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Caserta Palace Gardens tickets
Affordable and flexible entry to the Royal Park of Caserta, with optional access to the palace.
- Choose between access to the Royal Park or upgrade to include the Royal Apartments for the full experience.
- Explore the vast 120-hectare Royal Park, featuring serene fountains, cascading waterfalls, and lush landscapes.
- Upgrade your experience to explore the grand Baroque-style halls of the Royal Apartments.
- Elevate your visit with an optional audio guide in multiple languages for independent discovery.
Affordable and flexible entry to the Royal Park of Caserta, with optional access to the palace.
- Choose between access to the Royal Park or upgrade to include the Royal Apartments for the full experience.
- Explore the vast 120-hectare Royal Park, featuring serene fountains, cascading waterfalls, and lush landscapes.
- Upgrade your experience to explore the grand Baroque-style halls of the Royal Apartments.
- Elevate your visit with an optional audio guide in multiple languages for independent discovery.
Inclusions
- Access to Royal Park
- Access to the Apartments (optional)
- Audio guide in Italian, English, French, Spanish (optional)
Exclusions
- Park activities (Bus tour, bicycle rental, quads, tandem, and horse-drawn carriage)
- Tip: Bring a picnic and enjoy the scenic royal gardens, especially during spring and summer when the park is in full bloom.
- The Royal Park and the Palace are wheelchair accessible with pathways, ramps and an elevator.
- Pets, dogs, strollers, bags, umbrellas, backpacks, other large items, or carriers are not allowed inside the Palace. However, there is a free checkroom service available at the entrance.
- The palace is closed on Tuesdays, New Year's Day (January 1), and Christmas Day (December 25).
- These tickets can't be cancelled or rescheduled.
Reviews
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Snapshots from our guests
4.2
430 ratings
226
131
16
29
28
What our guests say
piscetta
Dec 2024Verified booking
The place is incomparably beautiful. There is some disorganization and deficiencies in information both on the online site and on site. We were unable to book a guided tour. The parking lot is disturbing and poorly attended.
View original review in Italian
De
Nov 2024Verified booking
The time reservation with the ticket is a great idea and it worked well, in fact we skipped the line and got in right away at the appointed time. The only negative thing is the quantity and quality of information on the audio guide, which is practically 0.
View original review in Italian
Linda
Nov 2024Verified booking
Beautiful Reggia. Unfortunately given the bridge there were quite a few poorly managed lines at the entrance and to visit both the theater and the rooms.
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Antonio
Nov 2024Verified booking
I enjoyed everything really beautiful and exciting to see the majestic Royal Palace of Caserta and the immense park live...maybe with the waterfall it would have been even more beautiful and realistic.
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GRECO
Oct 2024Verified booking
All fantastic!!! The Palace with its splendor of the park immense and beautiful in representing with its dreamy fountains. In addition, the English garden is fantastic. The royal palace is spectacularly beautiful. Great experience.
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Stefano
Oct 2024Verified booking
First time at the palace and it absolutely deserves it. Nothing to envy the palace of Versailles. First-rate organization and logistics at the level of a northern European city. Cleanliness and top services.
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Peter
Oct 2024Verified booking
The vastness of the Palace was unexpected and enjoyable. I felt it would take several days to really appreciate the Palace treasures.
Bullo
Oct 2024Verified booking
You can see all the power of that time, a well-maintained palace ,and if you want audiogiuda ,to be implemented in my opinion,well-maintained giant garden
View original review in Italian
Andrea
Oct 2024Verified booking
We were completely amazed by the incomparable beauty and uniqueness of the rooms and exhibits. It was an unforgettable experience for us and we will definitely visit this palace again. Both the gardens and the palace are easily accessible. We were also very impressed with the quality of the audio guide. Many thanks to the Reggia Caserta team
View original review in German
Anisoara
Oct 2024Verified booking
Bellisimo place . From the window you look out at Reggio fi Caserta. Wonderful . Clean and very welcoming and friendly owners.
View original review in Italian
DI
Oct 2024Verified booking
And it was a very good experience the entrance solution with the APP. I found the visit in the English gardens with the latest novelties fascinating. Beautiful the theater visited inside, exceptionally open. Of course, the visit to the royal apartments was interesting and impressive.
