The historic structure at 52nd Street and Van Buren has stood for nearly 100 years and is a familiar sight for anyone driving the Loop 202 Freeway. Its tiered architecture and surrounding cactus gardens make it one of the most photographed and distinctive sights in town.
Getting inside, though, isn’t easy. Public access is very limited and the only way to tour the attraction is through the official Tovrea Castle Phoenix ticket lottery, which happens twice a year. Tickets are in high demand and tours frequently sell out.
The next Tovrea Castle Phoenix ticket lottery, for tours scheduled from January through May 2026, opens at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, and closes Wednesday, Oct. 15. If you want to see the inside of this iconic Valley treasure, here’s what to know.
What is Tovrea Castle?
Tovrea Castle’s history stretches back nearly a century. In the late 1920s, Italian immigrant and entrepreneur Alessio Carraro built the tiered, 5,000-square-foot structure as the centerpiece of a luxury desert resort that never materialized. Arizona cattle baron and meat-packing mogul A.E. Tovrea bought the 44-acre property in 1931. After his death the following year, the castle became the home of his wife, Della, for three decades.
These days, the city of Phoenix owns the castle and it’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Tovrea Carraro Society, a local nonprofit, manages and maintains the property. It recently unveiled two rebuilt outbuildings on the grounds, the Carraro Cottage and the Caretakers’ House, that were previously destroyed by monsoon storms.
The society’s public tours of the property began in 2012 and demand was overwhelming. As a result, a ticket lottery was introduced to manage the sheer number of people eager to storm the castle for a look inside.
Why is there so much demand for Tovrea Castle tours?
Tamera Zivic, president of the Tovrea Carraro Society, told Phoenix New Times in 2021 that hundreds of thousands of people enter the twice-yearly lottery, which is conducted in the fall and spring. She stated that two factors fuel the demand for tours: mystery and scarcity.“There’s a lot of history behind the castle and people are just curious about it,” Zivic stated in 2021. “People who've lived here for a very long time want to know more about it, like ‘What the heck is that thing out there? What’s inside?’ Other people around the world have heard about and are quite interested in it also.”
Tours last 75 minutes and are docent-led, but the number and size of groups are capped by city regulations, occupancy limits, and the need to protect the fragile property.
“We could be doing tours 24/7 because of demand, but we don’t want to take this historic site that the city of Phoenix refurbished and run it into the ground with lots of people going through it,” Zivic told New Times in 2021. “We make sure that everybody gets a great tour and gets to see a lot when they’re here.”
How the Tovrea Castle ticket lottery works
Zivic told New Times earlier this year that “many thousands” of tickets will be available for purchase by those selected at random through the lottery. Here’s how it works:Tovrea Castle tour tickets cost $22 each with children 2 and under admitted free. Tickets can only be purchased by those 18 or older. Only one lottery entry per person is allowed.
Anyone interested in entering the Phoenix Tovrea Castle ticket lottery can visit tovreacastletours.com/castle-tours
between Oct. 1 and Oct. 15 and click the link for the spring 2026 lottery. Entrants must provide their name, phone number, and email address, and may select up to three preferred dates and times between January and May 2026. Tours are held Fridays through Sundays, and each winner may request up to four tickets. A confirmation email is sent once the entry is submitted.
Lottery winners will be notified by email after the drawing concludes. Winners then have 72 hours to purchase their tickets. If they fail to respond or complete the purchase in time, another entrant will be selected and contacted.
