Germany’s Hohenzollern Castle, set way up high above the Swabian Alps, looks more like it came from the pages of a fairytale than a medieval stronghold. On hazy mornings, its turrets and towers loom through low drifting clouds as if you’ve stumbled upon a scene from Lord of the Rings. Come mid-afternoon on a clear […]
Built atop windswept cliffs or rising from the misty waters of tidal seas, coastal castles have long had a heady sense of drama. Constructed as formidable front-line defenders, they keep watch over vital shipping lanes, harbors, coastal towns, and kingdoms. From the tidal island castle of Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy to the Caribbean fortress of El […]
I’ll be honest—I didn’t expect much the first time I rolled into Bojnice. I’d seen the castle on postcards, sure, but in real life? It’s stranger. Prettier, too. There’s a moment—just before you round the last curve and hit the town center—when those greenish spires seem to float above the rooftops. That morning, I actually […]
I didn’t set out to become a castle person. My first trips to Italy were about food, art, and ticking off the big sights—Rome, Florence, the usual stops. But then I visited a castle by accident. One moment I was following a faded sign on a quiet road in Puglia, the next I was standing […]
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s really like to visit a castle in France, I can tell you this: it’s nothing like the movies, and yet somehow, it’s better. My first castle wasn’t part of a big plan. I was driving through the Loire Valley—following GPS directions that kept trying to reroute me—when I rounded […]
I remember the first time I saw a German castle up close. My family and I had just driven through a sleepy Bavarian village when Neuschwanstein’s white towers suddenly appeared above the trees. For a second, I thought I was looking at a movie set. But this was real—just standing there, looking as dramatic as […]
The first time I spotted Neuschwanstein Castle, I wasn’t standing at a famous lookout or scrolling Instagram. I was behind the wheel, somewhere near Füssen, windows cracked, music low, when it appeared above the trees like a mirage. I actually muttered, “Whoa,” out loud and pulled over without thinking. That first glimpse? I’ll never forget […]
Have you ever stood in a place and felt the past tug at your sleeve? That was me, atop the ramparts of Stirling Castle, wind snapping at my coat as I imagined Robert the Bruce rallying his troops below. There’s something deeply visceral about Scottish castles. They don’t just sit silently on the landscape—they command […]
🏰 1. More Than Just Stone Walls There’s something magnetic about standing in front of a centuries-old castle. The thick stone walls, weathered by time. The towers rise against the sky like ancient sentinels. You can almost hear the echoes of clanking armor and the flicker of torchlight against stone. The first time I visited […]
I’ve always had a thing for castles. As a kid, they were the backdrop to every adventure I imagined—knights, dragons, secret rooms, and tapestries that hid escape tunnels. As an adult, that obsession never really went away. I just swapped out plastic swords for train tickets. Over the years, I’ve wandered through foggy fortresses in […]
