Papa Luna Castle

The castle was built by the Templars in the early 14th century on Arab remains, at the highest point of the Peñíscola rock. A century later Benedict XIII, Papa Luna, made it a papal seat, living here his last years without renouncing the tiara. It has been a historic-artistic monument since 1931 and is run by the Castellón Provincial Council, which opens it all year except five days.

From the entrance hall to the dungeon

You enter by the only gate, on Calle Castillo, where the ticket office is. From there the route is free and passes through the entrance hall, the stables, the guardroom with its cistern and the parade ground. Then come the papal quarters, which were Papa Luna's rooms: the workplace, the antechamber that served as a dining room, the main chamber, the library and the study. Then the castle church, the water or cistern house, the great Gothic hall or throne room, the kitchen, the Conclave hall, which was the main wine cellar, and the dungeon. The terraces, at the end, look out over Playa Norte and the Sierra de Irta. With your ticket you get a leaflet with the plan, and there is a free audio guide in an app for Android and iPhone: download it before you go up. Allow an hour and a quarter.

The Artillery Park, by another door

Going round the fortress on the sea side is the Artillery Park, with the batteries, tunnels, ramps, moats and the powder magazine that Philip II had built in the last quarter of the 16th century against pirates and the Turkish fleet, and gardens made in the 20th century. It is not connected to the castle: you enter via Calle Santos Mártires. At Easter and from June to September the Provincial Council runs free guided tours, up to 30 people, which start at the lighthouse, go along the walkways and gardens above the sea and end in the park.

Price, card and free entry

General admission costs €5. €3.50 is paid by young people aged 9 to 16, over-60s and pensioners, students, teachers and unemployed people with proof, and organised groups of 30 or more. Children up to 8 accompanied, people with disabilities and residents of Peñíscola don't pay. All reductions and free entries are verified at the access control. Payment is by card only, at the ticket office or when buying online on its website.

Closed five days a year

In winter, from 16 October to Palm Sunday, it is open from 10:30 to 17:30; in summer, from Palm Sunday to 15 October, from 9:30 to 21:30. The ticket office closes half an hour before. It is closed all day on 1 and 6 January, 9 September, 9 October and 25 December.

To go up, cross the old town by the Portal Fosc or by the Philip II Ramp, the Renaissance ramp designed by Bautista Antonelli; the walk through the old town and walls is the natural way. On the way down you can go to El Bufador, on the same rock, and the castle, boat and rice plan links it with the port's golondrina boat.