Most Evocative Ruins in Europe

First thing that came to my mind was the castle at Chinon.

Other favourites of mine would be Tantallon and Dunnottar Castles in Scotland and the Borders' Abbeys such as Jedburgh, Sweetheart, etc.

Of course the amphitheatre and forum in Rome are atmospheric as well (but too touristy!).

Ruins as in decayed remains, right?

If I set aside Old Rome (too obvious...), definitely the sight of Urquhart Castle in Inverness, Scotland, the Roman Ruins of Baelo Claudio near Tarifa, Spain, and the Trophee D'Auguste Roman monument in La Turbie, France were just unforgetable moments.

Many years ago I went to the Turkish site that was supposedly the ancient city of Troy. There was not much there, but somehow, I could just imagine the Greek armies massed on the plain in front of the ruins.

The ruins of Les Baux de Provence and the Pont du Gard.

The chateau de l'Herm in the Dordogne.

Kilkenny Castle comes to mind because the morning we visited there was a heavy, thick fog in the air that shrouded the castle. And because it was February there was a chill and gloominess (it was overcast) tbat added to the overall effect.

Also loved Carsulae in Umbria. Its an old ruined Roman town off the beaten tourist path so the area was empty and felt a little spooky.

Tracy

A place I had never heard of before I went in August but felt like an explorer discovering the site: the ruined castle at Juromenha, in the Alentejo in Portugal, overlooking the Guadiana River on the border with Spain.

Without a doubt, Pendragon Castle, outside the town of Kirkby Stephen in Cumbria, England. It's in the loveliest, loneliest countryside you can imagine, and sheep are grazing in its shadow. That I stumbled upon it by accident made it all the more thrilling.

Pendagron Castle sounds fantastic! We were just in Cumbria but somehow missed it. Shoot.

Used to be that nearly all of Dresden was pretty evocative, but it's becoming progressively 'unruined'.

It would be a toss up between Skara Brae on Orkney or Gournia on Crete. Gournia was a town rather than a palace like Knossos, and the sense of ordinary people living there 4000 years ago was amazing. It wouldn't have been possible to understand it nearly as well if we hadn't had the KNossos experience first, tho'

travel2live, that's very interesting to read about how you experienced Tintern Abbey. All I know about it is the Wordsworth poem. Did that poem influence your visit?

I'd personally go for Dun Telve, one of the brochs near Glenelg. They date from the Iron Age and Dun Telve in particular is very well preserved.

I'm reminded of the American family who visited an Oxbridge college.
The son started to walk across the grass and an angry head popped out of a window and yelled at him to get off it.
"Pop", said the lad "These ruins are inhabited".

Tintern Abbey is a great pick. I may be returning there next year after a twenty-year absence -- four times longer than Wordsworth's!

The Roman ruins at Bath should be in the running. The Anglo-Saxon poem at the beginning, expressing amazement at what must have been "the work of giants," sets the mood. Or the section of Hadrian's wall near Housesteads.

But what of the Alhambra? Or the forlorn masonry near Lake Avernus? The prospect of the Forum from the Palatine Hill? Or Dunnad? I give up.

Coventry Cathedral
Oradour-sur-Glane
Festung Europa

We seem to have forgotten Stonehenge!

I would vote for the Roman Forum with the Pont du Gard in second place.

And then of course, Oradour-sur-Glane.

Oh, and the stone circles at Avebury.

The poem DID influence our visit to Tintern Abbey. It is a sight I will never, ever forget - not just the actual scene but the incredible feeling that is impossible to put into words.

I join in the vote for Tintern Abbey. I just returned there this summer 21 years after my first visit and still find it as evocative and alive as I did those many years ago.

I have not seen a lot, but I second Skara Brae in Orkney.

travel2live

I have been through Kirby Stephen many.many times - where is the castle?

