A Day Trip From Rome: Palace of Caserta

A Day Trip From Rome: Palace of Caserta

As we had a long weekend, we decided to take a day trip from Rome to visit the Palace of Caserta.  Caserta is not known as a tourist destination but the Palace, modeled after Versailles, is a hidden gem that I have heard about but never had the chance to visit.

A day trip from Rome: Palace of Caserta

Caserta is known more for its notoriety than for the Palace and because of it’s location, it may deter tourists from making a day trip from Rome.  Initially, we had considered taking the train as we weren’t sure if they have secured parking.

Surprisingly, there is a train from Rome Termini to Caserta that is just a bit more than an hour’s ride. Furthermore, we read that the station is only a 5-minute walk to the Palace.

At the end, we found a secured parking garage located under the Palace and so we opted to go by car.  When we got there, we saw that the train station is across the street from the Palace which makes it very convenient if going by train.

A Day Trip from Rome: Train to Caserta

If you decide to travel by train, you could take a train from Termini station to Caserta in the morning and spend a good 5 hours at the Palace before  making the trip back to Rome.

Day Trip from Rome: Train to Caserta

It is highly recommended that you take the train back to Rome when there is still light because even if it’s only a 5-minute walk, the area outside the Palace is questionable.  Honestly, I wouldn’t visit this Palace on my own but would do so if traveling with a group. This is not meant to scare you but for you to be cautious. For more details, check the Trenitalia website.

Day Trip from Rome: Train back to Rome from Caserta

By Car

If traveling by car, we parked at Parcheggio Interrato Carlo III which is just under the Palace.  The parking fees as you can see below, are very reasonable.

A Day Trip from Rome: Parking at Caserta

From this parking garage, there is a pedestrian walkway that gets you to the garden outside the Palace.   When you get out of the parking garage, the area may look a bit run down but I assure you, once you are in the Palace, it’s a different world altogether.

A Day Trip from Rome: Don't Despair!

Here’s a glimpse of the Palace.

A Day Trip from Rome: Glimpse of the Palace of Caserta

Tips To Make The Most of Your Visit

The grounds and more specifically, the park of the Palace is humongous!  You could easily spend a few hours roaming around the park itself.  There are benches in the shade and if I had known, I would have packed a lunch.

A day trip from Rome: Shaded benches in the garden of the Palace

They also have a place to eat in the Palace and prices were not outrageous.  Luca had a caffe and it cost €1 while it is usually €0.80 in Rome.

A Day Trip from Rome: Cafeteria

Spend the morning in the park and then after lunch, visit the historic apartments which were stunning.  While you could choose to only visit the park and pay less for the ticket, we decided to get the all-inclusive ticket which costs €12.00 per person.

A day trip from Rome: Palace of Caserta - Ticket Options

We also got an audio guide which also covered the park but it provided more information for the apartments.  The audio guide costs €5 for one and €7 for two.  The audio guide could have been better as some information were brief and the numbers have changed which led to some confusion.

A day trip from Rome: Palace of Caserta - Audio Guide Map

However, I would still get it because the guide does sometimes bring your attention to certain details you would sure to have missed without it.  Also, there is staff on hand to help you make sense of the audio guide.

My Thoughts

Caserta itself is not impressive but this Palace is fairytale-like. I am glad I was finally able to visit it and although it could be much better kept, you get an idea of the grandeur of this palace and hopefully, improvements will be made.

In the next few posts, I will share pictures of the park and the historic apartments to give you a peek  at what you can expect.

All in all, in my opinion, it’s worth a day trip from Rome especially if you are not a first-timer and would like to venture beyond the city.

10 comments

  1. Very informative! I have been meaning to visit the Regia for years! I had no idea it was so convenient for Rome. Thank you so much for the information! Can’t wait to see the third most important palace in Europe (after Versailles and Madrid)!

    • Hi Tiffany, thanks for letting me know you left me a comment this evening 🙂 Glad you found it useful and I hope to share another post about the visit tomorrow.

  2. Saving this for when I’m in Rome for a month. Definitely interested in day trips!!

    Thank you, Diana 🙂

  3. Hi!
    My mother and I are doing a tour in August and are adding 3 days onto our trip due to our family being from Caserta we wish to travel to the quaint area, see the palace, and our families house. We will be traveling from Rome to Caserta and I was wandering what you found to be the best train line to use? Thanks for your help!!!

    • I did a quick search on the Trenitalia’s website again and there are some direct trains from Termini to Caserta. Personally, I would take a FrecciaArgento train which is a direct route that takes slightly over an hour. However there are usually in the early morning. The other option would be going to Napoli and switching trains to Caserta. Obviously, this route would take much longer. Here’s the link to Trenitalia’s website http://www.fsitaliane.it/homepage.html

      Hope that helps!

  4. Hi! I am planning on being in Rome in early December. Can you recommend some special Roman Christmas activities, productions, displays, etc?

    Thanks