Castel Gandolfo

Tours

Escape the vibrant bustle of Rome and journey to the idyllic Italian countryside. Await you the sapphire waters of Lake Albano, cradling the picturesque village of Castel Gandolfo. This historic gem grew around the Pope's summer residence, a true treasure chest brimming with art and history. Step back in time within the Papal Apartments. Explore 500 years of history as you wander through the Pope's private sanctuary. Imagine quiet moments in the library, reflection in the private chapel, and the view from the balcony where the Angelus resonated every summer Sunday. Gain exclusive access to the Secret Garden. Immerse yourself in this haven, a hidden gem within the Papal Palace grounds. Explore the heart of the residence – the Pope's summer offices. Delve into seven unique rooms, each whispering tales of papal history.

Immerse yourself in the history and nature of this peaceful lake, located just a short distance from Rome, on a kayak tour with plenty of interesting stops and technical kayaking tips. After a quick paddling, navigation, and communication lesson, you will begin your tour of the lake. Stops will include the village of the millstones, the Roman port of the Villa of Domitian, the Trampoline of the Pope, and a beautiful beach reachable only by kayak, where you can swim if the weather is right. Along the way, you see the summer residence of the Popes, atop the mountain of Castel Gandolfo and surrounded by untouched nature. Listen to the sound of local wildlife and the water lapping, a unique and unforgettable experience so close to Rome. Your guide will provide technical assistance throughout the tour, and offer stories and anecdotes about the lake. After arriving back at the starting point, you will have the opportunity to take a shower before heading back to the capital.

Save up to 50%* on Rome experiences with Go City's Rome Explorer Pass. Choose from 2 to 7 attractions, experiences and tours from a list of over 45 popular activities. With a full 60 days validity, you can explore Rome at your own pace - there's no need to rush. Visit the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums, enjoy a pizza dinner in the Prati District, go to a classical music concert, bike ride among ancient Roman ruins, and experience the best Rome has to offer. Avoid the hassle of buying individual attraction tickets. With your pass, everything is right on your phone. Get a digital guide packed with attraction information and instructions on booking your visits. The Rome Explorer Pass includes entry to any 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 Rome and Vatican attractions or activities including the following: • Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel with Escorted skip the line tickets (R) • Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill with audio tour and multimedia video (R) • Big Bus Rome Hop-On Hop-Off 1-Day Discover Ticket • Big Bus Rome Catacombs guided tour with bus transfer • Pantheon: Reserved Entrance with Audioguide • Castel Sant'Angelo (R) • St. Peter's Basilica and Cupola Guided Tour with Breakfast + audioguide of the papal tombs (R) • 1-Hour Pizza-cooking Experience • Capitolini Museums with Skip Line Entry • Espresso, Gelato and Tiramisu Tour • Altar of the Fatherland Panoramic View (R) • Imperial Rome Walking Tour (including Colosseum exterior) • Hop-on Hop-off River Cruise Ticket (24 Hours) • Sunset pizza tour near the Colosseum • Pizza Terrace Menu in the Prati District (R) • and more! (R) Reservations required. Follow the instructions on the digital guide for each attraction or tour. *Savings based on sample itineraries on Go City website.

Explore the 55-hectare gardens of the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo by open minibus. Listen to the audio guide as you roam the gardens to learn all their secrets. Meet your greeter in the Palazzo before starting your tour. Climb aboard the eco-friendly minibus to discover the Castel Gandolfo gardens. See tree-lined avenues, flowers, fountains, and statues. Admire views of the sapphire blue and emerald green waters of Lake Albano. Take in the remains of Emperor Domitian's residence. Find out all there is to know about the Popes, including which pontiff installed a swimming pool and which one laid low in Castel Gandolfo for months after handing in his resignation.

Explore the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo on a self-guided visit. Top off your experience with a walking trough the Secret Garden and Moro Garden. Arrive in Castel Gandolfo and discover the treasures of the Papal Palace at your own pace. Admire the palace that served as the Pope’s summer retreat, designed by Swiss-Italian architect Carlo Maderno between 1624 and 1626. The first Pope that visited this residence was Urbano VIII. Inside the palace you can find frescoes of Simone Lagi and Zuccari. Discover the gardens and admire Rome from the terrace.

