
- Free entry to the first 3 participating sites you choose.
- Reduced rate (up to 50% off) on all subsequent participating sites visited during the 3 days.
- Unlimited free travel on the Naples metro (Linea 1 + Linea 2), ANM buses, and funiculars within Naples for 3 days.
Geographic scope: Naples city sites only — does not cover Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum, or Caserta.
Best for: A visitor spending 3 days primarily in Naples with at least 2 visits to major city museums (MANN + Capodimonte, for example).
Value calculation example:
- MANN: €20 → free.
- Capodimonte: €15 → free.
- Certosa di San Martino: €6 → free (third free entry).
- Total of the three entries: €41 vs. pay-as-you-go.
- Card cost: €27. Net saving: ~€14 on the entries alone, before counting the transport included.
Verdict: Worth buying if you plan 2+ significant Naples museums and are using public transport. Not worth it for a visitor doing only 1 museum and primarily walking.
Campania 3 days — €41
Coverage: 3 consecutive days.
What is included:
- Free entry to the first 2 participating sites.
- Reduced rate from the 3rd participating site.
- Free metro/bus in Naples.
- Extends to regional sites including Pompeii, Herculaneum, Paestum, Caserta, Herculaneum, and others outside Naples.
Circumvesuviana discount: Depending on the current agreement, this card may include a discount on the Circumvesuviana — verify at campaniartecard.it as this benefit has changed year to year.
Best for: A visitor combining Naples museums with archaeological sites outside the city in 3 days (MANN + Pompeii + a third site, for example).
Value calculation example:
- Pompeii: €20 → free.
- MANN: €20 → free.
- Total of the two free entries: €40, against a card cost of €41: these two sites alone do not repay the card.
Verdict: Good value only if you add further sites at the reduced rate beyond the two free entries, for example Naples museums plus archaeological sites outside the city.
Campania 7 days — €43
Naples 3-day pass — Pompeii + MANNCoverage: 7 consecutive days from first use.
What is included:
- Free entry to the first 5 participating sites.
- Reduced rate on all subsequent participating sites for 7 days.
- Free metro/bus in Naples.
- Same extended geographic coverage as the 3-day Campania version.
Best for: Visitors spending a full week in Campania who plan to visit multiple archaeological and museum sites.
Value calculation example (7-day trip):
- Pompeii: €20 → free.
- MANN: €20 → free.
- Capodimonte: €15 → free.
- Caserta: €18 → free.
- Palazzo Reale: €15 → free (fifth free entry).
- Further sites (Herculaneum, Certosa di San Martino, Paestum): reduced rate from the 6th entry.
- Total of the five free entries: €88 vs. pay-as-you-go.
- Card cost: €43. Net saving: ~€45 on the free entries alone, before the reduced rates.
Verdict: The best overall value for a 5–7 day Campania trip that includes multiple sites. The extra €2 versus the 3-day version is essentially free.
Which sites are included
The list changes annually. Current (2026) participating sites typically include:
Naples city:
- Museo Archeologico Nazionale (MANN) — €20 standard entry
- Museo di Capodimonte — €15
- Certosa di San Martino + Museo di San Martino — €6
- Castel Sant’Elmo — €5
- Palazzo Reale di Napoli — €15
- Galleria Borbonica (reduced rate only since 2023)
- Catacombs of San Gennaro and San Gaudioso (reduced rate only since 2023)
Regional:
- Pompeii — €20
- Herculaneum — €13
- Paestum — €15 from March to November, €10 from December to February
- Reggia di Caserta — €18
- Oplontis/Torre Annunziata
- Boscoreale
Not included (important):
- Cappella Sansevero (Veiled Christ) — privately owned, €12, not in any ArteCard
- Napoli Sotterranea — private tour operator, not included
- Galleria Borbonica — private operator (reduced rate only since 2023, no free entry)
- Most private galleries and churches
The public transport component
What it covers: Metro Linea 1 and Linea 2 within Naples, ANM buses, all three funiculars (Centrale, Chiaia, Montesanto), and the Funicolare Mergellina. Unlimited trips during the card validity period.
What it does not cover:
- Circumvesuviana (separate regional rail — managed by EAV, not ANM).
- Ferries to Capri, Ischia, Procida.
- Campania Express train.
- Trenitalia regional trains (Caserta, Paestum).