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Eva
Oct 2024Verified booking
The booking and start of the visit went smoothly. The castle is very impressive and definitely worth a visit
View original review in German
ZAGO
Oct 2024Verified booking
Good online purchasing service, At the nearby parking lot under the square in front of the Palace we were approached by unauthorized people who asked us for money to buy a guidebook. These people should be removed.
View original review in Italian
Dieter
Sep 2024Verified booking
Wonderful experience and location. Had booked a total of 4 tickets. Two of them with audio guide. I still had to pay for the audio guides again. Although the price difference was already apparent on the tickets.
View original review in German
Carlo
Sep 2024Verified booking
It has been virtually impossible to use the audio guide because the signal inside the palace is often absent or discontinuous
View original review in Italian
JANA
Sep 2024Verified booking
very easy ticketing experience, I use it also for Pompii and Naples undergrounds Royal palace of Caserta is quite impressive. And the gardens are simply beautiful!
Antonella
Sep 2024Verified booking
Tickets a bit more expensive than buying directly at the palace, and then we found out that teachers don't pay so we paid for tickets that otherwise would have been season tickets.... Cmq the palace of Caserta is beautiful especially its gardens are wonderful.
View original review in Italian
Davide
Aug 2024Verified booking
Good morning, the park very nice but inside the building the HEADOUT app was not getting a signal so we went through the tour without being able to hear any explanation. Me, my wife and daughter, with three different operators had the same problem. In my opinion you should have been more clear and explicit about this risk. Sincerely Thank you David
View original review in Italian
Giuseppe
Aug 2024Verified booking
I expected the shuttle to be free or at least included and specified when purchasing tickets and not have another line. Then there is to say the lack of reduced price for seventy-year-olds . The well-maintained English garden but lacking drinking fountains .
View original review in Italian
Diletta
Aug 2024Verified booking
With the ticket I purchased the audio guide and on site I was told that the one purchased was not theirs but simply the one from the headount app which is far from it ...
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Di
Aug 2024Verified booking
Immense work, very knowledgeable and friendly guide, Adriano took us through the rooms of the Palace with great professionalism.
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Anna
Aug 2024Verified booking
It was amazing but depending on the zone, we had no internet and couldn't listen to the audioguide we had. There's also no option for downloading it...
Gennaro
Aug 2024Verified booking
It didn't feel like a tourist trap! Most visitors that day were Italian and the self paced tour was great. We discovered what we wanted .
Laura
Aug 2024Verified booking
Great location for visiting the Royal Palace of Caserta. Excellent hospitality especially at the front desk. Possibility to leave the car in the parking lot while visiting the city'. I highly recommend it
View original review in Italian
Emilie
Aug 2024Verified booking
The app's audio guide only works for 3 or 4 rooms per floor, whereas the palace's audio guide works for all rooms. The wifi network works very poorly, so we couldn't use Google translation for the explanatory panels. No map provided. We couldn't find the souvenir store, very poorly signposted.
View original review in French
Skip lines and tour the grand halls of Royal Caserta with a historian.
- Bypass the long queues and dive straight into the palace's opulent halls. More time exploring, less time waiting!
- Listen closely as the expert guide divulges the fascinating secrets of the palace, which has often been compared to the Palace of Versailles.
- Step into the iconic rooms once used by nobles, including the majestic Throne Room, Court Theatre, and Palatine Library.
- End your tour with a walk through the lush royal gardens, filled with stunning fountains and vibrant blooms.
Skip lines and tour the grand halls of Royal Caserta with a historian.
- Bypass the long queues and dive straight into the palace's opulent halls. More time exploring, less time waiting!
- Listen closely as the expert guide divulges the fascinating secrets of the palace, which has often been compared to the Palace of Versailles.
- Step into the iconic rooms once used by nobles, including the majestic Throne Room, Court Theatre, and Palatine Library.
- End your tour with a walk through the lush royal gardens, filled with stunning fountains and vibrant blooms.
Inclusions
- 2-hour tour of Caserta Royal Palace with skip-the-line entry
- English and/or Italian-speaking guide
- Small groups of up to 20 people
- Headphones are provided if the group exceeds more than 6 people.
Exclusions
- Access to Royal Park
- Transfers and meals
- Tip: The Throne Hall is full of allegories and symbols— make sure to ask your guide to point out the hidden meanings behind the lavish decorations.
- Even with skip-the-line access, plan to arrive 15-20 minutes early to ensure a smooth check-in, as the palace enforces strict entry timings.
