Castel Sant’Angelo Tickets: Prices, Hours, Free Sundays and the Passetto di Borgo (2026)

A full ticket to Castel Sant’Angelo costs €18, and visitors under 18 enter free. EU citizens aged 18 to 25 pay €2. The castle is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 19:30 (last entry 18:30), and entry is free for everyone on the first Sunday of every month. Book on the official site, especially for weekends.

Cover photo: Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Castel Sant’Angelo stands on the Tiber, a short walk from St Peter’s Square. It began as the tomb of the emperor Hadrian, became a fortress and a residence of the popes, then a prison, and since 1925 it has been a national museum. Visitors come for the Roman ramp inside the old tomb, the papal apartments and the view from the terrace at the top. We are Facile Tours, a local tour operator in Rome since 2012, and several of our tours pass the castle. This guide puts together the official prices, hours and free days, the rules for the personal tickets, how to visit the Passetto di Borgo and how to fit the castle into your day.

How much are Castel Sant’Angelo tickets?

These are the official prices of the museum. The full ticket went up to €18 on 1 July 2026.

A few things to know before you buy:

• Your ticket carries your name. When you buy, you enter each visitor’s personal details, and at the entrance you show the ticket and an original ID. If the details do not match, you cannot go in and you get no refund. You can change the name once, by midnight on the day before your visit, for tickets bought online or by phone.
• Two small museums are included. The ticket also gives free entry to the Boncompagni Ludovisi House Museum and the Hendrik Christian Andersen House Museum, on the day of your visit or on the next two days. Temporary exhibitions in the castle are included when there are any; guided tours are not.
• Other free entries. Italian law also gives free entry to some visitors, such as people with disabilities with a family member or carer, and EU licensed tour guides at work. The full list is on the Ministry of Culture concessions page.

Where do you buy tickets, and do you need to book?

The museum’s official page links to two official channels: the Ministry of Culture’s Musei Italiani platform and app, and the CoopCulture ticket office, where the booking takes place. You can also book by phone at +39 06 399 671 00, Monday to Friday 9:00–18:00 and Saturday 9:00–14:00.

The museum recommends booking every day, especially at weekends and on holidays. On 1 November 2026, tickets could be booked up to the end of December 2026. The ticket office is currently in temporary structures outside the castle, while the reception areas are renovated.

Many websites resell Castel Sant’Angelo tickets, often with an audio guide or a “skip-the-line” label, for more than the official €18. Compare before you buy, and remember that every ticket must carry the visitor’s name.

What are the opening hours of Castel Sant’Angelo?

• Tuesday to Sunday: 9:00–19:30, last entry at 18:30.
• Closed: on Mondays, 25 December and 1 January, except for special openings decided by the Ministry of Culture.
• Castle Mondays: throughout 2026, the museum also opens on the first Monday of every month, from 14:00 to 20:00 (last entry 19:00), with a €5 ticket sold only at the ticket office. There is no booking and no groups. The last one in 2026 is Monday 7 December.

The Pantheon is run by the same state museum office, so if you plan both visits, see our Pantheon guide too.

When is Castel Sant’Angelo free?

Like all Italian state museums, Castel Sant’Angelo is free for everyone on the first Sunday of every month, under the Ministry of Culture’s Domenica al museo scheme. Since 2023 the Ministry has also opened state museums for free on three national holidays: 25 April, 2 June and 4 November. On 4 November 2026 the castle is open from 9:00 to 19:30, with free entry and no booking. Visitors under 18 enter free on any day.

Free days work differently from normal days:

• No online booking. Everyone, individuals and groups, joins a single queue at the ticket office to collect a free ticket without a name.
• The route may change. The museum can adjust the visit route to the number of visitors.
• No Passetto di Borgo. The Passetto is closed to visits on the first Sunday of the month.

Expect a queue on free Sundays, and arrive early if you can. These are the next free days and special dates:

Special openings and closures are announced on the official page, so check it before you go.

Can you visit the Passetto di Borgo?

The Passetto di Borgo is the walled corridor that links the Vatican to Castel Sant’Angelo, built on top of the Borgo walls. In 1527, during the Sack of Rome, Pope Clement VII ran along it to take refuge in the castle. It reopened to visitors in December 2024, and our post on the reopening of the Passetto di Borgo tells its story.