How much the transport component is worth: A single ANM fare is €1.60. Three days of using the metro 3–4 times per day amounts to ~€15–20. For a visitor actively using the metro to get between museums and neighbourhoods, the transport component alone can cover a good part of the card cost.
Practical advice for using the ArteCard
Use your free entries strategically: Your first sites are entirely free (3 on the Naples 3-day card, 2 on the Campania 3-day, 5 on the Campania 7-day), which means the highest-priced sites first maximises the saving. Pompeii (€20) and MANN (€20) as your first visits give you the most value.
Activate on your first use: The card begins its countdown from the first time you use it to enter a site or swipe through a transport gate. Do not activate it the day before you plan to use it.
Carry the physical card or digital version: Some sites require the physical card; others accept the app QR code. The campaniartecard.it website sells the card online and delivers a digital version for mobile use.
Museum closed days: Many Naples museums close on Tuesdays. Pompeii is open 7 days. Caserta closes on Tuesdays. Plan around this to ensure your 3-day card does not fall during a closed period for a key site.
The ArteCard vs buying individual tickets
When the ArteCard wins:
- You plan 3+ museum or site visits over 2–7 days.
- You are using Naples metro regularly.
- You are doing both Pompeii and at least one Naples museum.
- You are spending a full week in Campania.
When buying individual tickets is better:
- You are only visiting 1–2 sites.
- You are primarily doing day trips (islands, Amalfi Coast) rather than archaeological sites.
- You are on a very short visit (1–2 days) focusing on just Naples or just Pompeii.
- You already have a Circumvesuviana pass that covers your transport needs.
Where to buy the ArteCard
Online: campaniartecard.it — digital card delivered immediately. Recommended. No queue, works on the day of purchase.
At the airport (Capodichino): Arrivals hall ANM/transport information desk. Convenient on arrival, especially if combining with Alibus transfer into Naples.
At participating museums: Ticket desks at MANN, Capodimonte, Pompeii, etc. Can have queues.
At Napoli Centrale: Transport information desk on the main concourse.
How the card fits different types of trip
The right card depends less on trip length than on what’s actually on your itinerary. A visitor doing the Naples archaeological museum plus Capodimonte and using the metro daily gets clean value from the Naples 3-day card without ever leaving the city. Someone planning Pompeii and Herculaneum as part of a longer Campania trip should look at the Campania versions instead, since the city-only card doesn’t reach either site.
If Paestum or the Caserta royal palace day trip is on the list, the extra scope of the Campania cards pays for itself even before counting the Naples sites. For a fuller sense of how many days and sites a realistic Campania itinerary involves, the how many days in Naples guide is useful background before deciding which card length to buy.
Combining the ArteCard with a guided visit
The card and a guided tour are not mutually exclusive — a common approach is to use the ArteCard for self-directed entries (MANN, Capodimonte, Certosa) while booking a guide specifically for Pompeii, where context genuinely changes the experience. The naples-trip-cost-budget guide walks through how the card factors into an overall trip budget alongside food, transport, and any guided tours you add on top.
Frequently asked questions about the Campania ArteCard
Can I use the ArteCard for the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii?
Not directly — the Circumvesuviana is operated by EAV, not ANM, and is not covered by the standard card. In some previous years, a Circumvesuviana discount was bundled with certain card versions — check campaniartecard.it for current terms. The Campania Express (seasonal tourist train) is also not covered.
Is the ArteCard available for children?
Free entry at most state sites is already available for everyone under 18. The ArteCard for under-18s is less clearly beneficial unless it includes public transport that the child will actually use. Verify pricing at campaniartecard.it.
Does the ArteCard skip the queue at Pompeii?
No — you still need to join the entry queue at Pompeii to have your card scanned. In peak season, using the dedicated “groups and passes” entry lane (at Porta Marina) can be faster than the general admission queue, but there is no guaranteed fast-track element.
How does the ArteCard compare to a day tour that bundles transport and entry?
Organised tours (see best Pompeii tours guide) include transport from Naples, guide commentary, and entry. An ArteCard is cheaper per-person for self-directed visitors who know what they want to see. For first-time visitors who benefit from guided context, a tour can add more value than the card’s savings.
What happens if a site I planned to use the card for is closed?
The card does not reimburse for site closures or maintenance days. Check opening hours at each site the day before. Most closures are planned and published — Pompeii, Herculaneum, and MANN publish their closures on their official websites in advance.
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