17 Castles Worth Visiting

Castles turn up across the Martin Randall programme in more places than the word itself suggests. Some are the entire point of a tour, others a single afternoon within a longer historical or architectural narrative.

They appear in landscapes shaped by frontier warfare, dynastic ambition and artistic imagination: from the hilltops of Castile and León, encircled by Romanesque walls, to the cliff‑top fortresses of Scotland battered by North Sea winds; from Bavaria’s lakeside palaces built in homage to Versailles to the brick‑built strongholds of Pomerania that once guarded the Baltic trade routes; and across to Japan, where feudal‑era fortresses rise above castle towns planned with extraordinary precision.

Together they form a cross‑continental thread through the programme: structures that illuminate the histories, cultures and political forces of the regions in which they stand. This guide lists 17 of them, alphabetically, each with the tour on which it currently features.

1. Ávila's Walls

Location: Ávila, Castile and León, Spain

Built: 11th century

Architectural style: Romanesque military architecture

Famous for: An intact circuit of medieval town walls

Ávila retains its entire circuit of walls complete with battlements and 88 turrets, built during the Reconquista to hold the frontier against the Moors. The town gives Castile its name — the region is riddled with such fortifications, the by-product of five centuries of war of attrition.

Visited on our 'Castile & León' tour.

2. Castel del Monte

Location: Andria, Puglia, Italy

Built: c.1240

Architectural style: Medieval, octagonal plan

Famous for: Its geometric design and isolated hilltop setting

Frederick II's hunting lodge sits alone on an isolated peak, its octagonal plan and eight octagonal towers making it one of the more enigmatic secular buildings of the Middle Ages. Its precise purpose has never been fully explained, which has done nothing to diminish its reputation among architectural historians.

Visited on: 'Essential Puglia'

3. Craigievar Castle

Location: Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Built: begun c.1576, largely unaltered since 1626

Architectural style: Scottish baronial tower house

Famous for: Being among the best-preserved of Scotland's turreted tower houses

Crowned with the turrets and bartisans typical of Scottish baronial architecture, Craigievar has survived largely as completed in the early 17th century. Its condition makes it a benchmark for the style.

Featured on: 'Scottish Houses and Castles'

4. Doune Castle

Location: Stirling, Scotland

Built: 1388–1420

Architectural style: Late medieval fortified residence

Famous for: Combining defensive strength with domestic comfort

Built for the Duke of Albany, effectively ruler of Scotland during the minority and captivity of James I, Doune combined genuine military capability with a level of comfort unusual for its date.

Encounted on: 'Scottish Houses and Castles'

5. Dunnottar Castle

Location: Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Built: chapel 1276, keep 1392

Architectural style: Medieval fortress

Famous for: Its cliff-top position, surrounded by sea on three sides

Perched on a headland with the North Sea on three sides, Dunnottar's ruins have witnessed several turning points in Scottish history, including a lengthy siege during the Wars of the Covenant.

One of many memorable visits on: 'Scottish Houses and Castles'

6. Floors Castle

Location: Kelso, Scottish Borders, Scotland

Built: 1720s core, enlarged 19th century

Architectural style: Palladian, remodelled Scottish baronial

Famous for: Being the largest inhabited house in Scotland

Built to a William Adam design in the 1720s and given its present turreted profile a century later by William Playfair, Floors remains the seat of the Duke of Roxburghe and the largest inhabited house in the country.

Visited on: 'Scottish Houses and Castles'

7. Glamis Castle

Location: Angus, Scotland

Built: principally 16th–17th centuries, extended 19th century

Architectural style: Scottish baronial

Famous for: The Queen Mother's childhood home; the setting for Shakespeare's Macbeth

Seat of the Earls of Strathmore since 1372, Glamis takes its present form from rebuilding of the 16th and 17th centuries, further "baronialised" in the 19th. It houses substantial family collections.

Visited on: 'Scottish Houses and Castles'

8. Gniew Castle

Location: Gniew, Pomerania, Poland

Built: Teutonic Order, medieval

Architectural style: Brick Gothic

Famous for: Its commanding position above the Vistula

Built by the Teutonic Order, Gniew occupies high ground overlooking the river and was among the first historic Polish monuments to pass into private ownership after 1989.

