Castel Sant’Angelo

This was my favorite attraction in Rome, by far. Buying tickets online was a breeze. Getting in was no issue, and the amount of history that you learn just by walking through was fascinating. You start inside of the tomb, at the base of the castle. You learn about how the building started as Hadrian's Tomb and housed his and his family's burial urns. Then, as you ascend, you learn a bit about its life as a prison. Once you get into the main open terrace, there's an exhibit of renderings and models of its different phases. They then talk about its conversion as a papal residence. And when you get to the second level of the terrace, you get a glimpse of WHY it went from prison to palace. The view is phenomenal. And they did the best thing they could possibly do as an attraction: they installed a cafe on the 2nd level terrace. And that's just the entrance! Once you get into the papal apartments, you see the grandeur and luxury that followed the conversion. Large reception rooms, lavish parlors and bedchambers, and when you get to the top, the view from the upper terrace is stunning... I walked out onto the terrace and said "there should be final boss music playing." During our visit, after checking out the little gift shop, I actually did hear music playing. Not quite final boss drama, but we followed it down a staircase into an inner courtyard. They were setting up a stage for a night event, and the sound checks were echoing throughout the building. It was awesome. 5/5, no notes. Give your leadership an award.

BenneBC

This was a great place to really get a look at that area of Rome. You could look back over the basilica the Vatican Museum of the river and get a visual from the top of this castle plus the history behind it was helpful and there is a beautiful café up there where you can sit have a drink have a pastry of something it is. It is really worth going. I would suggest getting the audio guide so you know what you’re looking at and it has just a ton of history about what was happening in the city at the time of its build and it’s fortification.

tanyag937