heferforever

I wanted to take a trip and was thinking of going to Ireland. My main reason for this trip is to see as many castles in as little time as possible. I was thinking of taking at least 14 days minimum for the trip as I am on a budget so cost would be an issue as well. Where would be my best choice to visit if not Ireland and suggestions of where to go in that time? I would appreciate any help because this has become somewhat frustrating for me and am not sure Ireland is the best choice.

twoflower

For castles it would be hard to go past Germany. Lots on the Rhine, and Cochem and Burg Eltz on the nearby Mosel are hard to beat. South of Munich at Hohenschwangau are the Mad King Ludwig extravagances, Neuschwansten and Schwangau, and nearby is another of them, Linderhof with its opulent decor, gardens, terraced walkways and grotto.

jheim

Hi,

Ireland would be mid to low on a trip specifically for castles.

If 'castles' include palaces and manor houses England/Wales is a good choice as well as the previously mentioned Southern Germany.

Perhaps you might be more specific - are you interested in Castles/Castle ruins, or a broader collection of large properties?

nytraveler

Exactly!

Are you looking for true castles (Windor, tower of London, tons in Germany) - usually 15th century or older, heavily reinforced military fortifications? In ruins? Restored? Original?

Or are you also intertested in palaces/chateauX (Versailles, the Loire, a lot of places in England) - which are usually newer, huge, but luxurious rather than miirary fortifications.

If you are so interested in castles - haven;t you picked out some specific ones you want to see?

Also, Ireland has essentially no castles (off-hand, the only one I can think of is Dublin castle - although there may be others).

bigtyke

Scotland - In our week we saw Edingburgh, Stirling, Doune, Campbell, Threave (my all time favorite) and another whose name escapes me - all different and all interesting

DavidD

hefer,

Ireland is by no means not without its castle-touring pleasures, and the same can certainly be said about Germany.

Some of the Republic of Ireland's more noteworthy castles include Kilkenny Castle, Cahir (a favorite with many), Blarney (a good castle experience, but watch out for the throngs of tourists), and King John's Castle (well worth touring; in Limerick).

Don't make the mistake of neglecting the north of Ireland when considering castles. Several good ones immediately come to mind: Castle Coole, in County Fermanagh; Castle Ward, in Co. Down; and Carrickfergus Castle, the best preserved Norman castle in all of Ireland, yet located in a town that suggests, "See the castle, then scoot."

Germany, meanwhile, will keep you very busy as regards castle exploration. King Ludwig's wildly popular Bavaria-based castles are a touristic must, including Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau (watch our for crowds, though, and get your tickets on-line). Just over the Germany border, near Reutte, Austria, are the highly atmospheric remains of Ehrenberg Castle. The Mosel River features one of the country's very best castle experiences, Burg Eltz. In addition, the nearby Rhine River is a terrific place for exploring castles, and two of the best are Marksburg and Burg Rheinfels.

Best of luck.

heferforever

Yes, I am looking for true castles and I would like to see the original or ruins but I suppose restored would be fine also. I just love castles and have been looking some online but there are so many where do you start? Thanks for any replys to my post!

ms_go

I agree with the Scotland suggestion. Mr. Go and I saw and/or toured over a dozen castles in 12 days...including the small palace we stayed in on our last night. We easily could have gone to 6 or 7 more without trying at all. Some of them were little more than ruins, some were as fabulous as Loire Valley chateaux. Plenty of great scenery as well, plus some of the friendliest people in all of Europe!

bardo

heferforever,

Here's a start:
http://www.mediaspec.com/castles/

And if you want to STAY in a castle as well....
http://www.rhinecastles.com/

A suggested tour route:
http://goeurope.about.com/library/bl_castle_road_map.h
tm

lincasanova

depending on time of year perhaps spain woudld be a good option. you can hardly take a 2 hour drive without seeing one in the distance. they were all built within a day's horse ride of each other.
and off season some of the isolated small town "paradors" www. paradores.es
are very reasonable.(many hotel/castles).
get their 5 night coupon book.

