Royal Palace of Caserta

The Reggia di Caserta is the biggest single day out within reach of Naples that is not a Roman ruin, and for many visitors it is the surprise of the trip. Charles of Bourbon, King of Naples, commissioned it in the middle of the eighteenth century to give his kingdom a seat to rival Versailles and Madrid, and his architect Luigi Vanvitelli delivered one of the largest royal residences ever built: four great courtyards, more than a thousand rooms, a theatrical staircase of honour and an octagonal vestibule designed so that the visitor's eye travels straight through the building into the park beyond. Together with the park, the Vanvitelli Aqueduct and the silk-weaving colony of San Leucio it forms a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The visit has two halves and both deserve time. Inside, the Royal Apartments run through a sequence of throne room, council chambers, bedrooms and libraries in late Baroque and Neoclassical dress, with the Palatine Chapel and the small, jewel-like Court Theatre (open on limited days) as highlights. Outside, the Royal Park is the real showstopper: a straight avenue of lawns, basins and fountains, each grander than the last, climbing gently for about three kilometres to the Great Waterfall, where water drops down the hillside above the sculpted groups of Diana and Actaeon. To one side lies the English Garden, a romantic landscape garden laid out for Queen Maria Carolina, with follies, exotic trees and an artificial ruin. Film fans may recognise the staircase and halls, which stood in for the Naboo royal palace in two Star Wars films. Fit: history lovers, families who need space to run, couples, and anyone who wants a grand, uncrowded alternative to another day of ruins.

The story behind it: Charles of Bourbon laid the first stone in 1752, but he left Naples to become King of Spain before it was finished, and it was his son Ferdinand IV and later rulers who completed and lived in it. Vanvitelli designed not just the palace but the water supply that makes the park possible, an aqueduct carrying water across valleys on soaring arches, still standing a few kilometres away. The Bourbons used Caserta as a seat of power and pleasure; after Italian unification it passed to the Savoy, and in 1945 the palace saw the signing of the surrender of German forces in Italy.

How to do it well: arrive early, take the apartments first while you are fresh, then give the park at least two hours. Walking to the Great Waterfall and back is a serious stroll, so many visitors use the shuttle bus or hire a bicycle or a horse-drawn carriage inside the park when they are running (check on the day). The English Garden has its own, shorter hours and is reached from the top of the park, so plan it before the gates close. In November the park closes in the early afternoon while the apartments stay open into the evening, so on a winter visit reverse nothing: park first if the morning is fine, apartments after lunch. Bring water and comfortable shoes; the cafes are limited compared with the scale of the grounds.

Practicals: the palace faces Caserta railway station, about 40 minutes to an hour from Napoli Centrale by regional train, so no car is needed. The Reggia closes on Tuesdays, and on staff shortages part of the route can be closed. The linked ticket includes priority entry to the apartments and park with a digital audio guide; exhibitions in the Grand Gallery may need a separate check. Combine with San Leucio or the medieval hill village of Casertavecchia if you have a car and a long day.