My first nomination - Bamburgh Castle from the beach at sunset very spooky!

second - Church at Sant Anna in Camprenea, Pienza (location of English Patient.

third - Bolton Abbey, Wensleydale (great charisma)

Tintern, Dunnottar and some of the others you mention definitely fit the bill.

Another place that gave me the same feeling is Crossraguel Abbey in Ayrshire. Not as lovely a setting as Tintern. But the first time I visited it was a cool and misty morning and a family of 5 or 6 was inside one of the few enclosed rooms singing hymns. The whole family could sing but the young girls clear soprano was just amazing. This beautiful sound floated/echoed over the whole abbey. I thought it was being piped in and that seemed strange. But after a few minutes the family came out and continued their walk about.

And Hailes Abbey in the Cotswolds - really lovely w/ all the chestnut trees.

Kilchurn Castle

Inchmahome Priory and Loch Leven castle on islands. Especially Inchmahome - lovely setting, beautiful ruins, a carpet of bluebells, moss covered rock walls, and swans in the lake.

I agree with keruac and would add the Arena in Arles. (I have not been to Greece)

Having just been there in Sept. I think the Greek island of Delos was fascinating. I sat and just tried to imagine what life was like 3000 years ago.

It was the Rock of Cashel in County Tipperary, Ireland for me. It's not that it's terribly atmospheric (I think it's terribly touristic) but I was only 14 years old when I saw it and it filled me with wonder and awe to see something so old. It spurred a lifelong curiousity for other European ruins.

There are some pretty good one in this post!

Eilean Donan Castle and Bamburgh Castle, too. I saw Bamburgh for the first time this past July and got all teary eyed when we came over the crest of the hill - talk about dramatic!

Kilchurn Castle
was not on any of our maps or lists so we thought we had discovered it. So funny. We walked out into a field to have a look and the resulting photo is my best trip blow-up to date -- before a Highland Bull chased us out of the field.
Tintern Abbey
Yes, I went because of the poem -- and loved it. My favorite for theme and phrases is "Ode on the Intimations of Immortality".
Stonehenge
You may call it commercialized, but I actually cried because I had waited so many years to see it and had read so much about it.
Pont de Gard
My DH might give this one a vote as he was amazed at the still-standing result of what the Romans did so long ago.

The amphitheather in Taoromina

The Roman ruin in Merida, Spain,

Most impressive is the Roman aqueduct in Segovia, Spain that they just stopped using approximately 15 years ago and the Roman bridge that is still used for the entrance to Ronda, Spain.

The Alhambra, Schloss Heidelberg, the Castle Urquhart, Selinunte, Pompeii, Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church . . . and, for obviously different reasons, Auschwitz/Birkenau.

I vote for Delphi. Just love the place.

Yipper

Ruins of an un-named castle in a forest in central Germany in early 2003. We were walking alone in the woods just before sunset on a cold day with a dusting of snow on the ground. We'd reached a viewpoint beside the ruins and from there we could see the sun starting to sed behind the castle on the next hill. You couldn't see any power lines or cars or modern buildings, it was like being caught in time. We watched the sun sink for a while, turned back to the path and then two people on horseback who had come from another path flashed past us and vanished into the darkening forest. For a few moments we could hear hoofbeats, then nothing.
About 20 minutes later, just as we were leaving the forest, it began to snow.

A memorable afternoon.

Try looking down on the ruins of Rievaulx Abbey (North Yorkshire) from the terraces above; amazing.

I also think that Schloss Heidelberg is beautiful.

Hands down, the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi. I also love the citadel at Mycenae.

We, too, saw Rievaulx Abbey this summer (from the terraces as well) and it was lovely. Fountains Abbey from across the water is evocative, too.

The Alhambra was impressive (but I admit I think of it as intact, rather than a ruin).

However, the one that really comes to mind was Glendalough on a quiet morning filled with fog and drizzle, with hardly anyone there.

