First disappointment, parking. For somebody who is not from the area (us), we presumed that the parking below the castle was connected with the castle museum but not, so we kept driving in circles to look for a parking spot (the road to the castle is difficult to access if coming from Baia (driving southbound) because of the narrow turn, if coming from Bacoli/Miseno (northbound) need to pay extra attention to take that uphill road because there are no signs of the castle museum access road). When driving we called the museum to ask but nobody answered the phone (working hours). At the end after three circles we managed to recognized that uphill road, arrived and they told us to park in one of those 5 narrowed parking spots (test drive skills!) but what happens if there are more than 5 cars? Plenty of carpark inside after the ticket gate but not for the public. Second disappointment, only cash. How can such an important museum don't accept cards? There is no ATM machine in the close surroundings. Third disappointment, exhibitions. We came here purposely to see the original underwater marble statues from the nymphaeum of Baiae (Emperor Claudius nymphaeum) after that marvellous semi-submarine tour :( we were told, that room has been closed for years! The positives are the exhibition pieces. Appreciated a lot that topographic model of the whole Phlegraean Fields, gave a good idea of how the towns were sited in Ancient Rome times comparing today can realize how those nature forces (volcano eruptions and earthquakes) shaped the area throughout the centuries. Lots of interesting pieces from ancient Greek town of Cumae; so many busts and pieces of artifacts with the names of the streets where found like the bust of Commodus which was found in the surroundings where was located the circus agonalis aka chariot-racing stadium of Pozzuoli (ancient Puteoli). The castle itself was not bad but it was not that good, there was a lot of working equipment everywhere. Pity because the castle is an important and historic monument of the area; it is believed that Julius Caesar had his villa there (according to Tacitus) then the Aragons built it, never lossing its military strategic use. In a few words: 1. come early and cross fingers that there is carpark available; 2. bring enough cash; 3. they close at 13:00 so only morning visits; 4. if interested to see the nymphaeum marble statues (and the exhibition room is still closed) can search it on youtube through a famous Italian science and history documentarian...

Beautiful views from the top, but not a lot to see of the castle. The museum was interesting and there were displays in English, but there didn’t seem to be much information on the castle itself, and most of the areas of the castle were off limits.