My vote is for Warwick. Hands down. My dad loved it. My girlfriend's young boys loved it. In fact my girlfriend wished she had planned more time for the visit. They have activities that are well done and Madame Tussaud's wax figures in period rooms (not many , but enough to create atmosphere.

In France I would choose Chambord with its double helix staircase and great rooftop.

Carcassonne in southern France. We rented a "barge" (more like a 32ft cabin cruiser) on the Midi Canal. We went from Castelnaudry to the french coast in a week. I mention this as you go through locks (which they can help with), you can rent bikes (and they can bike ahead and meet you at the next lock-path is within feet of the canal) and you can see and visit castles on the way as well as markets, cemeteries, etc. they could probably even drive the boat.

check out www.leboat.com to see if something like this appeals to you. If you know how to drive a car, ride a bike, you can drive the boat (no more than 5km a hour).

Beersel Castle has a moat:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beersel_Castle

Other impressive castles near Brussels are Gaasbeek and Freÿr.

http://www.kasteelvangaasbeek.be/ind...ng=en&id=&jid=

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_of_Freÿr
http://www.freyr.be/menu-freyr-in-en...p#.UaKLzqW-WqQ

Lavandula

My favorite castle is
http://wictor.dk/wictor/frederiksborg/frbslotgb.html

That's a girly castle, Ira.