Around the border between Spain and France. My parents took my sister and I on several great European vacations since we have family there, but the one activity that has stuck with me is that one time we visited an abandoned castle in the north of Spain. I think some basic tourist info was offered, but other than that the site was pretty bare and half of it was in ruins, which made it even more fun. My sister and I were probably around 12 and 10 and we got to run around the whole property and enter every single room, completely unrestricted.

We visited plenty of pretty castles with pretty rooms and pretty furniture including Versailles and Schönbrunn, but none of that beat the thrill of running around freely and making up our own stories about what might have happened in that awesome stone castle.

Portugal would probably work too, but the drive in the mountains between France and Spain is really beautiful, and the culture and food are particularly interesting as well.

Anonymous wrote:Portugal. Sintra is an easy day trip via train from Lisbon & you won't need a car, which makes it super easy to get to. There are at least four big castles there (Pena Palace, Montserrat, Sintra National Palace & Quinta da Regaleira) Plus, gardens after gardens of grottoes, enchanted moss covere spiral towers, etc. And the remains of a moorish castle at the very tip top of a mountain. It's otherworldly.

+100000000

White Castle

Portugal. Sintra is an easy day trip via train from Lisbon & you won't need a car, which makes it super easy to get to. There are at least four big castles there (Pena Palace, Montserrat, Sintra National Palace & Quinta da Regaleira) Plus, gardens after gardens of grottoes, enchanted moss covere spiral towers, etc. And the remains of a moorish castle at the very tip top of a mountain. It's otherworldly.

Republic of Georgia because I love the food.

Thanks for the tip, pp! I just added this to my bucket list! Although I suspect it's crazy expensive to travel there over the holidays.

If you are going for castles, I'd go in summer. And, if you are going for Christmas markets, go to Nurnburg. It's the best! Nothing like the smell of bratwurst and gluwein. With all the Christmas decorations, etc, it is magical. But, can be very damp and cold.

I can't believe I'm arguing against the Nurnberg Weihnachtsmarkt (heresy!), but Nurnberg is a big city, albeit a beautiful one with the best known Christmas festival; Rothenberg is like living the fairytale. Certainly helped that with the latter, I saw it when I was about 13 under a couple inches dusting of snow.

http://www.bavaria.us/christmas-market-in-rothenburg

Thanks for the tip, pp! I just added this to my bucket list! Although I suspect it's crazy expensive to travel there over the holidays.

If you are going for castles, I'd go in summer. And, if you are going for Christmas markets, go to Nurnburg. It's the best! Nothing like the smell of bratwurst and gluwein. With all the Christmas decorations, etc, it is magical. But, can be very damp and cold.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
France - because DS got to visit his own ancestors' castles. That really made history come alive for him.

might be one of my alltime classic DCUM posts.

Me, too! I can't stop giggling. I love this place.

To be fair, we all had ancestors with castles:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2002/05/the-royal-we/302497/

http://www.bavaria.us/christmas-market-in-rothenburg

Thanks for the tip, pp! I just added this to my bucket list! Although I suspect it's crazy expensive to travel there over the holidays.

Anonymous wrote:
Germany e.g. Neuschwanstein

Very pretty to look at but not terribly interesting inside. Basically a fancy house tour with a guided lecture, look only, no touching!

Blarney Castle was huge and lots of fun to run around in.

Definitely Neuschwanstein. Yes, it really is a fake castle, but it looks exactly like a fairy tale castle. Then, right across to the Ludwig's ancestral castle Hohschwangau (sp) which is authentic, but not as glamorous. Then, take a road trip to Salzburg where there is a great castle at the top of the hill where scenes were filmed with the kids in Sound of Music. (They danced up the hill there) Watch The Sound of Music before you go. Lots of castles all over Germany and Austria ranging from schloss (town palace) to fortified castles from lots of centuries. Scenery and atmosphere is amazing.

The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina certainly looks like a castle. It's the largest privately owned home in the United States. Asheville is a fantastic vacation destination.

Loire Valley (stained glass cathedrals and Renaissance castles) or Ireland (bed and breakfast castles)

Spent a good chunk of my youth in Europe (but American, so no dog in the fight re: national pride). Traveled a lot, but never saw anything like the hike up to Neuschwanstein. There's a reason why Disney picked it. That said, I agree with those who stated that the interior was a tad lackluster. Also never been to Scotland/Wales, so can't judge there

In terms of feeling like you are living in a castle, the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) at Rothenburg ob der tauber is absolutely jaw-dropping (and not a little unlike being dropped into a Disney movie of medieval Christmas).

And the castle I'd still love to see is Hellbrunn Palace in Austria - the "water trick" castle. Can only imagine how much kids would love this:

The schloss is also famous for its jeux d'eau ("watergames") in the grounds, which are a popular tourist attraction in the summer months. These games were conceived by Markus Sittikus, a man with a keen sense of humour, as a series of practical jokes to be performed on guests. Notable features include stone seats around a stone dining table through which a water conduit sprays water into the seat of the guests when the mechanism is activated, and hidden fountains that surprise and spray guests while they take part on the tour.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellbrunn_Palace

My parents took me to the Loire Valley when I was 8 years old and I loved it. I don't remember the names of the castles or the history but I remember some amazing architectural features, like the one with a stair case in the form of a misaligned double helix or the one with a long hall over a river.

Loire Valley, France or west coast Ireland