- Note: The tour does not cover the Royal Park and English Gardens.
- While the Palace is accessible, due to the historic layout and the route that the tour follows, portions of the experience are not wheelchair-friendly.
- Some rooms may have photography restrictions, so check with your guide before taking pictures.
- Pets, dogs, strollers, bags, umbrellas, backpacks, other large items, or carriers are not allowed inside the Palace. However, there is a free checkroom service available at the entrance.
- The palace is closed on Tuesdays, New Year's Day (January 1), and Christmas Day (December 25).
- You can cancel these tickets up to 24 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.
Reviews
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Snapshots from our guests
4.7
80 ratings
58
20
0
1
1
What our guests say
Stefano
Nov 2024Verified booking
The professionalism was high. Great preparation on the part of our guide and extreme helpfulness. Perfect on time. I recommend her very much.
View original review in Italian
Antonella
Nov 2024Verified booking
Beautiful experience, I enjoyed the palace but especially the gauida explanations that lightened the path.
View original review in Italian
Roberto
Nov 2024Verified booking
It was a truly exciting visit.... beautiful palace and adjoining gardens ... no small leap in time ... And finally, best compliments to the guide Anna Salerno whose explanations and uncommon helpfulness contributed in no small way to the experience....
View original review in Italian
Smerilli
Oct 2024Verified booking
The competence of our guide and the simplicity with which he spoke to us, understandable even to children, immersed us in the era of the past
View original review in Italian
Leonardo
Oct 2024Verified booking
Claudia was outstanding. Educated, helpful and super welcoming, she truly gave us an unparalleled tour. Thank you Claudia 🌺
View original review in Italian
Marc
Oct 2024Verified booking
The activity was exceptional, the guide Alistair was exceptional as well, she spoke clearly and was very informative. Alistair with a passionate guide, very knowledgeable, and was able to give us an experience at a very pleasant speed period it was exceptional all the way around. Thank you for the great memories
CHARLES
Oct 2024Verified booking
Touring the palace was nice and the guide provided alot of information we otherwise would have never known. We moved along at a good pace; not too fast, not too slow. It was an enjoyable visit.
Micaela
Sep 2024Verified booking
The Palace is an unparalleled spectacle, Versailles (visited in the past) pales in comparison and the gardens truly make you dream, Claudia our guide really very knowledgeable and courteous catapulted us into the historical times of the heyday of the Bourbon Kingdom, excellent the service offered for the visit to the gardens of bike or golf-car rental that allows you to admire the park even those who may have prooblem of walking.
View original review in Italian
Maura
Aug 2024Verified booking
Very good guide very Engaging not at all boring ,very welcome and enjoyable tour the only downside that being an outside guide they did not let us in before the appointment time even though we had the entrance ticket paid to be able to visit the gardens in the meantime .they made us wait at the entrance without being able to enter even in the porch to be able to shelter us from the sun premise that we were in August with 35 degrees ,of course it is not the fault of the guide but of the staff that is in charge of ticket control at the entrance
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STEFANO
Aug 2024Verified booking
The professionalism of the operators ! They phoned me to find out where I was , since I was Confused in finding the meeting place
View original review in Italian
Antonella
Aug 2024Verified booking
The Royal Palace of Caserta is a very beautiful place, a stop not to be missed. Our guide, Anna, very kind and nice made us discover this place in a simple et playful way. I recommend the visit with Anna 😊
View original review in Italian
Josie
Jul 2024Verified booking
The guide Antonnella whom we had for Pompéi and Caserta is so knowledgeable and so very generous with all the cultural and archeological facts. We recommend any tour with her
Agostina
Jul 2024Verified booking
It is very easy to get to the palace, it is in front of the station of Caserta. The palace is amazing, the guided tour was highly recommended because it tells a lot of history. And to crown the visit...finish with a stroll through the beautiful gardens.
View original review in Spanish
Carla
Jun 2024Verified booking
The guide was excelent . He managed to keep our attention for almost the two entire hours of the visit. Congratulations
Catherine
May 2024Verified booking
My guide was excellent.He explained many of the rooms in much detail and with gentilezza.First picture is my guide Walter.
susanna
May 2024Verified booking
I put "good" only for bn Walter professor and of letters very knowledgeable and nice. He interested us without boring us. The small group was indeed such and therefore pleasant . Unfortunately, the visit was marred by many school groups with small children ( elementary) screaming and certainly not interested given their age. Endless lines everywhere ... obviously the fault is not of the tour operator but of the organization of the Reggia which should reserve only some days for school groups so as not to spoil the visit for others.
