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 never forget the first time I saw Castel Sant’Angelo—not because it’s the most beautiful building in Rome (it isn’t), but because it stopped me dead on my tracks while I was hurrying to catch the sunset from the Vatican steps. Rome is full of old stones and “must-sees,” but nothing prepares you for this […]
I didn’t come to Segovia for a castle. In fact, the Alcázar was an afterthought—something I’d scribbled on my travel list in the margins, just in case I had time between coffee breaks and wandering the old Jewish quarter. But there’s a moment, halfway through a lazy afternoon, when you round a corner and suddenly […]
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 […]
If you’ve ever wondered whether castles in Spain live up to the stories—well, let me tell you, they don’t just live up to them. They knock them sideways. My first real Spanish castle wasn’t planned. I was somewhere in Castilla y León, running late and nearly out of gas, when I crested a hill at […]
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 […]
I’ll be honest: no matter how many castles I visit, there’s always a moment that gets me. Sometimes it’s the quiet creak of a wooden door at Windsor, or the sting of salty air at Dover as the fog creeps in. One morning, I found myself staring up at Bodiam Castle, ducks gliding across its […]
