Castel Sant’Elmo and Certosa di San Martino: tickets and visit

Why go up to Castel Sant’Elmo and the Certosa di San Martino

These are two different monuments on the same hill, a few steps apart. Castel Sant’Elmo is the fortress that dominates Naples: it began as the Angevin “Belforte” around 1275 and was rebuilt between 1537 and 1547 for viceroy Pedro de Toledo by the military architect Pedro Luis Escrivà, with its present six-pointed star plan. It also served as a prison, holding Tommaso Campanella and the patriots of the 1799 revolution.

The Certosa di San Martino is a 14th-century Carthusian monastery, dressed in Baroque over the following centuries and a museum since 1867. Since 2024 the two complexes, together with the Villa Floridiana, have formed the Vomero National Museums.

What to see in the Certosa di San Martino

The Certosa is the richer half of the visit: give it at least two hours.

The church and the Great Cloister

The church is a gallery of 17th- and 18th-century Neapolitan painting: frescoes by Lanfranco and Luca Giordano, canvases by Ribera, Guido Reni, Battistello Caracciolo and Massimo Stanzione. The Great Cloister, designed by Dosio and completed by Cosimo Fanzago between 1623 and 1643, encloses the monks’ small cemetery with marble skulls carved by Fanzago.

The Cuciniello crib and the Tavola Strozzi

The star of the nativity section is the Presepe Cuciniello, donated by Michele Cuciniello in 1879 and seen as the emblem of Neapolitan crib-making in the 18th and 19th centuries. Do not miss the Tavola Strozzi, a view of Naples celebrating the return of the Aragonese fleet after the battle of Ischia in 1465.

Prior’s quarters and Belvedere

The route continues through the Prior’s apartments, the “Images and memories” rooms on the city’s history, the 19th-century rooms, the gardens and the Belvedere terrace overlooking the historic centre and Vesuvius. The naval section, with Charles of Bourbon’s 24-oar royal barge, and the Gothic underground rooms are closed until further notice.

What to see at Castel Sant’Elmo

You come to the castle mainly for the Piazza d’Armi and the ramparts: from up there you get a full circle of Naples, Vesuvius and the bay. Inside is the Novecento a Napoli museum, opened in 2010, with works by 20th-century artists linked to the city, including Mimmo Paladino’s Sant’Elmo.

After part of the perimeter wall collapsed onto the access road at dawn on 22 August 2026, the castle reopened with a new route: you now enter through the restored moat or by a new lift. Ticket holders for the closure days were refunded.

Opening hours and tickets

Since 1 July 2026 the hours of the Vomero museums have been unified and extended.

• Castel Sant’Elmo: castle and ramparts daily 8:30–19:30. Novecento museum 9:30–18:30, last entry 17:30, closed Tuesdays.
• Certosa di San Martino: 8:30–18:30, last entry 17:30, closed Tuesdays. Church, cloisters, Tavola Strozzi and Belvedere from 8:30; nativity scenes, Prior’s quarters and 19th-century rooms from 9:30.

• Certosa: €6 full, €2 for ages 18–25, free under 18.
• Castel Sant’Elmo + Novecento: €5 full, €2 reduced. Local sources report a €2.50 ticket after 16:00 and a €9 combined ticket for both sites: ask at the ticket desk.

Tickets are sold at the ticket office or on Musei Italiani (help desk +39 06 87570182). Entry is free on the first Sunday of the month, and both sites are part of the Campania Artecard. Groups of up to 25 need no booking; no animals except guide dogs.

Official tickets or the Tiqets guided tour?

For most visitors the official tickets are enough: €11 for both, and the freedom to linger on the Belvedere as long as you like. The Tiqets guided tour at €29 includes entry to both monuments and a guide who tells the story of the fortress and the monastery, but it runs in Italian only: if you do not speak it, skip it.

We are an independent guide: if you book through the Tiqets links on this page we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

Getting up to the Vomero: metro and funiculars

• Metro Line 1 to Vanvitelli, then an uphill walk usually reckoned at 10–15 minutes.
• Funicolare Centrale from Augusteo (Via Toledo) to Piazza Fuga.
• Chiaia funicular from Parco Margherita to Cimarosa.
• Montesanto funicular: closed since 15 May 2026 for its 20-year overhaul, with a replacement bus Vanvitelli–Corso Vittorio Emanuele–Dante–Piazza Matteotti. No reopening date has been published.

The metro and funiculars are run by ANM: a single ticket costs €1.30, a 90-minute ticket €1.80. Full details in our guide to getting around Naples.

The best way down is the Pedamentina di San Martino: 414 steps from Largo San Martino to Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Montesanto, with the bay in front of you. Works have been reported on the first stretch, so check on site that it is open.

Planning your visit to Castel Sant’Elmo and San Martino

The best order is the Certosa first (it closes at 18:30) and Castel Sant’Elmo second, since the ramparts stay open until 19:30 and the view is at its best around sunset. Avoid Tuesdays, when the Certosa is closed. Then walk down the Pedamentina towards the historic centre. For another view from above, this time with a great picture gallery, there is Capodimonte; for the sea, the seafront and Castel dell’Ovo. More ideas in our guide to things to do in Naples.