Google Earth is just about the best free toy anyone ever handed out! I can spend hours and hours rediscovering places I have visited, or discovering places I have never been to.
I have loved castles all of my life, I grew up in the shadow of one as a matter of fact. I love to go castle hunting while on holiday and search for them. Btw: to me, a castle is not just a building that LOOKS like a castle, but that also served the same purpose. That means that almost all castles are found within the old world. Kitschy American castle-like rich man's dwellings are absolutely NOT castles.
To clarify further: castles are in some way fortified or started out as such. Many of course have been altered through the ages but they have to be based on a defensive building. Whether they are called castle or chateau is beside the point. The chateau of Versailles is most certainly not a proper castle, neither is Castle Howard. They are stately homes or palaces and belong in a different top 10.
Here are my 10 favourite real castles, as seen on Google Earth! Sites with an * behind the name indicate places I have been to.
10. Doornenburg, Netherlands *
9. Karlstejn, Czech Republic *
8. Montreuil-Bellay, France*
7. Kalmar Slott, Sweden
6. Heidelberg, Germany *
5. Caernarfon Castle, Wales *
4. Vianden, Luxembourg *
3. Spissky Hrad, Slovakia *
2. Bodiam Castle, East Sussex, UK *
1. Alcazar, Segovia, Spain *
10. Doornenburg, Netherlands *
9. Karlstejn, Czech Republic *
8. Montreuil-Bellay, France*
7. Kalmar Slott, Sweden
6. Heidelberg, Germany *
5. Caernarfon Castle, Wales *
4. Vianden, Luxembourg *
3. Spissky Hrad, Slovakia *
2. Bodiam Castle, East Sussex, UK *
1. Alcazar, Segovia, Spain *
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