Part of: 'Gdańsk & Eastern Pomerania'

9. Heidelberg Castle

Location: Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Built: medieval origins, rebuilt through the Renaissance

Architectural style: Medieval stronghold overlaid with Renaissance palace

Famous for: Its ruined state and role in shaping German Romanticism

Overlooking the Neckar, Heidelberg's castle passed through successive lives as medieval stronghold, Renaissance palace and casualty of war before becoming, in its partial ruin, one of the defining images of German Romanticism.

Visited on: 'The Rhine: Empire, Reformation & Romanticism' (with a private dinner held within the castle)

10. Himeji Castle

Location: Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan

Built: late 16th century, present form 1601–1609

Architectural style: Japanese feudal fortress

Famous for: Being Japan's best-preserved feudal-era castle

Known as the White Heron Castle (Shirasagi-jō) for its white plastered walls, Himeji survived both the Meiji-era demolitions and Second World War bombing largely intact, making it the benchmark example of Japanese castle architecture.

Visited on: 'Shōguns and Samurai'

11. Hluboká Castle

Location: Hluboká nad Vltavou, South Bohemia, Czech Republic

Built: medieval origins, rebuilt 19th century

Architectural style: Gothic Revival

Famous for: Its resemblance to Windsor Castle

Rebuilt in the 19th century by the Schwarzenberg family, wealthiest landowners in South Bohemia, as their summer residence, Hluboká was remodelled in an English Gothic Revival style and remains richly furnished.

One of the sites on: 'Walking in Southern Bohemia'

12. Malbork Castle

Location: Malbork, Pomerania, Poland

Built: 13th–14th centuries, Teutonic Order

Architectural style: Brick Gothic

Famous for: Being the largest medieval castle complex in Europe by land area

Three linked castles forming the headquarters of the Teutonic Order, Malbork's scale reflects the Order's ambitions as a territorial power along the Baltic, ambitions that shaped the subsequent history of the region for centuries.

Visited on: 'Gdańsk & Eastern Pomerania'

13. Matsumoto Castle

Location: Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan

Built: late 16th century

Architectural style: Japanese feudal fortress

Famous for: Its black exterior, earning it the nickname "Crow Castle"

Dating from the late 16th century, Matsumoto's dark wooden cladding sets it apart from the white-walled castles more typical of the period, giving rise to its popular name.

Visited as part of: 'Shōguns and Samurai'

14. Monte Sant'Angelo Castle

Location: Monte Sant'Angelo, Puglia, Italy

Built: begun under the Normans, extended by successive rulers

Architectural style: Norman, with Swabian, Aragonese and Bourbon additions

Famous for: Layered construction reflecting Puglia's changing rulers

Overlooking a pilgrimage town on the slopes of Monte Gargano, the castle here was begun under the Normans and successively extended by the Hohenstaufen, the Aragonese and the Bourbons, each leaving their own mark on the fabric.

Visited on: 'Essential Puglia'

15. Olavinlinna Castle

Location: Savonlinna, Finland

Built: 1475

Architectural style: Medieval fortress

Famous for: Hosting the Savonlinna Opera Festival since 1912

Built of rough-hewn granite on a rocky islet, Olavinlinna is the largest surviving castle in Scandinavia. Opera has been staged in its courtyard since 1912, making it an older opera venue than Verona's Roman arena.

The striking background of our: 'Savonlinna Opera' tour

16. Prague Castle

Location: Prague, Czech Republic

Built: from the 10th century

Architectural style: Romanesque through Gothic to Baroque

Famous for: Being the seat of Bohemian rulers, and today the Czech president

A hilltop citadel occupied continuously since the 10th century, Prague Castle encloses St Vitus Cathedral and the Old Royal Palace, the latter rising from Romanesque foundations to the late-Gothic Vladislav Hall.

A highlight of: 'Prague at Christmas'

17. Segovia's Alcázar

Location: Segovia, Castile and León, Spain

Built: medieval origins, remodelled through later centuries

Architectural style: Medieval Spanish, with later Gothic embellishment

Famous for: Its position at the prow of Segovia's hill

Dramatically sited where the city's hill narrows to a point, Segovia's Alcázar is a castle in the fullest sense, its silhouette long claimed as an influence on later "fairytale castle" imagery.

Part of: 'Castile & León'

All dates and prices correct as of research; departures should be confirmed on martinrandall.com before publication, as availability changes.