Skip-the-lines Castel Sant'Angelo and Pope Paul III Apartments Tour

Recommended by 100% of travelers

Rome, Italy

2 hours (approx.)
Group discounts
Offered in: English

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Overview

Castel Sant’Angelo in Florence has been a mausoleum, a fortress, a prison, and even home to the pope. Learn the ins and outs of the ancient fortress during this private guided tour, and learn about the eye-catching building’s eclectic history from your guide. Visits include a peek at papal apartments and the tomb of Emperor Hadrian.

Explore Castel Sant'Angelo on a private guided tour
Save time with skip-the-line admission tickets included
Enjoy magnificent views from the panoramic terrace
Enjoy a fully personalized experience with a private tour

What's Included

Local guide
Amazing view over the city of Rome

Hotel pickup and drop-off
Food and drinks
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

St. Angelo Bridge
Ponte Sant'Angelo, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Departure Point: Outside the main gate of Castel Sant'Angelo (attention: not inside ticket office) Address: Lungotevere Castello, 50 Directions: Take the bridge of Angels until you reach the gate of the castle Return point: Concludes at the castle

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

Make your way to Castel Sant’Angelo to meet your private guide in time for a 3pm departure. Then, set out to discover the mighty fortress of Castel Sant' Angelo. With skip-the-line entrance tickets, you'll breeze past the long lines at the entrance and head straight in.

The ancient site was built in 139AD to house the tomb of Emperor Hadrian. Many of his successors were also buried here. It was later converted to a castle in the 14th century.

Learn about its fascinating history as a one-time castle, refuge, prison, and site of public executions from your guide as you explore the ruins, admire sculptures by Bernini, Raggi and Morelli, and walk in the footsteps of former Popes as you visit the papal apartments. Then, and head straight to the star attraction – the grand mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian.

Finally, enjoy a spectacular view over Rome from the castle's panoramic terrace.

Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant'Angelo

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
Children must be accompanied by an adult

The guide speaks fluent English
It is recommended that you wear comfortable shoes
Photography is allowed and you can take great panoramic pictures from the terrace of the castle
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.9

based on 31 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Awesome

Enio_N, Jun 2022

Our tour guide was awesome. He is funny and has great storytelling ability, full of details, definitely, he was the best tour guide we had on our trip.

Worth booking!

Nancy_G, Jun 2022

Guide communicated information with exactness yet not too much detail...unless you asked. Perfect delivery and timing from one stop to another. On time.

Very good tour

BarbaraB4248, Dec 2019

I enjoyed this very complete and informative tour. Guide was very knowledgeable and answered all questions.

Castel Sant'Angelo Tour

Paradise89042, Nov 2019

We appreciated being able to skip the line and just get started on our tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable and added so much more to our tour, She shared details and facts that made our tour much more enjoyable.

Castel Tour

Tonya_H, Sep 2019

We had a fabulous tour with Virginia! We felt very VIP spoiled as we were the only people on the tour in Sunday. She very knowledgeable, she spoke wonderful English and really took the time to give excellent pointers on the location. Loved the Pope escape passage and all the explanations on the different Popes and timelines of the place. Also was very surprised to see an Bvlgari Jewelry exhibit inside with priceless jewels from their Hollywood movie classic collection. Rate 10+

Great Small Tour

Margaret_S, Jun 2019

Really loved our tour guide - so smart and knowledgeable. We had just 4 in our group so attention to questions and interest were super!! Not only was this informative but entertaining. I would highly recommend to others. Viator has always been our choice every time we visit!

Nice Tour but Expensive

Nadine_F, May 2019

We enjoyed our time with Claudia who was lovely and knowledgeable and did a very nice job. However at $195 for the two of us, this was the most expensive tour we took, including tours of Pompeii and the Vatican at night. Although it was enjoyable, it was overpriced.

Fantastic

J_P, May 2019

Our guide was on time and his knowledge of the tour was fantastic he was able to answer any of our questions was not in a hurry to finish, really was a great tour

This tour was excellent. Claudia...

Jennifer T, Jun 2018

This tour was excellent. Claudia was awesome, very knowledgeable and really made this tour special. The views from the top of the castle were amazing and Claudia was kind enough to take pictures of my husband and I in various places. Told me everything we wanted to know about the castle and learned amazing things while going through the entire castle.

Well informed and friendly guide...

KrishnaMohan_N, May 2018

Well informed and friendly guide. Castel Sant' Angelo isn't very grand on the inside, but it is worth visiting once for the beautiful views on the terrace and the layers of history around it. The guided tour definitely helped us understand the monument better.

Our guide Marco was very...

Bosko_D, Mar 2018

Our guide Marco was very knowledgeable, friendly and accommodating, made sure we skipped the line at the entrance, gave us a lot of useful information as we walked through the castle and really interacted with us, picking up on our specific interests and questions. He was genuinely dedicated and interested but at the same time relaxed and friendly, did a great job, we highly recommend him!

Claudia, our tour guide, is fantastic...

