Tovrea Castle, the iconic tiered landmark in Phoenix, is set to hold a ticket lottery for its fall public tours.
Benjamin Leatherman
For some Valley residents, it’s the “wedding cake building.” For others, it’s “that castle on the hill.” Whatever the moniker, its official name is Tovrea Castle at Carraro Heights, one of the Phoenix’s most iconic landmarks.
The historic structure at 52nd Street and Van Buren has stood for almost a century 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 limited and the only way to tour the attraction is through the official Tovrea Castle Phoenix ticket lottery, which occur twice a year. Tickets are in high demand and tours frequently sell out.
The next Tovrea Castle Phoenix ticket lottery, for tours scheduled from September through December 2026, opens on June 1 and closes June 15. If you want to see the inside of this unique Valley treasure, here’s everything to know about the latest Tovrea Castle lottery.
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A 1985 photo of Tovrea Castle. The historic structure dates back to 1929.
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. In 2025, it unveiled two rebuilt outbuildings on the grounds, the Carraro Cottage and the Caretakers’ House, that were previously destroyed by monsoon thunderstorms.
When the society’s public tours of the property began in 2012, 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.
Tovrea Castle is one of Phoenix’s best-known buildings.
When can the public visit Tovrea Castle?
Tamera Zivic, president of the Tovrea Carraro Society, told Phoenix New Times in 2021 that the public can tour the historic building through a twice-yearly ticket lottery 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 to enter the Tovrea Castle ticket lottery
Zivic told New Times in 2025 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 the website from June 1-15 and click the link for the fall 2026 lottery.
Entrants must provide their name, phone number and email address, and may select up to three preferred dates and times between September and December 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.