When I first got to Schönbrunn Palace, I’ll be honest—I was mostly just trying to avoid the midday crowds. I had seen photos, read about the Habsburgs, but didn’t really know what to expect. It’s one of those places that’s so famous, you almost assume it can’t surprise you. Then I walked into the courtyard. […]
I still remember the first time I caught a glimpse of the Palace of Versailles. The soft splash of fountains echoed in the distance, and the air smelled faintly of roses and gravel warmed by the sun. It was early morning, and the sun hit those golden gates just right—it felt like I had stepped […]
The first time I visited La Mothe-Chandeniers, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’d seen photos—moody, mist-covered images that looked almost too magical to be real. But nothing really prepares you for standing in front of it. The castle rises from a moat in the middle of the French countryside, covered in ivy and surrounded […]
You know that feeling when you stand in front of something so massive, so ancient, and so meticulously crafted that you’re not sure whether to be amazed or just speechless? That’s exactly how I felt the first time I laid eyes on Malbork Castle. Towering over the sleepy Nogat River in northern Poland, this red-brick behemoth […]
When I first heard about a castle nestled in the rainforests of tropical North Queensland, I thought someone was pulling my leg. A Spanish-style castle? In Australia? Next to a roaring waterfall? It sounded more like a fantasy scene from a novel than a place you could actually visit. But Paronella Park Castle is very […]
When I was planning my trip to New Zealand, I wasn’t expecting to find a castle. Mountains, yes. Sheep, absolutely. But a full-on, turreted, Gothic-revival mansion? That caught me off guard. Then I stumbled across Larnach Castle, perched high on the Otago Peninsula near Dunedin, and I knew I had to go. This isn’t just […]
Some castles whisper history. This one roars it. Standing atop San Lázaro Hill under the searing Caribbean sun, I found myself staring up at the colossal walls of Castillo San Felipe de Barajas, the greatest military fortress ever built by the Spanish in the Americas. It’s not just a pile of stones—it’s a monument to […]
I’ll be honest: when someone first told me there was a full-on medieval-style castle sitting in the green mountains near Rio de Janeiro, I thought they were joking. Brazil has beaches, jungles, samba, and fútbol—but Gothic stone towers? It didn’t compute. But then I visited Castelo de Itaipava myself, and now I get it. It’s […]
There’s something electric about standing where centuries of footsteps have echoed before you. When I finally walked through the heavy stone gates of Fort Jesus, it felt like history reached out and grabbed my hand. The scent of salt and old stone hung in the air, and the sound of distant waves crashing against the […]
When I first arrived in Gondar, Ethiopia, I didn’t expect to be so moved by stone and silence. The early morning mist clung to the hills, and through it, Fasil Ghebbi emerged like a mirage from another time. A local boy selling coffee on the street pointed and said, “King Fasil built that to touch […]