Glastonbury's Tor! What an amazing view! The walk is steep...but worth it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/60773222@N00/275265106/

We didn't make it to Glastonbury Tor. But Glastonbury Abbey would top my list. The legend that King Arthur is buried there, the tree that supposedly grew from the staff of Joseph of Aramethia. Those things made quite an impression on me.

My second choice would be the Black Fort on Inishmor. My daughter and I spent a wonderful hour or so sitting very near it, just above the cliffs on a beautiful, sunny afternoon this past March. There was no one else around. It was magic!

travel2live

the tears at Bamburgh would be due to the cold wind coming off the north sea!

Another vote for Pompeii. It was unexpectedly moving to be able to walk in and out of people's homes, to see their paintings and their attempts at beautifying their surroundings. I went with no expectations and was surprised at the atmosphere. I'm sure the visit would have been enhanced by less visitors but I could still feel the spirit of the Romans, expecially when we found ourselves in a house all alone..

About 20 years ago we visited Rome and toured the Roman Forum. While wandering around, there was an excavation going on far away from the crowds. We met the onsite antrhopoligist who took us into the House of Lydia (I think that was the name). In the middle of all of the ruins were rooms filled with Roman mosaics that stood the test of time. Beautiful.

Note that many "old" ruins in Europe, including such famous sites as Stonehenge and the Roman colisseum at Arles, have been largely reconstructed from piles of rock (no kidding, Stonehenge was just a pile of fallen rocks in the early 1900s).

Three of my favs for their remote, evocative settings:

Barbegal aqueduct and mill in Fontvieille near Arles in southern France. Rare vestiges of a water-powered Roman mill and ruins of a Roman aqueduct that was built 2000 years ago to supply water from the Alpilles to Arles. The site sits above a broad, fertile plain that extends south to the horizon. (http://en.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?id=s0002562)

Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, England. Original ruins and reconstructed sections of a 117-kilometer Roman wall built across northern England between AD 122-128. The hike from Steel Rigg and Housesteads Fort traverses a remote, pastoral landscape that evokes stories of isolated and homesick Roman legionaires. (http://mysite.verizon.net/dgilbert53/travels/39.htm)

Whitby Abbey, c. 1100-1539, sits on a bluff above Whitby Harbour on the northeast coast of England. An evocative ruin in a picture-perfect setting. (http://mysite.verizon.net/dgilbert53/travels/25.htm)

Hmm, tough decision. I've been to many of the ones mentioned - Riveaulx, Fountains, Urquhart, Bolton, Cashel, Glastonbury, Eilan Donan, Stonehenge, Avebury. Others I loved were Whitby, Newgrange, Glendalough, Conwy, Caernarvon, Beehive huts in Dingle, Jervaulx, Gallerus Oratory. I even wrote an article on the abbeys of Yorkshire, complete with pics (http://www.greendragonartist.com/articlesYorkshire.htm)


I think my favorite of the abbeys is Jervaulx (Yorkshire), followed closely by Whitby. Jervaulx is so covered in nature that it strikes a delicate balance between order and wild. Whitby has a fabulous location and mood, as well as being the setting for Dracula's entrance to England. And in Ireland, Glendalough is an incredibly serene place if you can find time that the tourists haven't taken over (rare).

Castle ruins would have to be Urquhart so far - but I'm going to Scotland next summer, so may have to revise that a bit!

Ancient ruins - how can anything compare to Stonehenge? We went in among the stones and it was fantastic (a little bit of each of five types!)

This summer, we're visiting both Calanais stones and Skara Brae - I'll let you know

The remains of two small stone circles on the Beara Trail, on the north side of the Beara Peninsula in the Southwest of Ireland. The circles are about 4,000 years old, enough to boggle mind. Not another soul insight, no sign of modern life, just you, the stones, gorse and sea (and a few dozen sheep). "Water and ground in their extremity" indeed.

I'm a fan of Fountains Abbey and Whitby Abbey.

The standing stones near Carnac, in Brittany. Also Castle Campbell, Scotland.