View original review in Italian
Bianca
Apr 2024Verified booking
Gorgeous palace and really outstanding and knowledgeable tour guide Roberta. We had visited the palace before, but this time with Roberta's explanations we enjoyed the experience much better.
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Emanuela
Apr 2024Verified booking
Our guide Vittorio was very kind and above all very knowledgeable grade 10 with high praise The organization excellent and the directions provided for the detailed rendezvous Eaperience highly recommended
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Lanzieri
Dec 2024Verified booking
Beautiful experience the guide was very knowledgeable I recommend her
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Sergio
Nov 2024Verified booking
The palace is magnificent but the gardens a bit neglected. Very knowledgeable guide
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Gaetano
Nov 2024Verified booking
Very good guide, comprehensive and engaging tour
View original review in Italian
Ruggieri
Nov 2024Verified booking
The Guide was very knowledgeable and kind. I highly recommend this agency! Thank you!!!
View original review in Italian
Renato
Oct 2024Verified booking
First, the palace itself then the expertise and friendliness of the guide
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Busetto
Sep 2024Verified booking
Punctuality , guidance , and everything else
View original review in Italian
Fabio
Aug 2024Verified booking
Super guide. Great place.
View original review in Italian
Experience Caserta’s royal grandeur with an exclusive, art historian-led private tour.
- Skip lines and spend more time exploring the luxurious apartments, halls and court rooms of Bourbon dynasty.
- Get immersive insights into Bourbon history and palace evolution from a regional art history specialist.
- Ascend the monumental Staircase of Honor and explore opulent rooms decorated in rich stucco and frescoes.
- Finish with a peaceful walk through 120 hectares of Italian gardens, decorated with fountains, statues, and waterfalls.
Experience Caserta’s royal grandeur with an exclusive, art historian-led private tour.
- Skip lines and spend more time exploring the luxurious apartments, halls and court rooms of Bourbon dynasty.
- Get immersive insights into Bourbon history and palace evolution from a regional art history specialist.
- Ascend the monumental Staircase of Honor and explore opulent rooms decorated in rich stucco and frescoes.
- Finish with a peaceful walk through 120 hectares of Italian gardens, decorated with fountains, statues, and waterfalls.
Inclusions
- 2-hour private tour of the Royal Palace of Caserta
- Private groups of 1 to 10 people
- Skip-the-line access to the Royal Apartments and Royal Park
- Spanish, French, Italian, German or English-speaking guide (as per option selected)
- Audio headsets for groups larger than 7
Exclusions
- Guided tour of the Royal Park
- Tip: Set aside an hour to explore the Royal Park at your own pace. Your ticket includes access, and the guide’s insights will help you maximize this self-guided portion.
- While the private tour focuses on the palace interiors, your guide will provide detailed context about the iconic Royal Park, which you can explore independently after the tour.
- Even with skip-the-line access, plan to arrive 15-20 minutes early to ensure a smooth check-in, as the palace enforces strict entry timings.
- The tour can be made accessible for wheelchair users, but advance notice is required to ensure the best route is arranged.
- Pets, dogs, strollers, bags, umbrellas, backpacks, other large items, or carriers are not allowed inside the Palace. However, there is a free checkroom service available at the entrance.
- Some rooms may have photography restrictions, so check with your guide before taking pictures.
- The palace is closed on Tuesdays, New Year's Day (January 1), and Christmas Day (December 25).
- You can cancel these tickets up to 24 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.
A royal day out! Hassle-free visit to the Royal Palace of Caserta with train tickets, priority access and an audio guide.
- Enjoy a smooth, stress-free journey with a round-trip train ticket from Naples—getting to the Royal Palace couldn’t be easier!
- Skip the lines with priority entry and head directly to the royal halls—no waiting required!
- Explore the beautiful Hall of Astrea, King's private chambers, Throne Room, and more at your own pace with a smart audio guide available on your phone.
- Conclude your visit with a delightful stroll through the Royal Park, adorned with cascading fountains and sculptures.
A royal day out! Hassle-free visit to the Royal Palace of Caserta with train tickets, priority access and an audio guide.
