Castillo de la Concepción
Castillo de la Concepción
Castillo de la Concepción
4
10:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:30 PM
About
The Conception Castle is the best starting point to discover the city and acquire an overview of its 3,000 years of history. Located on the hill of the same name, it has served as the enclave to a Roman temple dedicated to Asclepius, a Muslim fortress, a medieval castle or the place where the siren was installed that warned the population of the bombing during the Civil War. Also, from the fortress, one can obtain the best panoramic views of the city and its natural port. Everything within reach thanks to the panoramic lift that saves walking up the hill.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
651 reviews
Excellent
176
Very good
274
Average
165
Poor
27
Terrible
9
rjs121
Cambridge, England142 contributions
Feb 2022 • Family
Firstly, take the panoramic lift. Not only a good view but the best way to get up the hill. Secondly, visit every room. This is a really interesting castle and has the most amazing views of the whole city. Hit a dry and clear day and you have photos for the whole of the region.
Written February 17, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Wellbeing Gamer
Cannock, UK919 contributions
Sep 2023 • Family
We dropped in to Cartagena for the day off our boat and chose to climb the hill to this awesome historical site. The views alone were worth the climb and actually learning a little history at the top was very cool. A must do in town.
Written September 25, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
motile
Palo Alto, CA225 contributions
May 2014 • Couples
Stop at the TI center for their very good City Center map. From the cruise port, go right along the old wall. Make a sharp left turn left onto Calle de Gisbert. Look for the glass lift -- a big tower with a walkway at right angles near the top. Buy your ticket -- if you're over 65 the magic word is "jubilado" for a senior discount. From the top of the elevator take the pathway up to the castle where you will have spectacular views of the town, the harbor and the Roman Theatre. Look for the gorgeous peacocks strutting the grounds. Come down in the elevator and continue walking along Calle de Gisbert (away from the sea) towards Cuatro Santos. Turn left and look for the Roman Theatre on your left. Then wend your way in the same direction to the Plaza where there are lots of cafes and shops.
Written May 28, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rocky R
Alpena, MI334 contributions
Nov 2014 • Couples
We were on a cruise ship port stop and explored Cartagena on foot. The walk up to the top of Conception Castle is quite a climb from sea level, so make sure you are up for the effort. There is a lift available for those less inclined to walk. (Note: large group shore excursions from the cruise ships have "priority" on the lift, and the lift is essentially closed to other riders when a tour group arrives. The lift can only accommodate 8 people on each transit, so it can take quite a while to serve a large tour group (or two, or three in sequence). Once arriving at the summit you have a panoramic view of the city and sea shore...well worth the hike. The Castle itself is worth exploring in gives you a good idea of the design and structure of citadels of this era. Conveniently located to the cruise port terminal and free if you elect not to go into the museum.
Written November 28, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BADWOLF07
NORTHERN IRELAND45 contributions
Oct 2012 • Couples
Firstly, pay the money to take the lift. It's a long way up, but the views over the port and the city are well worth it. The castle itself is interesting, with detailed history of the development of the city & port. Toilets are scarce, and if you follow the signs for them from the viewpoint with the cannons, you'll end up half way down the hill again.
The lift takes you up to this level and you can walk up to the castle, which costs extra to get in. Don't be confused by thinking admission to it is included with the price for the lift. You can find the lift if you walk along the seafront, with the port to your right, all along the length of the wall. Turn left at the end of the wall and walk on up about 250 meters.
For the views alone I say, "Go for it!" You're on your hollidays. Allow for about 2 hours minimum.
The lift takes you up to this level and you can walk up to the castle, which costs extra to get in. Don't be confused by thinking admission to it is included with the price for the lift. You can find the lift if you walk along the seafront, with the port to your right, all along the length of the wall. Turn left at the end of the wall and walk on up about 250 meters.
For the views alone I say, "Go for it!" You're on your hollidays. Allow for about 2 hours minimum.
Written October 5, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brucestewart
Livingston, UK10,155 contributions
May 2013 • Couples
Our final stop on our one day visit to Cartagena. We took the open air lift from the street up to the cliff, quite an experience. However there is still a bit of a climb to get into the castle but the panoramic views from the top made it all worthwhile.The exhibits inside the small museum inside the castle are interesting as is the continuously running video show on the history of Cartagena whoich has subtitles in English. If there is a downside to this attraction other than the steps that must be climbed is the lack of proper toilets.
