The more I think about my trip to Europe in the fall the more excited I get. There is really something to be said about a trip you plan from start to finish on your own, with your own money, you are much more vested in every part of the process. Recently every time I have seen a picture of something that has any chance of being in Eastern Europe I stop and take a second glance, especially on Pinterest. This lead me down a terrifically scenic rabbit hole into European Castles.
I did an intensive search to learn the difference between a castle and a palace. Of all the answers I came across my favorite said that a castle is a fortified building or series of buildings designed to withstand enemy attacks and sieges compared to palace a which is a leisure building, designed to maximize the comfort of its inhabitants, and impress the visitors. This means that palaces like the stunningly beautiful Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria that I am going to visit on my Eastern Europe trip in September was not able to be included on this list. A few of these were questionable but if they had the word castle in them and looked like a solidified wall, I added them in.
Schwerin Castle
Schwerin, Germany
Mont Saint-Michel
Normandy, France
Bojnice Castle
Bojnice, Slovakia
Castel Sant’Angelo
Rome, Italy
Edinburgh Castle
Scotland, United Kingdom
The Alcazar Castle
Segovia, Spain
( The castle is one of the inspirations for Walt Disney’s Cinderella Castle)
Edinburgh Castle
Scotland, United Kingdom
Hunedoara Castle (Corvin Castle)
Hunedoara, Romania
Kilkenny Castle
Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland
Ksi?? Castle
Wa?brzych, Poland
Prague Castle
Prague, Czech Republic
(I am staying two blocks away when I visit Prague in September, so exciting)
Predjama Castle
Predjama, Slovenia
The Hohenzollern Castle
Bisingen, Germany
Vianden Castle
Vianden, Luxembourg
Windsor Castle
Windsor, England
The Neuschwanstein Castle
Schwangau, Germany
Sources: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16
Aren’t these castles beautiful? Have you been to any of them?
My Evening at the Opera in Vienna
Hohensalzburg Fortress in Salzburg
The Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach in Vik
Drinking at the Guinness Factory … Twice!
Angela says
I’ve been to Edinburgh Castle, I live in Scotland where we have an abundance of castles so when it’s on your doorstep you sometimes take it for granted. This post has inspired me to visit some castles and appreciate the beauty xo