What about Herculaneum?

I have 3:
Akortiri on the island of Santorini, the
Neolithic temples of Malta, and Pompeii.

Ephesus - I just returned from a trip and the Terrace Houses are amazing as are the other ruins.

Ostia Antica, outside of Rome.

Delos is magical.

Yes to Ephesus! Wow!

I was also surprised to find Aphrodisias and Pergamom quite wonderful in western Turkey. We have seen lots of ruins, but Turkey's abundance in this area blew us away.

Pont du gard is impressive too as well as its museum.

We enjoyed Mycenea and Troy and Knossis with good guides ( less to see).

Fountains Abbey is my favourite, visited on a misty day in spring... WOW!

Sophia Loren -

sorry couldn't resist it, 52 posts without any sillyness had to stop!

The ruins of Numancia, near Soria (Spain). They are not the biggest, nor the most beautiful, but it is the symbol of the Celtiberian slaughter of the people by the Romans. You can see some photos at: http://www.iberiarural.es/

Travel2Live:
Good post.

On Northern Ireland's coast, Dunluce Castle ruins..eerie, especially on a fog filled morning...makes one want to rush into nearby Bushmills for a pick-me-up taste!

Urquhart is very similar, and nearby the neat village of Drumnadrochit houses a pool with a hokey statue of "Nessie"...

Also, I second WTnow's suggestion of Aphrodisias...hard to believe, but wife and I were the only two people there on a visit in '95...a strange feeling, but the sheer beauty of the wide-spread ruins and the surounding poppy-filled countryside can be very uplifting.

Stu T.

I liked Tintern Abbey too but there are many similar types of church ruins all over Europe.I suppose I particularly liked it because of the poem by Wordsworth. There is a really special ancient monument about 30 miles north of Dublin which I have visited on several occasions.It is Newgrange and is about 5,000 years old. Pictures and details at www.knowth.com. Another special one in Ireland is Skellig Rock, an ancient monastic site on an island-only 12,000 visitors per year allowed. See www.skelligexperience.com for details. Do not go out on the small boat they use if you are prone to seasickness or cannot climb a steep path for 500 feet,although most of it is in steps.The boat trip that visits the rock is not in the same league as the actual trip where you go ashore and climb to the top.

Ephesus in Turkey is fantastic, and the village of Oia on Santorini in Greece is truly evocative of a time long-past.

Segesta and Agrigento and Ostia Attica all come to mind as well.

Still, my favourite is Tintern Abbey.

Another vote for Bolton Abbey. Is the Pendragon Castle a joke? I have been to Kirkby Stephen (as i live not a million miles from there) and never heard of or seen it.

Nope - it does exist and looks pretty impressive to me - seems to be south in the Mallerstang valley which is very bleak even on a summers day.

http://www.visitcumbria.com/pen/pendragon.htm

Another vote for Whitby Abbey. Stunning setting above the coast, and worthy of many hours soaking up the atmosphere. And thanks to all for the other suggestions, most of which I have not yet visited ...

Another favorite of mine (not as atmospheric, but evocative in other ways) would be Old Sarum, near Salisbury. It's on old hill fort occupied from the Iron Age to Norman times, with enough remaining ruins to explore to get the imagination going, as well as good views of the countryside.

1. Les Andelys

2. While not "grand" there is a restoration project in Aosta which gave me a very good sense of how challenging it must be to decide what is REconstructing - - and what is filling in pieces of a puzzle that may have never been solved in the first place!

Best wishes,

Rex

p.s. Stonehenge was stones lying on the ground?! How does anyone know they were actually upright (all at once) in the past then?

Scottvan, then you might enjoy reading the novel by Rutherford about Old Sarum.

Underhill, what is Castle Campbell near? DH says after this next trip to France, before he lets me go to Italy, etc, he wants to return to Scotland. We only had 5 days there in 1998.