EdmarieC_M, Mar 2018

Claudia, our tour guide, is fantastic! Energetic, knowledgeable and friendly!

Highly reccommend this tour . There...

Raaziah_M, Mar 2018

Highly reccommend this tour . There were only three of us on the tour which was a bonus. Our guide was Claudia and she was very knowledgable and could provide us with little tidbits and stories which I feel you would not get on a self guided tour. Castle Sant'Angelo does not seem to be as high up on the radar as other Rome destinations however definately worth the visit.

Superb. Our tour guide Claudia, made...

Daniel D, Nov 2017

Superb. Our tour guide Claudia, made this tour come alive with her presentation of the Castel SantAngelos history and features of the Papal apartments, her presentation is energetic, and her knowledge of Castel SantAngelo is excellent. We particularly enjoyed our tour guides knowledge of Pope Alexander the VI and the intrigue surrounding the Borgia family. We were fascinated to learn of the Popes secret escape route from the Vatican to Castel SantAngelo. Some of the many highlights included the secret trap doors, prisons, a stage for presenting plays, the papal coffers, the daring escapes made from the Castle, and the religious and military significance of the Castle. It was interesting to learn of the many uses of the castle and the numerous additions to the original mausoleum. The pace of the tour was comfortable, and Claudia did not allow other group leaders with very large groups interfere with our tour and focused on us having fun on this tour which we did.

Very good tour especially skip the...

Simon_H, Oct 2017

Very good tour especially skip the line aspect. 2nd time in Rome and did this as hadn't done it the first time around. Only once inside do you realise how large this building is. Plenty included within the 90 minutes.

This tour was great our guide Mark...

Sam F, Oct 2017

This tour was great our guide Mark made it really interesting and answered all our questions, recommend!

Really interesting tour. Our guide...

Carol H, Aug 2017

Really interesting tour. Our guide, Marco, was very knowledgeable and gave us information we would never have been aware of if we toured on our own. The duration was just right - enough to give a good overview of the Castel, but not too long to become tiring. We did this tour in mid-August afternoon. May want to consider booking a morning tour to avoid the heat at that time of year.

Our Tour Guide - Marco - was...

René J, Aug 2017

Our Tour Guide - Marco - was incredible. He had a huge knowledge about the history of Castel Sant'Angelo and Rome in particular. He has great personality, extrovert, humor and passion for history. Our children were very excited about the tour.

amazing and fascinating place. I loved...

martina_b, Jun 2017

amazing and fascinating place. I loved the tour, highly recommended!

A pleasant surprise! Loved it! Our...

Richard_L, May 2017

A pleasant surprise! Loved it! Our tour guide, Rosy Raphael Tours was informative and enthusiastic.

This was a surprisingly good tour...

Amber_G, May 2017

This was a surprisingly good tour. More of the off-beaten less-tourist crazy things to do. There was four of us on the tour which was nice. The guide used an ipad to refer to various photos throughout the tour, which was a very good tool. We were taken to the various places where the castel was defended in earlier times by various means and the guide explained the tactics employed and shared stories of the past prisoners and popes who utilized this structure or were held by it. This is a good tour for people who are interested in the defense of keeps. The view at the top was great, both of the Tiber, Rome itself and the Vatican. Also, there was a very picturesque restaurant which was on a walkway, covered in vines to eat or have a drink after the tour. However, as a warning, we had another tour with this same company where the guide never showed up and at first they said the guide was there on time, but both groups waiting knew that was not true, then they emailed the guide had an accident... I also read a review for this tour from this company where the guide didn't show up, so there is some caution to be had...

The tour was fantastic. Very...

Kirsty M, May 2017

The tour was fantastic. Very informative about the history of Castel sant'Angelo. Rosario was perfect. Her English was very clear and she was very entertaining! I would recommend this tour for anyone who wants something different from the more popular tours!

Our guide, Marco told us that Castel...

Balzs_L, Apr 2017

Our guide, Marco told us that Castel Sant'Angelo is not that frequented with a guide compared to other sights in Rome. I can add two things to that: 1 see it, because it is very beautiful, 2 and if the other guides are only half as good as Marco was, you'd better hire one ASAP. The castle is rich with history, and the view from the top is amazing. But for us the real dish of the tour was our guide, Marco. Despite the fact that this is a small tour 15 people max, unfortunately for others, and luckily for us, just the 3 of us joined big bonus point for not cancelling. Marco did a fantastic job! He was friendly and fun, had funny remarks, and most of all was very prepared. Based on my previous experiences most guides use, so to say, what is in that place that is being seen, which is by the way perfectly okay. However he brought an iPad as well, with many old pictures, documents with which he was able to show how the castle changed overtime. This added another level of spiceness to the meal. We highly recommend this tour with Marco, because this place with such a quality guide definitely deserves a full number group! :

Loved the tour! A truly fascinating...

Katarzyna W, Mar 2017

Loved the tour! A truly fascinating place with amazing views of Rome. Our guide was brilliant and entertaining throughout! He helped us understand the great history of the building. Highly recommended, just excellent!