Castel Sant'Angelo Skip-the-Line, with Someone at the Gate

Faster entry, an audio guide, and a host waiting at the castle to sort out the ticket and get you through the door. That last part is the difference between this and a code emailed to your phone: if something is wrong with the booking, there is a person standing there whose job is to fix it. What you do with the time saved is the real question. The building takes about ninety minutes to walk properly, more if you stop, and when you go changes it. Early, the ramp is cool and empty and the terrace is still in shade. Late in the afternoon the queue outside is at its longest and the terrace is at its best, with the light coming across the river onto the dome of St Peter's. The route is fixed by the architecture: up the spiral ramp cut through Hadrian's tomb, through the levels the popes added as fortress, residence and prison, and out at the top. The audio guide fills in the layers as you climb, which on a building this reused is most of what there is to explain.