Hopingtotravel: Castle Campbell is in Dollar. About 10 miles due east of Stirling.

our visit to Old Sarum in 2005 was made especially memorable because it was covered in Vikings at the time - reenactors, of course, but in very authentic camps and costumes

1. Pompeii really has retained its amazing allure - and seeing Vesuvius, imagining an entire town wiped out, well, it's terrifyingly captivating.

2. The Roman and Greek ruins at Glanum, right outside of St. Remy in Provence. It's not often one sees Roman and Greek ruins at the same site.

Pont du Gard, the coliseum and the square building in Nimes,the arena in Arles(all in France).

Carreg Cennen Castle in Wales is spectacularly and dramatically located, lonely and desolate and definitely evocative.

I have to agree with those mentioning Tintern Abbey. We drove from Moreton-in-Marsh on a beautiful, sunny morning and as we came over the hill and saw the abbey, my friend exclaimed, "This is SO worth a two hour drive!" Since we got there just as the abbey opened, we were practically the only ones walking through the ruins.

Herculaneum, Pompeii or Castello Aragonese on Ischia. In my limited European experience, these were three very impressive ruins to me.

Brentor Church in Devon would have to be on my rather lengthy list as well.

Sicily's Selinunte at sunset. And Segesta in the spring, when the wildflowers abound.

Ooooh, Sicily! How did I not include Selinunte and Segesta??

Probably the ruins of Ephesus were the most evocative for me. Not only was it the site of one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, but the site of a famous riot mentioned in the bible started by the work of the apostle Paul.

---

Chris Christensen
Amateur Traveler podcast
http://AmateurTraveler.com

I loved standing in the wind at Castelo del Mouros (Moor's Castle) in Sintra, Portugal; the setting was as evocative as the ruins themselves.

Ephesus and Delphi were both very exciting, but hands down my favorite is the Hypogeum in Malta. I was almost hyperventilating.<--*is a bit of a history geek*

Hoping,

If you plant on visiting Castle Campbell, try to find a copy of "Bride of the McHugh," an excellent novel by Jan Cox Speas. That's what piqued my interest in Scotland.

stevelyon--google pendragon castle. It's definitely not a joke, as I saw it with my own eyes. It's very much a ruin, and now private property. But that didn't stop me from wandering about. Hard to believe you lived there and never heard about it.

I really haven't seen much of Europe, but as a history and English teacher I must say that the Forum and Senate section in Rome brought tears to my eyes--especially in the early twilight and evening time. I openly wept many times in Italy, to the degree that DH finally became a little embarrassed and asked if I was going to cry my way through that trip. I answered, "Yes, even when I'm eating and drinking wine, so get used to it."

Herculaneum - the charred remains of a perfectly recognizable bed, then the story of the discovery of the 200 bodies huddled in the boatsheds were really thought provoking.

Selinunte at Sunset was also wonderful.

jgarvey, that sounds like me! On every trip we go on to Europe I weep at some point. It can be extreme beauty or a dramatic castle or something moving. I can easily put myself in places and feel things to a high degree.

travel2, do you by any chance consider yourself to be a "highly-sensitive person?" Please see the earlier posts about this subject. It doesn't just mean that your physical senses are very acute; it also means that your emotional and spiritual ones are as well. 20% of the general population is actually in this category, but have grown up feeling that there is just something wrong with them. I note especially that you said you can "put yourself into places" and feel things to a "high degree." That sounds like a strong indicator to me that you are in the club.

Do you experience other "sensations" or "sensitivities" that you feel are often out-of-step with the general population. You might really be interested in some of this material and feel validated by it. jg Thanks for sharing your experience. You are not alone.

jg, that is very interesting. Thankfully I have never really felt anything was wrong with me growing up. In fact, I was not an overly sensitive child. This hit in early adulthood.