RufusTFirefly

I agree that Germany is difficult to beat for castles. New castles, old castles. Castles in pristine condition, and castles in every stage of disrepair you can imagine. Castles that are mobbed with tourists, and castles off the main routes. Fantastic, fairy-tale confections like Neuschwanstein castle, and, in the same family, the practical workhorse castles like neighboring Hohenschwangau. Real castles that look like something off a Hollywood set, like Burg Eltz. And just about every bend of the river has its own castle along the Mosel and Rhein rivers.

You want island castles? There's Herrenchiemsee. Bamberg's castle used to have a trained bear; no bear now, but still an interesting, less-touristed castle.

Castles galore for the worlds teeming billions to enjoy.

Little_Man

Another vote for Germany!

DanM

I would also add Luxembourg. I tis smack in the middle of a part of Europe that has often served as a bordre between warring factions. I believe the country has more castles per capita than any other country.

Vickitty

Germany would be quite good, I agree. The Mosel, Rhein and Neckar are all in a close area, and all seemed to have a castle around every corner. Not to mention I loved the region besides. When the guidebooks mentioned the castle around every corner, and looked at how curvey the river was through that area, we thought it was an exaggeration, but it actually wasn't far from the truth. I didn't make it to Ireland, so others could say better about that area. The castles in southeastern Germany, with Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, were fun, but definetely more palacey than castley, and at least the more touristed ones are not actual medieval period.

pnestor

nytraveler -

"Also, Ireland has essentially no castles"

Are you actually being serious!! Have you been here????

Ireland is LITTERED with castles both fully refurbished and in ruin. You said Dublin Castle, well off the top of my head - Bunratty, Blarney, Cahir and probably one of the best preserved Kilkenny. But besides these CASTLES the countryside is littered with ruins from many different periods of Irish history.

GSteed

Try Slovakia, especially the banks of the Danube. The main highway is excellent and access to many castles is easy.

joegri

Germany is obviously an excellent choice for castle viewing. Poland and Belgium are also excellent choices. Poland probably has more castles, palaces and fortresses than any country I have visited. Poland is inexpensive and very attractive for a lot of reasons.
Belgium is a beautiful country and has many castles, palaces and citidals in a relatively small area. Consequently, the country can be travelled in a short period of time.

Clifton

Ireland does have a lot of castles. You can be driving along almost anywhere and suddenly there's a keep or the remains of one standing in a private field with cows or sheep grazing around it. These are fun to stop off an explore.

However, it seems Cromwell punched holes in quite a lot of them and there are many, many more ruins than intact castles. I believe that the state of economics may have better allowed many of the German castles to be rebuilt well after their various conflicts. Either way though, I don't think you will find a shortage of castles to check out within a brief 14 day period, regardless of what part of Europe you choose.

suze

Switzerland has a bunch. Because you mention budget, Ireland or Switzerland for that matter are not known as particularly cheap places to visit.

I'm not sure how you have been researching so far, or what part is frustrating to you... but I'd kindly suggest your library as a resource and cross-reference Castles of Europe (or somesuch) with budget guidebooks like Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, Let's Go.

nytraveler

I would suggest some in-depth research on the various castles you're interest in - not just to be sure that you're going to the best places - but to be sure that you get the most enjoymnet from the trip.

For instance - does age matter - do you want the oldest castles? (somebody here mentioned Neuschwanstein - which is very pictuesque - but completely bougs - built be Mad King Ludwig in the 1860's (I believe).

Or do you want the biggest, most elaborate?

Do you want castles associated with specific famous events or famous people?

How are your language skills? Most of the major castes have tours in english -but often only one or two per day- which you would need to build your schedule around.

Many other castles (we saw a couple of very intersting ones in Belgium) have no tours at all - or only in the local language. And you need to self guide with a sort of English booklet - or laminated cards in each room. Many of there require some knowledge of the local language to sort out teh "English".

If you could do somersearch and focus a little more I;m sure there are some very knowledgeable people here that could guide you to the best choices.