- Enjoy a smooth, stress-free journey with a round-trip train ticket from Naples—getting to the Royal Palace couldn’t be easier!
- Skip the lines with priority entry and head directly to the royal halls—no waiting required!
- Explore the beautiful Hall of Astrea, King's private chambers, Throne Room, and more at your own pace with a smart audio guide available on your phone.
- Conclude your visit with a delightful stroll through the Royal Park, adorned with cascading fountains and sculptures.
Inclusions
- Priority entry to Royal Palace Apartments and Park
- Round-trip train tickets from Naples to Caserta
- Audio guide in Italian, English, Spanish, French
Exclusions
- Guided tour
- Headphones
- Food and drinks
- Tip: Notice the ingenious double-revolution staircase at the Royal Palace, allowing the king to ascend and descend without meeting anyone on the stairs.
- The train from Naples to Caserta takes around 40 minutes, plus a 5-10 minute walk to the palace. Be sure to check the train schedule in advance to arrive on time, as this ticket has a specific entry window.
- Even with skip-the-line access, plan to arrive 15-20 minutes early to ensure a smooth check-in, as the palace enforces strict entry timings.
- Pets, dogs, strollers, bags, umbrellas, backpacks, other large items, or carriers are not allowed inside the Palace. However, there is a free checkroom service available at the entrance.
- Some rooms may have photography restrictions, so check with the staff before taking pictures.
- The Royal Park and the Palace are wheelchair accessible with pathways, ramps and an elevator.
- The palace is closed on Tuesdays, New Year's Day (January 1), and Christmas Day (December 25).
- These tickets can't be cancelled or rescheduled.
Explore Campania's treasures with free entry to top sites and unlimited travel!
- Free entry to two attractions, including popular sites like Pompeii, and Herculaneum, access to 100+ sites.
- Enjoy unlimited rides on local buses, trains, and metro lines with the Unicocampania transport network to reach top landmarks easily.
- After your first two visits, get up to 50% off additional visits to 100+ museums, monuments, and archaeological sites.
- Access tourist assistance in English and Italian for a smooth experience.
Explore Campania's treasures with free entry to top sites and unlimited travel!
- Free entry to two attractions, including popular sites like Pompeii, and Herculaneum, access to 100+ sites.
- Enjoy unlimited rides on local buses, trains, and metro lines with the Unicocampania transport network to reach top landmarks easily.
- After your first two visits, get up to 50% off additional visits to 100+ museums, monuments, and archaeological sites.
- Access tourist assistance in English and Italian for a smooth experience.
Inclusions
- Free entry to the first 2 sites of your choice (Full list here)
- Up to 50% discount from the 3rd site onwards
- 3-day validity
- Tourist assistance in English and Italian
- Unlimited travel on Unicocampania Consortium network
- Tip: For popular attractions like Pompeii, it's recommended to check if advance reservations are needed, even with the Campania Artecard, especially during peak times.
- You will receive your digital pass instantly via email after booking. To activate the card, follow the instructions in the voucher.
- The pass is first activated during entry at your first site. Once activated, it cannot be paused or extended.
- Please note: Access to Alibus and some Sita Sud lines (e.g., Sorrento/Positano/Amalfi routes) is not included.
- From January 1, 2023, the Galleria Borbonica and Catacombs sites are no longer free but can be visited at a reduced fee.
- Access to the Vesuvius Great Cone is currently suspended.
- You can cancel these tickets up to 24 hours before the experience begins and get a full refund.
- These tickets are valid for 6 months from the date of purchase.
Reviews
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2.5
23 ratings
3
5
4
0
11
What our guests say
DELSAUT
Aug 2024Verified booking
sabine
Apr 2024Verified booking
Michal
Nov 2023Verified booking
Mr
Oct 2023Verified booking
Easy to use and good value for site entry and getting around. Got on train from Sorrento to Herculaneum not knowing it only stopped a few times a day. Went through to Naples and easily caught the train to Herculaneum without extra cost or trouble. 😂
Susanne
Oct 2023Verified booking
Great once I got the cards but there was a problem getting them activated (technical at Artecarc!) , I had to email several times and eventually telephone a couple of times, quite stressful on holiday!
Christopher
Oct 2023Verified booking
Richard
Sep 2023Verified booking
I am basically an IT dinosaur and did not find the experience of using the Artecard easy, especially as the signal to my phone when we were in Italy was, at best, problematical. However Headout staff were most helpful when I contacted them.
