Castles of Europe
96 European castles — each mapped, dated and ready to explore.
Meersburg Castle
The oldest inhabited castle in Germany, above Lake Constance
Castle of Santa Maria da Feira
Fairytale castle bristling with conical-roofed turrets and battlements
Castle of Diósgyőr
Hungary's four-towered Gothic queens' castle, rebuilt by Louis the Great
Château de Falaise
Birthplace of William the Conqueror, with a great square Norman keep
Château de Fougères
One of Europe's largest medieval fortresses, ringed by towers and water
Rock of Cashel
Ireland's medieval hilltop of kings, with a round tower, chapel and cathedral
Tavira Castle
Garden-filled castle walls above an elegant Algarve town
Óbidos Castle & Walls
Portugal's fairytale walled hill town crowned by a medieval castle
Wernigerode Castle
A romantic turreted castle crowning a town at the edge of the Harz mountains
Cahir Castle
One of Ireland's largest and best-preserved castles, on a rocky island in the river Suir
Kalmar Castle
Sweden's Renaissance castle with round corner towers, guarding the Baltic coast
Eltz Castle
A perfectly preserved medieval castle hidden in a forested valley, never destroyed
Trim Castle
The largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland, a star of the film Braveheart
Carrickfergus Castle
The best-preserved Norman castle in Ireland, guarding Belfast Lough
Gravensteen
Belgium's moated 'Castle of the Counts' in the heart of Ghent
Lismore Castle
Clifftop castle of the Dukes of Devonshire above the Blackwater
Malahide Castle
Home of the Talbot family for nearly 800 years, near Dublin
Kilkenny Castle
Great riverside castle of the powerful Butler family for almost 600 years
Belmonte Castle
Castle of the Cabral family, home of the discoverer of Brazil
Château de Blois
Royal château of four styles, scene of the dramatic murder of the Duke of Guise
King John's Castle
Mighty riverside fortress on King's Island in the city of Limerick
St Andrews Castle
Coastal bishops' castle with a notorious bottle dungeon and siege mine
Maynooth Castle
Seat of the powerful FitzGerald earls, besieged in the 'Pardon of Maynooth'
Dublin Castle
The seat of English and British power in Ireland for over 700 years
Athlone Castle
Riverside fortress guarding the great crossing of the Shannon
Dunstaffnage Castle
One of Scotland's oldest stone castles, a MacDougall stronghold
Ashford Castle
Fairytale lakeside castle, once a Guinness estate and now a luxury hotel
Urquhart Castle
Ruined lochside stronghold on the banks of Loch Ness
Athenry Castle
Well-preserved early Norman keep in one of Ireland's best walled towns
Dirleton Castle
13th-century cluster-tower castle with celebrated gardens
Kildrummy Castle
Ruined 13th-century stronghold of the Earls of Mar
Stolzenfels Castle
A Prussian king's romantic Gothic-Revival castle above the Rhine
Leap Castle
Often called the most haunted castle in Ireland
Blair Castle
White-walled Highland castle, home of the only legal private army in Europe
Roscommon Castle
Great quadrangular royal castle with mighty corner towers
Bothwell Castle
Scotland's largest 13th-century stone castle, in red sandstone above the Clyde
Caerlaverock Castle
Britain's only triangular castle, a famous siege target in 1300
Dunvegan Castle
Skye's Clan MacLeod seat, the oldest continuously inhabited castle in Scotland
Malbork Castle
The world's largest brick castle, built by the Teutonic Knights in Poland
Conwy Castle
13th-century Welsh river fortress with eight towers, built in just four years
Drum Castle
One of Scotland's oldest tower houses, granted by Robert the Bruce
Dunrobin Castle
Fairytale French-château castle of the Dukes of Sutherland, by the sea
Heidelberg Castle
Romantic red-sandstone ruin above the old city of Heidelberg
Muiderslot
The Netherlands' classic moated brick castle near Amsterdam
Évoramonte Castle
Cube-shaped castle wrapped in carved stone 'ropes'
Glamis Castle
Turreted fairytale castle, childhood home of the Queen Mother and the setting of Macbeth
Craigmillar Castle
Well-preserved tower castle near Edinburgh tied to Mary, Queen of Scots
Celle Castle
Residence of the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg, with the oldest baroque theatre in Germany
Cawdor Castle
