"Castel Gandolfo" a Castel Gandolfo Travel Page by rita_simoes

Castel Gandolfo is a little village outside Rome. It is famous because it's the place where Pope goes during his summer vacations, but I can assure you it is a lovely village who deserves to be famous on its own.

It is the ideal place if you want to escape the city rush and the touristy activities - I don't know how it is during the time the Pope is here, but when I went there (Christmas time) there were so few people in the streets and the feeling was so peaceful and relaxing! It is now my 4th visit to a little city outside Rome, and I think everyone with a little more time should try and discover these little gems of 'real Italy'. I still have so many things to discover in Rome, and I love the city so much, but to get the real Italian feeling, you must avoid the tourist herds. That's no news, I suppose...

My first view of the village was the lake - it's absolutely beautiful! It was almost sunset and the water had the most incredible colours... Too bad it lasted only a few minutes, because it was really astonishing.