Ducale Palace

Four hours of magnificance! This palace is now one of my favourites. Starting with the bridal room and Mantegna's masterpiece - leading through corridors, rooms, passages, balustrades and gardens with some of the most stunning works ever made. As for the gardens and collection rooms - Having visited the Met's Cloisters, brought back memories - Ducale's Palace must have been an important benchmark and inspiration. A worthwhile visit. Bring time and a pair of comfy shoes or sandels. I walked the full stretches of Venice's palazzos, but Ducale is where I needed to rest my feet after the visit.

Palazzo Ducale is a breathtaking testament to Renaissance opulence—a vast labyrinthine complex of over 500 rooms, evolved from the 13th to the 17th century by luminaries like Giulio Romano, Antonio Maria Viani, and Giuseppe Piermarini . The crown jewel is undoubtedly the Camera degli Sposi, Andrea Mantegna’s illusionistic masterpiece that transports you into the heart of the Gonzaga dynasty . You’ll also discover the dazzling Hall of Mirrors, rich with mythological frescoes and regal reflections , along with sumptuous tapestries and Rubens’s “Adoration of the Holy Trinity” .

Amazing place and the ticket price (15€) is really decent compared to other more famous palaces and given the amount of space, art and history you see. We were simply astonished. You can easily spend 4-5h and if it's raining outside, you have no reason to hurry up. We loved it, it's a must if you're in Mantova.

Dizzying array of intricately decorated rooms and artistic artifacts. You’ll never be able to absorb it all.

Didn’t expect much, but ended up really enjoying this muzeum. The castle itsef is amazing, very nice and well preserved frescoes. A lot of different items on display, everything from sea shells, crocodiles, greek and roman sculptures, to weapons. Nice place for kids :)

This was perhaps the best Palazzo I ever visited. Of course, Mantegna's work (camera degli sposi) was fab, but the building, setting, views as a whole were remarkable. I can understand why 400 years of Gonzagas lived here.

Very nice and extensive palace, so big that you can get lost ( or out of energy). A must if you travel in Mantova.

Gorgeous, stunning, magnificent place - a must-see when in Mantua. It’s a breathtaking walk through other times, passing through the marvellous interiors and seeing incredible frescoed rooms and artworks. The entrance was a bit confusing, since the ticket office is a bit outside but we found no crowd so it was all good. Absolute gem worth visiting.