Turreted Highland castle linked by legend to Shakespeare's Macbeth
Doune Castle
Well-preserved medieval castle famous from Monty Python, Outlander and Game of Thrones
Fyvie Castle
Grand baronial castle rich in ghost legends and a famous curse
Château de Pierrefonds
A medieval castle reborn as a 19th-century romantic dream
Corvin Castle
Transylvania's grand Gothic castle, reached by a long bridge on stone pillars
Ross Castle
Lakeside tower house in Killarney, among the last to fall to Cromwell
Linlithgow Palace
Ruined Stewart royal palace, birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots
Bunratty Castle
The most complete medieval castle in Ireland, beside a lively folk park
Enniskillen Castle
Island stronghold of the Maguire chiefs, with a famous twin-turreted Watergate
Château d'Ussé
A fairy-tale château said to have inspired Sleeping Beauty
Blarney Castle
Home of the famous Blarney Stone, said to give the gift of eloquence to those who kiss it
Ormond Castle
The finest Elizabethan manor house in Ireland, built by 'Black Tom' Butler
Knappogue Castle
Well-restored MacNamara tower house famous for its medieval banquets
Albrechtsburg
One of Germany's first true castle-palaces, later home of the first European porcelain
Donegal Castle
Stronghold of the O'Donnell chiefs, with a fine Jacobean wing
Château de Bonaguil
One of the last great medieval fortresses, built for the age of cannon
Aughnanure Castle
Six-storey O'Flaherty tower house near the shore of Lough Corrib
Château de Chenonceau
The elegant 'Castle of the Ladies', arching gracefully across the river Cher
Château d'Azay-le-Rideau
A Renaissance jewel built on an island, mirrored in the river Indre
Château de Chambord
The largest château of the Loire, crowned with a forest of towers and a double-helix stair
Dunguaire Castle
Picture-perfect tower house on the shore of Galway Bay
Château de Fontainebleau
A royal palace lived in by French monarchs for some seven hundred years
Château de Villandry
Renaissance château famed for its spectacular geometric gardens
Moritzburg Castle
A baroque hunting palace set on an island in its own lake
Crathes Castle
Fairytale tower house famous for painted ceilings and ancient yew hedges
Château de Chantilly
Lakeside château holding one of France's greatest art collections
Parke's Castle
Restored 17th-century fortified manor on the shore of Lough Gill
Birr Castle
Castle of the Earls of Rosse, home to a giant 19th-century telescope
Château de Cheverny
Elegant classical château that inspired Tintin's Marlinspike Hall
Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte
The breathtaking château whose splendour led to its owner's downfall
Palace of Versailles
The dazzling palace of the Sun King, with its Hall of Mirrors and vast gardens
Charlottenburg Palace
The largest royal palace in Berlin, seat of the Prussian kings
Würzburg Residence
A baroque palace with the world's largest ceiling fresco, by Tiepolo
Floors Castle
Largest inhabited castle in Scotland, seat of the Dukes of Roxburghe
Sanssouci
Frederick the Great's rococo summer palace, his 'place without cares'
Inveraray Castle
Gothic Revival fairytale seat of the Dukes of Argyll, featured in Downton Abbey
Culzean Castle
Clifftop Robert Adam mansion above the Firth of Clyde
Slane Castle
Gothic Revival castle above the Boyne, famous for its rock concerts
Hohenschwangau Castle
The yellow childhood castle of King Ludwig II, facing Neuschwanstein
Lichtenstein Castle
A storybook 'fairytale castle of Württemberg' perched on a cliff
Pena Palace
A riot of coloured towers crowning the hills of Sintra, a Romantic fairy-tale palace
Balmoral Castle
Royal Highland retreat of the British monarchy, built for Queen Victoria
Kylemore Abbey
A romantic lakeside castle in Connemara, now a Benedictine abbey
Neuschwanstein Castle
The fairytale castle of 'Mad King' Ludwig II that inspired Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle
Glenveagh Castle
Romantic 19th-century castle at the heart of a wild Donegal national park
Linderhof Palace
The small, jewel-like palace of Ludwig II, with a famous grotto and gardens
Herrenchiemsee
Ludwig II's island palace, built as a German answer to Versailles
Schloss Drachenburg
A fantastical 19th-century palace on the Dragon's Rock above the Rhine