Lunedì di Castello 2026

When is Lunedì di Castello in 2026?

The first Monday of each month from August to December 2026. Two remain: Monday 2 November and Monday 7 December, always 14:00-20:00.

The series started on Monday 3 August 2026 and, according to the Direzione decree, runs «from 3 August until December 2026». The museum opens at 14:00 and closes at 20:00. Last entry is at 19:00: anyone arriving at 19:15 stays outside.

The two remaining dates fall right after two first Sundays of the month, the ones with free entry. 1 November is Sunday and 2 November is Monday; in December the free Sunday is 6 and Lunedì di Castello is 7. If you're in Rome on one of those weekends, you have two budget ways to enter, one after the other.

After 7 December, the museum decides the calendar. The decree covers up to 2026, and any later dates are published by the Direzione among the notices on its website.

How much is the Lunedì di Castello ticket and where do you buy it?

€5, only at the castle ticket office at Lungotevere Castello 50. There is no online booking and groups are not admitted.

It is a separate ticket, which the decree calls a «temporary special full ticket», and it is valid for that afternoon only. You will not find it on the Musei Italiani platform or in the app: you pay on site, queuing with everyone else. For an organised group, Monday is not an option, because the Ministry clearly states that groups are not admitted.

Under-18s and the categories provided for by law remain free, with the document proving this to be shown at the ticket office. Still bring an original ID document: the museum's tickets are named, and at the entrance the details are checked.

Lunedì di Castello is only available with the €5 ticket from the ticket office. Tickets with audio guide and guided tours from GetYourGuide are used on the other opening days, from Tuesday to Sunday.

What do you see on Monday: is the route complete?

No, it is reduced: on Monday, the Mausoleum ramp, the papal apartments and the terrace are open, while six rooms remain closed.

It's the detail few people mention. The decree lists the open and closed spaces. You go up the Mausoleum ramp, the spiral ramp of Hadrian's tomb, you cross the papal apartments and at the end there is the terrace, with the view over the Tiber and the dome of St Peter's.

The Adrianeo, Sala dei Festoni, Sala Perseo, Appartamento del Castellano, Armeria inferiore and Cagliostra remain closed. This also means that the exhibition «Fuochi sul Tevere», set up in the Appartamento del Castellano until 22 November 2026, cannot be seen on 2 November.

For first-time visitors, Monday is still a good taster: the ramp and the terrace are the two things that stay in your mind. The rest, rooms and courtyards included, is in the guide to what to see inside the castle.

What changed with the €18 ticket from 1 July 2026?

The full ticket has increased from €16 to €18; the reduced ticket for EU citizens aged 18 to 25 remains at €2 and entry is free for under 18s.

From 1 July 2026, the Italian Ministry of Culture has «remodulated» the full ticket to €18. The reduced ticket of €2 applies to EU citizens aged 18 to 25; under 18s enter free. With the same ticket, on that day and the next two days, you can also enter Casa Museo Boncompagni Ludovisi and Casa Museo Hendrik Christian Andersen.

The ticket is named. If you buy it online or at the call centre you can change the name once, by midnight the day before; at the entrance the details must match the document, otherwise you do not enter and there is no refund. All rates are in the guide to tickets and prices.

A live guide from Hadrian's tomb to the terrace, with the ticket included: according to the listing, it also passes through areas usually closed to the public.

★ 4.7 · 1.5-2 hours · from $65

Discover the guided tour of Castel Sant'Angelo → Tour details

Is Lunedì di Castello or free Sunday better?

It depends on what you are looking for: the free Sunday has the full route but one queue for everyone, Monday costs €5 and opens only in the afternoon with a reduced route.

On the first Sunday of the month, with #domenicalmuseo, entry is free from 9:00, last entry at 18:30. It cannot be booked: the free ticket is collected at the ticket office and everyone joins the same queue. The museum warns that with many people the route may change. On that day the Passetto di Borgo cannot be visited.

If you have only one afternoon and the ramp, apartments and terrace are enough, Monday works fine. If instead you want to see everything, and perhaps the Passetto, choose a Friday, Saturday or Sunday that is not the first of the month. The Passetto can only be visited with a guide: how it works is explained in the guide to the Passetto di Borgo.

How to plan the Lunedì di Castello afternoon?

Arrive around 14:00, or by 17:30 at the latest if you want to be safe: last entry is at 19:00.

No reservations, so the only variable is the ticket office queue. Arrive early, not at 18:45: the 19:00 last entry is strict. During the reception renovation works, the ticket office is in temporary structures outside the castle.

Travel light. The castle has no cloakroom and animals are not allowed; the bar, according to CoopCulture, is also temporarily closed. You reach it by metro line A, Lepanto stop, about 15 minutes on foot, by bus 40 from Termini, or on foot from the historic centre via Ponte Sant'Angelo. All the routes are in the guide to how to get there.

At 20:00, when the castle closes, you are a few steps from St Peter's and Borgo. An idea for another morning is in the article on the half-day between the castle and St Peter's.

Frequently asked questions