Royal Palace of Naples: tickets, opening hours and what to see

Why visit the Royal Palace of Naples

The palace that fills one side of Piazza del Plebiscito is more than a Bourbon residence. Spanish viceroys lived here, then the Bourbons, Joachim Murat and finally the House of Savoy: more than three centuries of history in one building. The royal apartments have been open to the public since 1919. Today the palace houses the museum and the National Library, and it adjoins the Teatro di San Carlo.

It is a compact visit, about an hour, right in the centre: ideal for a free morning between the seafront and Via Toledo.

What to see in the royal apartments

The route leads through the state rooms one after another.

Grand staircase and Court Theatre

The marble grand staircase was designed in the mid-17th century by Francesco Antonio Picchiatti, modelled on the Alcázar of Toledo; its neoclassical decoration is by Gaetano Genovese, after the fire of 1837. The Court Theatre began as the viceroys’ Sala Regia and was converted by Ferdinando Fuga in 1768 for the wedding of Ferdinand IV and Maria Carolina of Austria; its statues of Apollo, the Muses and Minerva are made of papier-mâché.

Throne Room and Royal Chapel

In the Throne Room, the 1818 ceiling shows the twelve provinces of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The Empire-style throne of 1874, with the Savoy eagle, returned to its place on 10 February 2026 after restoration at La Venaria Reale. The Royal Chapel, also by Picchiatti, counted Alessandro Scarlatti among its choirmasters; on the vault is Domenico Morelli’s Assumption (1870).

Hall of Hercules and the other rooms

The Hall of Hercules was named under Murat after a plaster cast of the Farnese Hercules; its walls carry the Cupid and Psyche tapestries from the royal manufactory (1783–86), and it holds the palace’s oldest clock. Along the route you will also see Belisario Corenzio’s 17th-century frescoes in the gallery, Battistello Caracciolo’s in the Sala del Gran Capitano, the King’s Study with Parisian furniture from 1810–12, and Luca Giordano’s Venus, Cupid and a Satyr.

Caruso Museum

In the Sala Dorica, the former carriage house, is the first national museum devoted to Enrico Caruso (1873–1921), the great Neapolitan tenor.

Royal Palace tickets: prices and special tours

• Royal Palace €15: royal apartments, Caruso Museum, Museo della Fabbrica and exhibitions. €2 for EU citizens aged 18–24, free under 18.
• Combined with the Museo Pignatelli €17, valid for a month.
• Special evening openings €5 (combined evening ticket €6).
• Hanging Garden: +€2 on the museum ticket.
• Attics and Belvedere: €7, or €20 including the palace.
• “Un anno Reale”: annual pass for €25, special tours excluded.

The palace is included in the Campania Artecard. As a state museum it normally takes part in the Ministry’s free first Sundays, but the palace’s own website does not confirm this, so check before you go.

Official tickets are sold on the Musei Italiani website and app, at the ticket office or at the kiosk. Musei Italiani help desk: +39 06 87570182, daily 9:00–17:30.

Hanging Garden

The hanging garden can only be visited with staff, for about 15 minutes, at 10, 11, 12, 15 and 16, daily except Wednesdays and free days. Visits were suspended during the summer heat: the palace announces they resume from Saturday 3 October 2026, while the Ministry’s page gives a different date. Ask at the ticket desk.

Attics, Belvedere and storerooms

From October to June, on the fourth Saturday of the month at 10, 11 and 12, you can climb into the neoclassical attics up to the Belvedere, about 70 metres above sea level. Maximum 24 people, booking required, meeting point in the Giardino Italia on Piazza Trieste e Trento. No pushchairs; in rain or a weather alert the roof terrace is skipped. On the third Saturday of the month, “Il sabato dei depositi” takes visitors into the museum’s storerooms.

Official ticket or Tiqets tour?

Read the title carefully: the Tiqets offer at €31.50 is not a guided tour inside the Royal Palace. It is a small-group walk designed for cruise passengers: it starts at the Triton fountain in Piazza Municipio, passes the Maschio Angioino, Galleria Umberto I, the outside of the San Carlo and Santa Lucia, and ends at Castel dell’Ovo, with palace entry included. It is well reviewed and can make sense if you only have a few hours and want a guide for the monumental area.

If you only care about the palace, the official €15 ticket costs €16.50 less and needs no booking.

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 there and visitor rules

The entrance is at Piazza del Plebiscito 1. The nearest stops are Municipio and Toledo on Metro Line 1 and Augusteo on the Funicolare Centrale, all a short walk away. By bus: R2 from Centrale station, R3 from Mergellina. See also our guide to getting around Naples.

• The museum is fully accessible, with lifts.
• No animals in the museum, courtyards or gardens, except assistance dogs.
• Some rooms may be temporarily closed: ask at the ticket desk before paying.

When to go and what to pair it with

The palace is closed on Wednesdays, like Capodimonte, so do not stack your museums on that day. Mornings are best, not least because the accompanied visits to the Hanging Garden and the attics start between 10 and 12. Next door is the Teatro di San Carlo, with 30-minute guided tours.

A morning around the Royal Palace of Naples

A simple plan: be at the Royal Palace of Naples for the 9:00 opening, see the apartments and the garden, then take the San Carlo tour and have a coffee in Galleria Umberto I. In the afternoon, walk down to the seafront towards Castel dell’Ovo, or go underground in the Bourbon Tunnel, whose Vico del Grottone entrance is about 100 metres from Piazza del Plebiscito. For another Bourbon palace outside the city, there is the Royal Palace of Portici.