Sometimes it’s about size, sometimes about history and sometimes about lavish decoration – but these six European castles are truly astonishing.
Prague Castle, Czechia
So large that it’s more a separate town on a hilltop than a mere castle, it’s easy enough to spend a day snooping round Prague’s premier attraction. The monstrously gothic St Vitus Cathedral is the immediate attention-grabber – especially the St Wenceslas Chapel – but it’s worth taking a tour of the old royal palace interiors too. The vaulted Vladislav Hall is so enormous that it used to host indoor jousting contests.
The Romanesque Basilica of St George contains 12th century frescoes, but the cramped cottages of the narrow, atmospheric Golden Lane are the most memorable spots to peek inside.
Edinburgh Castle, Scotland
The city views from the terrace outside Edinburgh Castle are tremendous, but inside it’s a glorious mixture of attractions that range from the dazzling to the grim. The castle was home to Scottish kings from the 11th century onwards and the treasures they collected are now displayed as the Honours of Scotland.
The castle vaults have been restored to look as they would have done in the 18th and 19th century when they were used to detain prisoners of war. The beamed 16th century Great Hall and the Royal Apartments are also good for open-jawed ogling, while Mons Meg and the One O’Clock Gun are much-storied institutions.
Beware: This is Edinburgh’s most popular attractions, and you may need a workaround if tickets have sold out. Otherwise, the best things to do near Edinburgh Castle include the National Museum of Scotland and St Giles’ Cathedral.
Malbork Castle, Poland
This red brick behemoth, easily visited by train from Gdansk, was once the HQ of the Teutonic knights and Polish kings, and was built into a classic riverside fortress during the Middle Ages. Get a photo from the other side of the river before walking over the drawbridge and ambling through rooms with grandly vaulted roofs, claustrophobic cellars and eye-poppingly humungous great halls.
Perhaps the most evocative part is St Mary’s Church, which is entered through a sumptuous Gothic doorway, but inside it lies in ruins after WWII bombings. More quirky is the Gdaniska, a toilet perched atop its own tower.
Schloss Neuschwanstein, Germany
If you want your European castle properly Disney-esque, then Mad King Ludwig II’s shameless fairytale effort in the Bavarian Alps is the one. The pinnacles, turrets and mountain crag positioning make it look like Sleeping Beauty might be inside. Once in, you’re unlikely to find a snoozing princess, but there’s plenty of show-off absurdity. The throne room was modelled on the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, King Ludwig’s bedroom is like a vampire’s altar and other rooms are based on Wagner operas. Of these, the Singers’ Hall stretches across an entire floor. Visits, alas, are by slightly rushed guided tour only and it is strongly in your interests to book in advance.
Windsor Castle, England
Most European castles have long been turned into tourist attractions or homes for museums, but the King still lives in Windsor Castle for most of the year. This means Windsor in South-East England has the world’s oldest and largest occupied castle. The State Apartments are crammed full of old master paintings, while the decoration is a grab bag of monarchs’ personal tastes from down the centuries. St George’s Chapel, meanwhile is a Gothic masterpiece, and it houses the tombs of numerous British kings – including Henry VIII. Oddest of all, however, is the Queen Mary Dolls’ House, which is so intricately plush that it looks like a home for Lilliputian aristocrats.
Mont St-Michel, France
OK, so Mont St-Michel is technically a heavily fortified abbey rather than a castle, but the photogenic combo of ramparts, gracefully slim towers, turrets and battlements makes it a treat for castle-lovers. An 8th century chapel on the little islet was transformed into a somewhat intimidating monastic fortress in the 11th century by the Benedictine order. The rooms inside are a real mish-mash, though – the guest hall is Gothic, the dinner hall barrel-vaulted and abbey church seems to pluck aspects from every conceivable style.
In 2015, Mont St-Michel became an island again – the causeway was taken out and replaced by a bridge. Again, advance booking tickets is strongly advised.
More castles
Other castle guides on Planet Whitley include:
- Alnwick Castle, Dunstanburgh Castle and Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland.
- Castillo de San Marcos in St Augustine, Florida.
- Schloss Ambras in Innsbruck, Austria.
- The Alcazar in Segovia, Spain.
- Ljubljana Castle in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
