Driving on Loop 202 near Van Buren Street in Phoenix, you may have noticed a wedding cake-looking building perched on a hilltop.
Maybe you've driven past it dozens of times and wondered: Can I actually go inside?
Tovrea Castle at Carraro Heights, a 1930s castle in the desert between 48th and 52nd streets on East Van Buren Street, has very limited public access. But twice a year, the public gets a chance to enter a lottery for tickets to tour the unique Phoenix landmark.
Here's how to get your chance to see Tovrea Castle from the inside.
How can I visit Tovrea Castle?
To get inside, you'll need a little luck.
Because demand for tickets is high, visitors must enter a ticket lottery for the opportunity to purchase tickets for a regular tour of the castle and its grounds.
The lottery
opens twice a year, in June and October. The next lottery will be open Oct. 1 through Oct. 15 for Tovrea Castle tours scheduled from January through May 2027.
To enter, lottery participants must submit a form on the castle's website, tovreacastletours.com. The form asks for information including your name, email, phone number and address. You can request up to four tickets and select up to three preferred tour dates.
Tours are offered Fridays through Sundays during the January-May tour season.
Selected entrants will be notified about two to three weeks after the lottery closes and will have 72 hours to purchase their tickets. General admission tickets cost $22, while children 2 and younger can attend for free.
If a selected entrant doesn't complete their purchase within the 72 hours, the tickets will be offered to another lottery entrant.
What is Tovrea Castle?
Tovrea Castle is a Phoenix landmark built by an Italian immigrant named Alessio Carraro, who made a fortune in the sheet metal business upon moving to the United States. He bought 277 acres of land in 1928 to build the castle, which he intended as the centerpiece of a resort destination called Carraro Heights — a plan that was never completed.
The castle later ended up being a personal residence for Della Gillespie Tovrea and her husband, Edward Ambrose Tovrea, who ran the plant near the castle.
Decades later, the building was purchased and renovated, opening to the public in 2012.
The castle hardly goes unnoticed when you drive by, as it draws curiosity for its vintage look and cake-shaped appearance. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was named a Phoenix Point of Pride and an Arizona Centennial Legacy Project.
For anyone interested in historic architecture, landscaped desert gardens and scenic views, the tours offer a chance to explore one of Phoenix's most iconic landmarks — if you can get a ticket.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: You've seen the exclusive Phoenix castle. How you can tour it