Written May 7, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Middleageexplorers
High Wycombe196 contributions
Jan 2013 • Friends
Travel up to the castle via the panoramic lift (ticket can be purchased as part of a multi ticket or as an individual site). Gardens with peacocks roaming. Inside the castle there is a film showing the history of the city (english subtitles), a display of various armour & replicas of some artifacts. Outside, from the top, walking round the outside, there are great views over the city with diagrams showing what the various buildings are. Lower down outside there is a viewing terrace, from which there are good views into the Roman Theatre.
Written March 8, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gail Z
Greer, SC949 contributions
Sep 2019 • Friends
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to this historic site. You have an option of taking an elevator to the top or you can make the climb. The views from the top are spectacular and we enjoyed the peacocks that were strutting around. We also found that the history and exhibits were very informative. We really didn’t know any of Cartagena’s history before our visit. We were glad that we took the time to explore the site.
Written October 13, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jane L
Newbury, UK51 contributions
Feb 2019 • Family
Felt it was good as part of a day of museums but probably wouldn't really recommend it as a must see by itself. You'll get the views anyway from the park. A film about cartagena history, then a few ancient building parts and museum displays. Paid 12 euros for a 4 activity pass, 9 for teen. (theatre, lift, castle and civil War museum) which happily filled the day for us.
Written February 22, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
William7200
Saginaw, MI16 contributions
Oct 2017 • Couples
We've been to Cartegena several times, but we'd never hiked up the castle. This is easy to do from the cruise port. Just outside the cruise gate, there is an information booth. They have city maps free of charge. They will even mark where you need to turn to get to the little road that twists and turns to the castle. It's much better to walk up, as opposed to taking the lift, as there are views of the harbor, ruins, sea and more along the way. After the booth, you'll walk straight down the promenade to the city wall. Turn right and walk along the sidewalk until you come to the first street. Turn left and walk a very short way to the stairs going up to the park at the top of the wall. (You can Google Map this to see details.) There's a road sign just to the right that shows the road, with a very pale pink street sign naming the castle, Concepcion. We almost missed this, because the sun appears to have bleached this out a bit. Now start the slow, switchback walk to the castle. You'll see some nice views about halfway up. Take your time. We're 78 and 63 years old and we did this without too much effort. The castle will be to the right as you get to the pretty park-like area. It's nice just to walk around and see the views. You don't even need to go into the castle, if it's not your thing. When you've finished appreciating the views, work your way down the back pathway past the Roman amphitheater. You can see it easily as you work your way to the main street. You do have to walk down several flights of stairs, but not all at once. Now that you've seen the sights, spend some of the Euro you saved on some cold beer and tapas. There's a bar about two blocks further into town near the main plaza with beers for a Euro each. Better than the price on the ship! Oh, they've free WiFi at almost all the bars. It's much faster than the ship. Just buy a beverage and ask for the password.
Written December 5, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Se puede bajar por ascensor por en el precio de 4,25?
O si o si la bajada es andando?
Written June 27, 2021
The Castle is about 10 minutes walk and then there is a lift from the street up to a stage where there still is a bit of uphill walking to the very top. My Wife has COPD and we walked into the Town centre on fairly flat pavements. There we bought a multi ticket, and we did two other sites before walking to the lift. This was level and slightly downhill. When we finished with the Castle we returned to the street via the lift. From the lift it is a gentle slope back to the port. Again about 10 minutes slow walking. There is a very nice fish Restaurant on the Quay and that is worth a look on your way back.
Written February 11, 2016
hola....gracias por estar ahí......quería mas información histórica del castillo y otros paseos de Cartagena...me estoy armando una pequeña guía Gracias!!!!!!!!!!!!
Written October 11, 2015
No te puedes perder el Teatro Romano, te recomiendo hacerlo con la Guía, lo explican muy bien y es muy bonito. La ruta con Barco te lleva al Fuerte Navidad y tambien está bien, si estas pocas horas teserviran para que te expliquen un poco la historia. El Castillo de la Concepción no nos gusto mucho pero como cerraban lo vimos super rápido, si estan a punto de cerrar, no lo recomiendo por eso.
Written October 12, 2015
When is the Leonardo do Vinci exhibition finish thank you
Written August 26, 2015
Yes, the end of this month, 31st August :)
Written August 27, 2015
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