Top 10 Castles/Palaces in Europe **** MUST SEE ****

Neuschwanstein Castle

The Neuschwanstein Castle

King Ludwig II

The construction of the castle started in 1868 and was partially ready for occupation in the end of 1873, where it was fully completed in 1892. 

Seven weeks after the death of King Ludwig II in 1886, Neuschwanstein was opened to the public. King Ludwig the II was a shy king and had built the castle in order to withdraw from the public.

You may wonder why the castle is familiar to you. It must be because it was featured in many movies and was the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Park and the Cinderella Castles at the Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland. Today Neuschwanstein is one of the most popular castles in Europe. Every year around 1.3 million people are visiting the castle.

To reach the castle, you should first get to Munich / Germany . Then you need to take a train  or renta  a car to get to Füssen and then a bus in the direction to Schwangau until you reach the stop Hohenschwangau (.by car you go directly) From the bus station you can walk to the castle (about 30 minutes). It is a "Nice Walk". : ))

Windsor Castl

  The Windsor Castle

The Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world and is the Official Residence of Her Majesty The Queen. The Castles rich history spans about 1000 years. The Castle covers an area of about 5 hectares and contains magnificent State Apartments furnished with treasures from the Royal Collection, St George's Chapel, and Queen Mary's Dolls House, a masterpiece in miniature. 

Getting there : The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is just 30 miles west of London with Heathrow Airport just 15 minutes' drive away. 

Hunyad Castle

 The Hunyad Castle

The Hunyad Castle is the biggest and the most imposing of the Transylvania's castles. In This castle is the place where Vlad III of the Wallachian empire (we all know him as Dracula) was held as a prisoner for 7 years from 1462 till 1469. This castle used to be a defensive structure and remains to be one of the most evident symbols of the Middle Ages. 

Getting there :   The castle is situated in present-day Hunedoara / Romania

Palacio de Pena

 Pena Palace

The history of the palace starts in the Middle Ages when a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Pena was built on the top of the hill above Sintra./Portugal (São Pedro de Penaferrim). According to the tradition, the construction started after an apparition of the Virgin Mary. King John II, ın 1493, accompanied by his wife Queen Leonor, made a pilgrimage to the site to fulfill a vow. His successor, King Manuel I, was also very fond of this sanctuary, and ordered the construction there of a monastery which was donated to the Order of Saint Jerome. Pena was for centuries a small, place for meditation, housing a maximum of eighteen monks. 

 Getting there : It 's located in the civil parish of São Pedro de Penaferrim, municipality of Sintra, Portugal

Topkapı Palace

As known the Residence of the Sultans. 

Topkapı Palace was constructed by Fatih Sultan Mehmet, (the Conqueror of Istanbul 1453). In 1478 the palace has been the official residence of the Ottoman Sultans and center of State Administration for around 400 years until the construction of Dolmabahce Palace by Sultan Abdulmecid. The palace is covering around 700.000 m.² area. The palace is visited by many visitors all around the world. Today, Topkapi Palace is a museum and the treasure of the museum is considered as one of the most famous treasures in the world. 

Getting there : Istanbul / Turkey

Hohensalzburg Fortress

Hohensalzburg Castle (Fortress)

The 900 year old Hohensalzburg Fortress was built by Archbishop Gebhard during the investiture controversy in 1077.It was built in order to to protect the clergy and the population.

Today the Hohensalzburg Fortress is open to the public all year. Besides the medieval rooms the romantic courtyard and the bastions regularly serve as scenery for events like the Fortress Concerts.

Getting there : Salzburg / Austria

Coca Castle

The Coca Castle was built in the late 15 th century by Don Alonso de Fonseca, one of the most magnificent and luxury-loving magnates of Castile.

The castle is built in a sandy, wooded land, poor in stone and it was naturally built of bricks as other castles and churches in the area. The interior is very luxurious and conserves its Mudejar decoration. Due to its great splendour, it was used more as a palace than as a fortress. It is one of the crowning works of the military Mudejar style.


Getting there : Coca it is located 50 kilometres northwest of the provincial capital city of Segovia, and 60 kilometres from Valladolid / Spain

Mont St. Michel

Mont St. Michel

Le Mont St. Michel is  on  a rock situated and has a  cone-shaped islet in  northwestern of  France, in the Gulf of Saint-Malo. It was built as a medieval castle.  It has two large towers in order to defend the entrance to the castle. The islet, has small houses and shops on its lowest level. Above these stand the monastic buildings, many of which date from the 13th century and are considered outstanding examples of Gothic architecture. The entire islet is crowned by the abbey church, about 240 ft (73 m) above sea level. St. Michael is a surety for freedom and thus this sanctuary it became a symbol of the allied landing in Normandy during the 2nd World War.

Getting there : Mont St. Michel Abbey - Le Mont-Saint-Michel / France

Grate Kremlin Palace

 The Grate Kremlin Palace

Большой Кремлёвский дворец

  
The Grand Kremlin Palace was built during 1837 to 1849 by Emperor Nicholas in Moscow, Russia on the site of the estate of the Grand Princes, which to that time had been established in the 14th century on Borovitsky Hill in the southern part of the Kremlin Complex.
In Soviet times, two of the Grand Kremlin Palace halls, the Alexandrovsky (St. Alexander) and Andreyevsky (St. Andrew) Halls, were combined into a single chamber to serve for meetings and conferences of the USSR and later of the Russian Federation.

Getting there : Moscow / Russia

Castel del Monte

Castel Monte

This Castle is one of the unique masterpiece of medieval military architecture. Its shap is perfect, its design a harmonious blend of cultural elements from Classical antiquity, Muslim architecture and the Cistercian Gothic of northern Europe.

Emperor Frederick II von Hohenstaufen was the sponsor of its construction. He was a man of many talents: an absolute monarch but also a great lover of culture. In addıition, he spoke several foreign languages and was interested in astronomy, natural sciences and mathematics. His stay in the Middle East (for the Crusades) heavily influenced his thinking.

Getting there : Communes of Andria and Corato, Province of Bari, Puglia Region / Italy

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