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Tovrea Castle at Carraro Heights
Best time to visit
Visit between November and April when Phoenix temperatures are mild. Morning tours offer the best light for the glazed tile sparkle and the least harsh shadows for photos.
Budget tips
Tickets are $25-35 per person and must be purchased in advance as walk-ups are not allowed. No free days or city passes include this site, but the price includes a guided tour of the castle interior and the surrounding cactus garden.
Plan your visit
2-2.5 hours
About
Quick facts: Alessandro Tovrea, a cattle baron turned hotel developer, commissioned this wedding-cake-like castle in 1928 as a resort that never opened due to the Great Depression. The five-story structure contains 35 rooms and sits atop a 500-foot-tall hill, offering sweeping views of the Phoenix valley below.
Highlights: The castle's exterior is sheathed in literally thousands of small, glazed porcelain tiles that sparkle like diamonds when the Arizona sun hits them at the right angle. Tovrea designed the grounds to include a nine-hole golf course and artificial lakes, though the only remnants today are the eerie, empty canals that weave through the desert landscape around the property.
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