Today you can walk it only on a guided or accompanied visit, booked on Musei Italiani or the CoopCulture ticket office. The guided visit of the Passetto lasts about an hour, in Italian or English (the step-free visits are in Italian):

• Day visits: Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 9:00 to 13:00, except on the first Sunday of the month. Entry to Castel Sant’Angelo is included: you pay the castle ticket plus a fee for the guided visit, which is free for under 18s.
• Night visits: on Saturdays, from 19:00 to 23:00. You walk the Passetto, then the castle’s bastions, the Hall of the Urns, the helical ramp and the dromos, with the museum closed. They cost €28, €26 for ages 18 to 25, and are free for under 18s.
• Step-free visits: on the second and fourth Sunday of the month, at 10:45 and 12:15, for visitors who cannot or prefer not to use stairs. They start from the Torre del Mascherino in Piazza della Città Leonina, on the Vatican side, use two lifts and cover the Passetto only, without the castle. The corridor is as narrow as 75 cm in places, so the museum does not recommend it to people who suffer from claustrophobia. Details are on the museum’s step-free visits page.

What do you see inside Castel Sant’Angelo?

The visit climbs from the Roman tomb to the rooms of the popes. According to the official museum description, the main stops are:

1. The dromos and the helical ramp: the entrance corridor and the spiral ramp of Hadrian’s mausoleum, which take you up into the building.
2. The Hall of the Urns, at the heart of the ancient tomb.
3. The Courtyard of the Angel, at the top of the ramp.
4. The Renaissance papal rooms: the Pauline Hall (Sala Paolina), the Library, the Farnese rooms, the Cagliostra and the rooms of Clement VII, decorated by artists from Raphael’s circle, such as Pellegrino Tibaldi and Luzio Luzi.
5. Paintings and period furniture, including Lorenzo Lotto’s St Jerome and the Zavattari polyptych.
6. The panoramic terrace at the top, under the bronze statue of the archangel Michael, with views over the Tiber and towards St Peter’s.

The museum staff also run free guided tours called “Castello racconta Castello”, but only in Italian: they last about an hour and a half, take up to 10 people and need the normal entrance ticket.

What is the history of Castel Sant’Angelo?

The emperor Hadrian built it in the second century AD as a tomb for himself and his family. It was later included in Rome’s city walls and turned into a fortress. Its name comes from a legend: in 590, during a plague, Pope Gregory the Great saw the archangel Michael on top of the building, sheathing his sword, as a sign that the plague was over.

In 1367 the keys of the castle were handed to Pope Urban V, and from then on its story was tied to the popes. They strengthened its defenses and turned it into a splendid residence, at its peak under Paul III Farnese (1534–1549). From the 17th century it was used mainly as a prison. It passed to the Italian State in 1870 as a military prison and barracks, and became a national museum in 1925.

The bronze angel on top is the work of the Flemish sculptor Peter Anton von Verschaffelt, from 1753. Opera lovers know the castle from the last act of Puccini’s Tosca, which ends with the heroine’s leap from its walls. Film fans know the river below it from Roman Holiday, where Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck go to a dance on the Tiber: our guide to the Roman Holiday filming locations has the full list.

How long do you need, and is Castel Sant’Angelo worth it?

Plan about 1.5 to 2 hours for the castle, plus about an hour if you add a Passetto visit. It is worth it if you enjoy history and views: in one building you see an emperor’s tomb, a papal fortress and a wide view over the city. If you are short on time, the outside is free: walk across Ponte Sant’Angelo, the pedestrian bridge lined with Baroque angel statues, and look at the castle from the river. For free views of St Peter’s dome nearby, try the Jasmine Walk or the Janiculum Hill.

Before you go:

• Bring an original ID for everyone whose name is on a ticket.
• Travel light: the museum has no cloakroom.
• No pets: animals are not allowed.
• Accessibility is limited. The museum says that visitors with disabilities can use only part of the outdoor spaces, and it offers virtual tours of the rooms that are hard to reach. For the Passetto, the step-free visits use lifts.
• Food and gifts: there is a café and a bookshop.

How do you get there, and can you combine it with the Vatican?

The castle is at Lungotevere Castello 50, on the Vatican side of the Tiber. From the historic center, cross Ponte Sant’Angelo; from St Peter’s Square it is about 10 minutes on foot along Via della Conciliazione.

Castel Sant’Angelo is closed on Mondays, and the Vatican Museums are closed on Sundays, except the last Sunday of the month, so Tuesday to Saturday is the easiest time to see both. A simple plan is the Vatican in the morning and the castle in the afternoon, since it stays open until 19:30. Our Vatican guide covers Vatican tickets, hours and the dress code.

