Royal Palace of Caserta or Reggia di Caserta. Hello, fellow travelers! Today I bring you a little-known but absolutely spectacular gem: the Royal Palace of Caserta, in Italy. A mix of luxury, history and landscapes.
History of the Palace of Caserta
Let’s start with a little history. The Palace of Caserta, or Reggia di Caserta, was built in the 18th century by order of Charles VII of Naples, who wanted a residence to rival Versailles. And boy did he succeed! However, Charles never saw his project completed, as in 1759 he had to leave Naples to take the Spanish throne as Charles III upon the death of his brother Ferdinand V.
This palace is one of the largest in the world, with over 1,200 rooms, 220 hectares of gardens and fountains that look like they’re straight out of a movie. In fact, did you know that scenes from *Star Wars*, *Mission: Impossible* and Angels & Demons were filmed here? A place straight out of a movie, literally!
The palace, along with the gardens were declared Heritage of Humanity by the Unesco in 1997.
How to get to Reggia di Caserta
The palace is located in the city of Caserta, just 30/40 kilometres from Naples. From this city, you can take a direct train that takes about 40 minutes and leaves you right in front of the palace. The train ticket costs approximately 5 euros one way. You can also take the bus, the price of which on Flixbus is about €5 per trip and takes just over 45 minutes. And if you come by car, there are parking lots nearby, although they tend to fill up quickly, especially in high season. My advice is to go early to make the most of the day!
If you want more comfort there are packages that include train tickets and tickets with audio guide to Reggia di Caserta, or excursions to the Palace of Caserta from Naples in English or Italian, but speaking of tickets we go to the next point
Tickets to the Palace of Caserta
Tickets cost 18 euros for adults, but if you want to visit just the gardens, it costs 9 euros. If you want to add the audio guide, it costs €5 more. There are discounts for minors under 18 years old and for citizens of the European Union between 18 and 25 years old.
Opening hours are 8:30am to 7:30pm, last entry at 6:15pm, and the gardens from 8:30am to 6pm but this varies depending on the season. The complex is closed on Tuesdays. Please note: on the first Sunday of every month, entry is free, although it is often full on that day so bear this in mind. More information on the palace’s website.
Now, a very useful tip to save if you plan to visit several attractions in the Campania region, such as Naples, Pompeii, Herculaneum and the palace of Caserta itself: the Naples Pass Campania Museums (Campania Pass). This pass includes entry to several important attractions both within the city of Naples such as the Ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum and option to add public transport, I find it an excellent option if you are organizing a complete itinerary in this area. In all of the above we do not need prior reservation at that time, it was in the month of September, but check in high season if it is so or if it has changed since we used it.
Attention: there are two Naples passes, the Campania Museum is the one that includes this option as well as Pompeii and Herculaneum.
We used this pass on our trip, and it was really worth it, but as I always say, do the math with every pass, it worked for us, check it out for yourselves.
A personal tip: don’t miss the waterfall of Diana and Actaeon at the end of the gardens. It’s a long walk, but there are bicycles, a small bus and electric carts. The price of the bus to the fountain and back is €2.50 each way, €4 for bicycles per hour for regular bikes and €6 for electric ones and €15 for carts per person for the one and a half hour ride.
NOTE: The information in this article is based on our own experience, being totally objective. This article contains affiliate links.