I can really empathize with people and for some reason total strangers often spill their guts to me with not a word from my mouth. It happens while I am line in a grocery store, at the Post Office, trying on clothes. Whatever. I am extremely sensitive to people especially when they are hurting. I feel as though I am going through the trial with them! Not that I am a dumping ground for problems - I am not. I used to carry problems with me but as I have become older I had to refuse to do that for my own sanity. It's just that I seem so accutely aware of things that many people are not. Know what I mean? My Mom is the same way and although it is a difficult characteristic to have we both feel we have it for a reason and embrace it.

Regardless, as I mentioned, I am very easily moved at ruins, beauty, people helping others, kindness and so on.

Agreed with so many of the other posters, especially Les Baux.

My addition: Cheauteauneuf-du-Pape. There isn't much left to the old summer castle of the Avignon Popes, but it gives you an idea of some of the turmoil of the era. It sits on a rise, overlooking the surrounding vineyards that made the region equally famous. The better wine industry there largely began when the Italian pope insisted of decent wine when that branch of the papacy set up in Avignon.

Granted Rome is something 'to see', despite the throngs of tourists, and I loved Edinburgh Castle. Cashel has a presence,as did Trim, but my personal favorite, having just visited and been moved by it, was Glendolough. I didn't want to leave. We got there before any tourist buses arrived, and it was a magical, spiritual, peaceful spot. I could have spent the whole day there, if time allowed.

Lois, I agree. I love Glendalough, and if you can get there when it isn't teeming with tourists (rare nowadays) it is simply sublime.

Agree with oradour sur glane. An incredibly moving experience(for those of you who dont know it, an entire french town was left as it was after world war II as a memorial to those who died.

Ostia Antica outside of Rome. You can still get such a sense of the town.

My list is getting increasingly longer! Agree with Ostia Attica, too.

http://www.fodors.com/news/story_2822.html

This thread inspired a feature in this week's newsletter. We highlight six of the ruins mentioned here, make a suggestion or two for neat things to do nearby, and include a photo.

Do you second our pairings? What would you suggest for those that we featured or for the other many great ruins suggested here?

For instance, I mentioned Glastonbury's Tor. I would pair a trip up to the Tor with lunch at Rainbow's End on the town's main street, High Street. The menu, which is vegan, is really fresh---and hearty.

I'd follow that with either a cappuccino at Heaphy's, an organic coffee house just at the High Street's bend ,or an ale at The Who'd A Thought It, a pub just off High Street.

Frankly, Katie, I would have avoided the reference to "most evocative" unless I added a dislaimer along the lines of "other than the top sites" -- i.e. the Roman Forum, the Parthenon, the Colosseum, the Pont du Gard, etc.

You have a point there kerouac, but as those recommendations were pulled from this thread and we quoted users solely from this thread we went ahead with the original title. Perhaps it needs a little asterick (*except for the usual suspects)...

pendragon castle - I HAVE been - its south of Kirkby Stephen - looked it up on the OS map last night - it was bugging me.

Yes it is very evocative - just forgot its name.

Abbaye de Jumièges, in Normandy. Stunning.

Oradour. Segesta. Ephesus.

Otzi, the mummified alpine traveler now located in Bozen. His clothing and the speculation around him bring us much closer to the alpinists long gone.

Katie H. (Fodor Editor)

>>>Perfect Pairing: Tour Bushmills, reputedly the oldest licensed distillery in the world, to discover the secrets of the special water from St. Columb's Mill and the story behind malted Irish barley. The tour concludes with the much-anticipated, complimentary shot of uise beatha, or the "water of life."
Word of Mouth from the Forums: "On Northern Ireland's coast is Dunluce Castle ruins -- eerie, especially on a fog filled morning. Makes one want to rush into nearby Bushmills for a pick-me-up taste!" -- tower<<<

Thanks for the mention in your article. Although I refer to
Bushmills, it was tongue in cheek, because I'm not a whiskey drinker!
But I was sure tempted on that cold, foggy day!

Stu T.