The Vatican and Experience Pass is your key to unlocking the Eternal City. Cover all the essentials Rome has to offer by creating your own unique combination ticket to top attractions and experiences. Saving you time and money, the Pass will supercharge your sightseeing plans, with priority entrance and the masterpieces you'll see at each would justify the price alone. Select among the 3, 5 and 7-choice passes available: at the Touristation office the staff will help to customize it! WALKING TOURS Navona, Pantheon +Trevi Fountain Walking Tour (English only) VATICAN AREA Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel Skip the Line ticket Papal Udience + St. Peter's Guided Tour (English and Spanish, Wednesdays only) St. Peter's Dome and Audioguide (NO Skip the Line) Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore audioguide and Dome ticket COLOSSEUM AREA Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill Reserved Entrance. Please note Colosseum can be booked 2 days later. Roman Forum and Palatine Hill with Super Sites Reserved Entrance Trajan’s Markets Reserved Entrance Caracalla Baths Reserved Entrance Circo Maximo Virtual Reality Experience Reserved Entrance Largo Argentina Reserved Entrance UNDERGROUND Navona Underground Reserved Entrance Trevi District Underground Guided Tour (English or French) Trevi District Underground Reserved Entrance with audioguide Catacombs Guided Tour with transfer (English, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Polish) PANTHEON Pantheon Skip the Line ticket with audioguide (smartphone app) Pantheon Guided Tour (English only) FOOD EXPERIENCE Panoramic Terrace Breakfast next to the Vatican or Colosseum Panoramic Terrace Aperitif next to the Vatican or Colosseum MUSEUMS Capitoline Museums Skip the Line tickets Leonardo da Vinci Experience with audioguide The Altar of the Fatherland Elevator, Risorgimento Museum and Palazzo Venezia Reserved Entrance Sant'Angelo Castel Skip the Line tickets with audioguide (smartphone app) Palazzo Valentini Experience Reserved Entrance Doria Pamphilj Gallery Reserved Entrance National Roman Museum (Palazzo Altemps, Baths of Diocletian, Palazzo Massimo) Reserved Entrance Cappuccini Cripts Reserved Entrance Palazzo Patrizi Reserved Entrance Palazzo Patrizi Guided Tour (English or French) TRANSPORTS 1 day Hop-on hop-off bus ticket 3 hours bike rental 72-hour public transportation ticket NIGHTLIFE A night at the Opera Light show at the Roman Forum (Summer only) OUTSIDE ROME (trasportation NOT included): Villa Gardens in Castel Gandolfo by minibus Pope Summer Residence with audioguide in Castel Gandolfo Ancient Ostia Reserved Entrance Ticket Tivoli Villas: Villa Adriana or Villa D’Este Reserved Entrance Pompei Skip the Line tickets and audioguide

Explore the Vatican Museums' art collection with a trip that includes an optional visit to Castel Gandolfo. Getting into the museums before the general public allows you to see them in all their glory. You’ll walk around the vast galleries in peace and quiet, with plenty of time to admire all the classic statues, Renaissance masterpieces and more. You’ll also be able to spend some time in the Lapidary Gallery, the Borgia Apartment and Raphael Rooms before you make your way to the Sistine Chapel to bask in Michelangelo’s famous ceiling fresco. You’ll have flexible time to admire all the sculptures and paintings in this amazing collection. See all the major artworks and you’ll also be able to spend time in the Borgia Apartment, the Sistine Chapel and of course St. Peter’s Square.

Your tour will begin with you being helped into all of the safety devices, such as the life jacket. You will then partake in a lesson on the ground which will run you through the techniques of paddling and on the use of the kayak. The first leg of paddling will involve your guide teaching you how to paddle, correcting the posture and the movement of your arms as you go. Your first break will then be at the village of the millstones, which consists of submerged stilt houses that you will see from your kayak. After your break, you will engage in another stretch of paddling through untouched nature where you can admire the summer residence of the Popes on the mountain of Castel Gandolfo. You will then take a second break at the Roman port of the Villa of Domitian. Next, you will pass in front of the old structure of the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, where all the kayaking and rowing competitions were fought. Your third stop will then be the Pope's Trampoline, where you will stop to admire the old structure on the lake shore with the ancient papal coat of arms. You will next be invited to continue your tour in a unique way to awaken all your sensory activities, as you paddle in perfect silence and listen exclusively to the sound of nature and the local wildlife. To stay in the theme of wild nature, you will then dock in an uncontaminated beach reachable only by kayak, where if the season allows, you will also dive and swim. Your paddling will then continue to the starting point, from where you will receive another relaxing break.

Visit this history-packed region near Rome with 2 separate hop-on hop-off lines that stop at the Roman castles scattered across the Tusculum area or Alban Hills. Enjoy flexibility, see famous villas, castles, and palaces, and marvel at the Castel Gandolfo Lake. Choose between a ticket for Line 1 or Line 2 or get both and spend your weekend exploring the ruins outside Rome. Board your bus at the meeting point in Rome and head out into the countryside, hopping off and back on again until you catch the bus back to the city in the evening. Leave Rome on Saturday with Line 1 and visit several of the more prominent towns, starting with Frascati, and continuing to Grottaferrata, Marino, Castel Gandolfo, and the Castel Gandolfo Lake. Travel around the region on Sunday on Line 2 to see Albano Laziale, Ariccia, Genzano, Lanuvio, Nemi, and Castel Gandolfo. When you board, receive a €20 voucher to spend at local restaurants or use it to enter the attractions you stop at. As you ride through the countryside, learn about the sights you see from the live commentary onboard. 

Elected as one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, Castle Gandolfo will amaze you with its beauty of the surrounding nature and its elegant historical centre. In a splendid position overlooking Lake Albano, Castle Gandolfo is situated on the brink of a volcanic crater. Above all, the small town is famous for the Papal Palace where Popes have spent their summers since the 17th century. Do not miss the opportunity to visit the Papal Palace (where you will be given an audio guide if asked, remember to specify the language you want it in once you arrive there), open to the public only recently, and the Barberini palce and gardens, (which you can visit and by your tikets by your self) befor this actiy vity , where you will be able to admire french-style gardens, special kinds of flowers, roman statues and fountains. You will be picked up by a private driver (9.30am) on van or a car, in the morning from your accommodation one hour before the start of your tour, and you will be personally taken to the entrance of the Papal Palace in Castle Gandolfo where you will be able to take your time to visit this stunning place. After your visit (that should take up to two hours) we will be leaving you the time to also explore the city and have lunch or an italian aperitivo (not included in this package). Once you are over with your visit, our private driver will personally pick you up again (around 14.00-15.00pm) and take you back to your accomodation. PLEASE NOTE: this is a private transfer service PLEASE NOTE: it is important to read the whole description above to avoid misunderstandings, thank you! PLEASE NOTE: We ask you to kindly provide us your phone number and evry one name and the sername so that we can contact you for any changes.