Castles have a special enchantment that draws in modern travelers, evoking legends, lore, and full-fledged fantasy. The soaring towers and lush grounds of royal residences transport us back to the worlds of our childhood bedtime stories. Even more so, royal houses around the world play an important role in expressing the rich history of a location, its people, and its skill.
Their storied halls provide insight into their kings’ successes (and tragedies), while the exquisite frescoes and tiles that decorate the huge dining rooms celebrate the best artists of the time. The enormous turrets provide detailed architectural lessons in the elaborate styles that ruled at the time and thereafter.
Not to mention the varied fabrics and furniture that have been kept over the years and may still be found in many of the palaces’ original meeting rooms. Simply put, castles are magnificent time capsules that provide visitors with a spectacular view into the past.
From a Danish palace restored after a horrific fire to a Japanese stronghold that echoes nature’s splendor, these enthralling properties contain enough stories to fill volumes of storybooks.
Sinaia, Romania’s Peles Castle
Peles Wonderful Castles was built by dozens of builders, artists, and woodcarvers over the course of 40 years. Carol I, Romania’s first king, commissioned the neo-Renaissance masterpiece, and the first stone was set in 1875. This former royal summer home is now a hugely famous tourist destination. Visitors must take a mandatory 40-minute guided tour; shooting inside costs an extra 32 lei. There are silk rugs, Murano glass, carved walnut, and polished marble in every nook.
Note the Swiss and German scenes fashioned from inlaid wood in the Honorary Hallway to remind the king of his country. You’ll enter an arms room overflowing with armour for soldiers and their horses after passing through Iraqi carpets and alabaster Biblical paintings (the latter weighing 100kg apiece).
The weaponry in the Oriental Room is even more ornate, while the Portrait Room and Library provide insight into the royal couple’s distinguished lives. The latter features a secret corridor (which will be shown to you if you choose a longer tour that includes the castle’s upper floor). The Moorish Dining Room is very remarkable, with brass lights and mother-of-pearl inlaid walls.
Even during the high summer season, tour organization might be shaky, and you may have to wait, especially if you want an English or German tour.
Parking near the castle is possible, but numerous tour buses turning around can make the parking areas difficult to traverse. Otherwise, a half-hour uphill climb from the center of Sinaia is required.
The Chamultepec Wonderful Castle is located in Mexico City, Mexico.
The Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City is the only castle in North America that has ever housed true sovereigns. In 1785, Viceroy Bernardo de Gálvez gave the go-ahead to build the castle, where the leader of the Spanish province of New Spain would live.
The palatial palace was transformed into a military academy years after the Mexican War of Independence and eventually became the scene of the Battle of Chapultepec during the Mexican-American War in 1847. It will eventually serve as an official royal home for Emperor Maximilian I and his wife, Empress Carlota.
Maximilian helped make the castle’s current layout and neoclassical style, but President Benito Juárez took over in 1867 and ended his rule.
This Wonderful Castle now houses the National Museum of History, which teaches residents about the country’s culture and history.
Alexandria, Egypt’s Qaitbay Fort
After Sultan Al-Ashraf Qaitbay learnt of Ottoman troops approaching Alexandria, he began construction on this austere fortification on the Mediterranean Sea in 1477.
The plans for the castle were skillfully put up on the ruins of the demolished Pharos Lighthouse, where workers could salvage portions of the old construction to build red granite columns in the mosque and gateway.
The Ottoman Empire eventually annexed Egypt, although the citadel continued to serve as a military fort until the British bombardment of 1882. The towering and stunning monument remained abandoned at the port until the twentieth century, when the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities intervened to restore it to its former splendour.
Since the revolution in 1952, the citadel has been a maritime museum that tells about Egypt’s naval victories and losses.
Matsumoto Castle is located in Matsumoto, Japan.
Matsumoto Castle dates back to 1504, when the Ogasawara clan began construction on a fort to defend against invasions. The military structure was taken only a few years after it was completed by the powerful warlord Takeda Shingen. As ownership of the castle changed throughout time, its design grew into a large three-towered fortress with inky black walls and roofs, earning it the moniker “Crow Castle.”
Around 1872, the castle was on the verge of being demolished because developers sought to build newer buildings and housing complexes on the site. But people in Matsumoto started a campaign to save the building, and the city bought it in the end.
Today, Matsumoto Castle has been designated as a national treasure of Japan and is one of the last remaining examples of a daimyo castle.
The Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Wonderful Castle, originally the abode of Scottish monarchs, is now largely used as a museum. From a volcanic crag named Castle Rock, it sits 443 feet (135 metres) above sea level and overlooks Edinburgh.
Human activity has occurred on this Wonderful Castle Rock for at least 3,000 years. By 600 CE, the Votadini, or Gododdin, a Celtic tribe, had built Eidyn’s Hill Fort atop the rock. Malcolm III Canmore was the first monarch of Scotland recorded to have lived on Castle Rock (reigned 1058–93). St. Margaret’s Chapel, built between between 1130 and 1140 on the highest point of the rock, is dedicated to his saintly wife Queen Margaret, who died in the castle in 1093 and was eventually canonized as St. Margaret of Scotland.
The castle was twice conquered by English invaders and twice retaken by the Scots between 1296 and 1341. The 100-foot (30-meter)-tall David’s Tower was built to honor King David II, who died in the castle in 1371 but was largely destroyed in a siege 200 years later. Mons Meg, a massive cannon, was installed in 1457 and may still be seen today. James IV finished the Great Hall, which still stands, in 1511.
The room where James VI, the future King James I of England, was born in 1566 is located in an adjacent structure named the Royal Palace. Following the disastrous siege of 1571-73, the castle’s defenses were fortified with the construction of the Half-Moon Battery (cannon emplacement) and the Portcullis Gate. Charles I was the last monarch to spend the night in Edinburgh Wonderful Castle in 1633.
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