I was just there yesterday, what a coincidence! We got caught in a torrential downpour while exploring the gardens, but dried out enough for the palace tour later. I recommend it highly. I’ve been to a number of the 18th century palace-and-gardens that the royal and noble families built to outdo each other. This one was probably more lavish than Versailles, which was of course the Bourbon king’s objective. I can’t help thinking of all the hungry sharecropping peasants who toiled to pay for this lifestyle for others…but it’s definitely worth seeing. The surrounding old town of Caserta Vecchia is also fun to stroll through, and with a population of almost 1 million, bigger than I expected.
Pro tip - the gardens run minibuses to and from the far end of the garden. And by far, i mean FAR. I’m currently dealing with two busted toes, so took the minibus, and it took it nearly ten minutes to reach the far end. Well worth it for 2.50 Euros one way. From there, there are an infinite number of paths to walk along before you head back to the palace. You can also take the minibus back when you’re ready if you want to. If you’re with a family or group, you can also rent a golf cart and driver to take you around.
And final tip - I am only loosely familiar with the history of the Bourbon dynasty in Italy. They ruled the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies for several centuries before Italian unification. And their rule is a large part of the reason that the economy of southern Italy has always lagged behind the north. As foreign rulers, they were really in it only for labor and resource extraction, not to build anything sustainable. The tour guide rapidly walked us through the rooms saying Carlo this, Ferdinand that, and all the famous French and Austrian queens so and so. I wished I had studied up a bit more before arrival.
It was a great day trip for me and my friend. I recommend you try to shoehorn this in to your itineraries when in southern Italy.