Soós
Jul 2023Verified booking
Boriana
Jun 2023Verified booking
Arnold
Jun 2023Verified booking
Cost saving was the best thing. Using the card for travel was confusing, since you couldn't scan anything, but they would usually let you in for free if you mentioned the card. Head out was ok, helpful with setting up the app.
Vidi
May 2023Verified booking
Lewis
Mar 2023Verified booking
Royal Palace of Caserta Caserta Palace Gardens
Royal Palace of Caserta Gardens in a nutshell
- Size and scope: Area is 120 hectares (296 acres) and length is approximately 3.3 kilometers (2 miles)
- Water features: A breathtaking Grand Cascade, featuring multiple waterfalls, leads to a large reflecting pool. Dotted throughout the gardens are ornamental fountains, each a unique work of art with its own symbolic meaning.
- Botanical diversity: Thousands of plants, both native and exotic, were meticulously chosen to add color, texture, and fragrance to the gardens. The gardens also house a rich variety of trees, creating a sense of grandeur and providing shade.
- Design and layout:
- Formal Italian Gardens: Featuring meticulously designed parterres, sculptures, and geometric patterns, these gardens were inspired by the likes of Versailles.
- Romantic English Garden: Offering a contrasting landscape, this section boasts winding paths, lakes, and a more natural aesthetic.
- "Telescope Effect": The layout of the gardens uses a clever optical illusion, aligning pools, fountains, and cascades to create a seemingly endless vista from the palace.
Royal Palace of Gardens tickets explained
Entry tickets
Guided tours
Tickets with transfers
Park access
yes
Yes
Yes
Apartments access
Option to upgrade
Yes
Yes
Additional features
Optional audio guide in Italian, English, French, Spanish.
Italian/English speaking guide, small group, priority access, audio headsets, optional private tour (of the apartments).
Train ticket to Caserta from Napoli Central Station, audio guide, priority access.
Why buy?
Explore at your own pace without committing to the full palace, perfect for independent travelers and nature lovers.
Enrich your visit with insider knowledge and fascinating stories. Bypass crowds with priority entry.
Hassle-free journey, maximize time at the site, enjoy the ride without logistics stress.
Starting from
€15
€39
€44
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A walk inside the Caserta Palace Gardens
The Parterre and the Old Woods
The Parterre is the wide clearing that you come across when you leave Reggia di Caserta's gallery. It follows the French Garden designs and you will find wide grasslands that resemble a grass carpet. The Old Woods, on the left of the Parterre, existed before the buildings and were kept to maintain the natural element of the garden. It was also the 'Secret Garden' used for entertainment and as a resting place for the court.
The Fountains
In the Caserta Palace Gardens, you will come across a long alley with artificial fountains and cascades that fill multiple basins along a canal. Each fountain is decorated with rich sculptures such as dolphins, Aeolus, Ceres, Venus, Adonis, and a lot more. The fountains were designed in a way that they appear to be much shorter than their actual length of 3 km, thanks to short waterfalls and large basins, creating an optical artifice.
The English Garden
Occupying an area of 24 hectares, The English Garden is the first example of an informal garden in Italy. The garden is home to rare and exotic plants that were imported from around the world. Apart from the plants, this garden also houses several lakes, temples, a greenhouse, an English mansion, a bee house, and many other beautiful statues and elements.
The Carolino Aqueduct
The Carolino Aqueduct, a 38km hydraulic engineering marvel, was built to supply water to the fountains, the Royal Palace of Caserta, the cities Caserta and Naples around the Palace, and all the farms in the area. The entire conduit is buried except for the bridge which is made up of several arches and turrets for improved stability and better maintenance.
The Complex of Saint Leucio Belvedere
Initiated by King Ferdinand IV, The Complex of Saint Leucio Belvedere is a huge village complex in the Royal Palace of Caserta. This complex comprises a functioning silk factory, a living silk museum, Former Royal Apartments and manicured gardens. It was also the birthplace of women’s rights at the request of Queen Maria Carolina.
San Silvestro’s Oasis
A 100 hectares estate bought by King Charles of Bourbon, San Silvestro's Oasis was once a place for hunting, hiking, and immersing oneself in nature. Today, the oasis is funded by the World Wide Fund for Nature where visitors can indulge in a lot of activities here such as night tours, learning about bats, seeing fireflies, nature trails, and more.