If you want a guide for the Vatican, our golf cart tour + Vatican Museums combines a 3-hour private golf cart ride past the Colosseum, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps, seen from the outside, with a 3-hour guided visit of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, tickets included. It usually starts at 9:30 or 10:00, so the late afternoon stays free for the castle. It costs €935 for 1–2 people, €990 for 3, then €300 per person, up to 20. This booking is non-refundable, because the Vatican tickets and the guide are, and the tour is not suitable for wheelchair users. All our options are on our Vatican Museums tours page.

See Castel Sant’Angelo with us

Our tours do not go inside the castle: they show it from the outside, as part of a ride through Rome. If you want to visit the museum, buy the official ticket and plan 1.5 to 2 hours on your own.

On our private Roman Holiday tour by vintage Fiat 500, Castel Sant’Angelo and Ponte Sant’Angelo are one of 14 stops linked to the film. The tour lasts 4 hours and starts at 9:30, 10:00, 14:30, 18:00 or 18:30. Your driver picks you up at your hotel, Airbnb or restaurant in the historic center, or meets you at our office at Via del Colosseo 11A, in a restored open-top Fiat 500 or Fiat 850 Spiaggina converted to electric.

• What is included: the car with driver, the Trevi Fountain ticket and a snack. You see the other places from the outside.
• Price: €690 for 1–3 people, €1,380 for 4, then €270 per person. Up to 21 guests guaranteed; larger groups on request.
• Good to know: children are welcome from age 3; the cars are too small for child seats, and some have no seat belts. Drivers are not licensed tour guides, but they share stories about the film and the city. In rain or wet weather the tour runs in golf carts with rain covers.
• Cancellation: full refund up to 72 hours before the tour, 50% up to 48 hours before.

To see the castle lit up, our private Fiat 500 tour by night lasts 2 hours and starts at 20:00, 21:00, 22:00 or 23:00, with pickup in the historic center. Its route can include Castel Sant’Angelo, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. It costs from €590 for 1–3 people at 20:00; later starts cost more.

Arriving on a cruise ship? On our golf cart shore excursion from Civitavecchia, the typical 5-hour route in Rome includes Castel Sant’Angelo and St Peter’s Square, seen from the outside, with short stops on foot. It costs €990 for 1–3 people with 5 hours in Rome, or €840 with 3 hours, then €260 or €220 per person from 4 to 21, including the transfer from the pier and back. Our guide Civitavecchia to Rome compares all the ways to reach the city.

On our private golf cart tour, the route adapts to your pickup point and interests, so tell us when you book if Castel Sant’Angelo is on your list. The 5-hour version adds Trastevere, the Gianicolo Hill and the Vatican area, with a view of St Peter’s Basilica, for €750 for 1–3 people or €250 per person from 4. See all our golf cart tours in Rome and vintage Fiat 500 tours in Rome.

Explore it with us

Roman Holiday Locations Tour by Fiat 5004 hours, private, Castel Sant’Angelo from the outside, Trevi ticket and snack included · from €690 for 1–3 peopleBook nowRome by Night in a Vintage Fiat 5002 hours from 20:00, the castle and the city lit up · from €590 for 1–3 peopleBook nowGolf Cart Tour + Vatican Museums3-hour ride, then 3 hours inside with a private guide · from €935 for 1–2 peopleBook now

FAQ

How much does it cost to go inside Castel Sant’Angelo?

A full ticket costs €18. EU citizens aged 18 to 25 pay €2, and visitors under 18 enter free. On the first Sunday of every month, and on 25 April, 2 June and 4 November, entry is free for everyone.

Is it free to go inside Castel Sant’Angelo on the first Sunday of the month?

Yes. On the first Sunday of every month entry is free, as in all Italian state museums. You cannot book online: everyone queues at the ticket office for a free ticket, and the Passetto di Borgo is closed to visits that day.

Do you need to book Castel Sant’Angelo tickets in advance?

The museum recommends booking every day, especially at weekends and on holidays. Book on the official channels, Musei Italiani or CoopCulture. Each ticket carries the visitor’s name, and you show an original ID at the entrance.

How much time do you need at Castel Sant’Angelo?

Plan about 1.5 to 2 hours to walk from the Roman ramp to the papal rooms and the terrace. A guided visit of the Passetto di Borgo adds about an hour.

Is Castel Sant’Angelo worth visiting?

Yes, if you enjoy history and views: in one building you see Hadrian’s tomb, the apartments of the popes and a terrace overlooking the Tiber and St Peter’s. If you only have a few minutes, the view from Ponte Sant’Angelo is free.

Can you walk the Passetto di Borgo from the Vatican to the castle?

Only on a guided or accompanied visit, booked on the official channels. Day visits run on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings with castle entry included, night visits on Saturdays, and step-free visits from the Vatican side on the second and fourth Sunday of the month.