History of the Caserta Palace Gardens
The visionary beginnings
1752-1773
Designed by Luigi Vanvitelli, the works for Caserta Palace Gardens began in 1753 and combined the design of the Italian Renaissance Garden with a solution for the Versailles gardens. Luigi introduced the ‘Telescope Effect’ by designing a straight avenue that started from Naples and ended at the waterfall's top that was located at the end of the Garden of the Royal Palace of Caserta.
A period of slow progress
1773-1845
The current garden at the Royal Palace of Caserta is a reduced version of Luigi’s design. After Luigi passed away in 1773, work halted for almost 4 years. In 1777, his son Carlo presented the King with a reduced version of the original design because of economic difficulties at the time and the number of fountains in the second part of the Caserta Palace Gardens. However, Carlo made sure that his father’s vision was accomplished for the garden with the 3.3 km canal.
The Queen’s Rivalry
Queen Maria Carolina, the wife of King Ferdinand IV, was in competition with her sister Queen Marie Antoinette of France. She requested that an English Garden be built that obscured the beauty of Petit Trianon of Versailles. The construction began in 1786 and the Queen invested her personal fortunes to make sure that the English Garden was quite different from the Park at the Royal Palace of Caserta.
Fountains inside the Caserta Palace Gardens
See all photos
Frequently asked questions about Caserta Palace Gardens
What was the inspiration behind the gardens of Royal Palace of Caserta?
The Caserta Palace Gardens were heavily inspired by the French Baroque style, particularly the grandeur of the Palace of Versailles. Architect Luigi Vanvitelli aimed to create a sense of order, symmetry, and awe-inspiring vistas mirroring the power and wealth of the Bourbon dynasty.
What are the key features of the 'telescope effect' in the garden's design?
The "telescope effect" in the Caserta Palace Gardens is a clever optical trick achieved through strategic alignment and perspective. Pools, fountains, and cascades are positioned along a central axis, creating the illusion of an endless depth. Statues and sculptures frame this view, drawing the eye further down the line and enhancing the perception of vastness. It makes the gardens appear much larger and more expansive than they truly are.
How do the Italian gardens and English landscapes differ within the Caserta Palace Gardens?
The Italian gardens are characterized by their formal layout, symmetrical design, and ornate fountains. In contrast, the English landscapes feature more natural, romantic elements such as rolling lawns, winding paths, and varied plantings that mimic natural scenery, creating a relaxed and picturesque environment.
How has the design of the Caserta Palace Gardens influenced modern landscape architecture?
The Caserta Palace Gardens have influenced modern landscape architecture through their innovative use of space, water features, and the integration of formal and natural elements. The 'telescope effect' and the blending of Italian and English styles have inspired contemporary garden designers to create spaces that balance formality with natural beauty. Modern examples include the National Mall in Washington D.C. with its reflecting pool and monuments aligned along a central axis, or Longchamp Park in Paris, where the Grand Cascade leads the eye towards the cityscape.
What is the historical significance of the Caserta Palace Gardens in relation to the Bourbon dynasty?
The gardens symbolize the power and sophistication of the Bourbon dynasty. They were designed to showcase the wealth and taste of the Bourbons, serving as a symbol of their rule and cultural influence. The gardens also reflect the political and social aspirations of the dynasty during the 18th century.
How are the Caserta palace gardens maintained and preserved today?
To maintain their UNESCO World Heritage status, the Caserta Palace Gardens undergo a multi-faceted preservation effort. This includes meticulous restoration of fountains, sculptures, and water systems, alongside careful conservation of both completed Baroque sections and undeveloped areas. Horticultural experts meticulously care for the diverse plant collection, ensuring the gardens remain a flourishing testament to history and a captivating masterpiece of landscape design.
What are the best times of year to visit the Caserta Palace Gardens for optimal beauty?
The best times to visit are in the spring and early summer when the gardens are in full bloom, and the weather is pleasant. The fall season also offers beautiful foliage and a more serene experience. Each season, however, has its unique charm and beauty.
Are there any guided tours for the Gardens?
Yes, guided tours are available for the Caserta Palace Gardens. These tours offer in-depth insights into the garden's design, history, and key features, allowing visitors to fully appreciate the grandeur and intricacies of the gardens.
