15+ most Instagrammable Castles in Europe – The Fairytale Castles

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Hi guys, in this post, I would love to share with you 15+ most Instagrammable castles in Europe that will ignite your wanderlust. These fairytale castles are quite easy to reach if you rent a car and I will share some tips on visiting thins castles and my own experience down below.

Some of these amazing European castles are located in the typical destinations famous for their castles like Scotland and Germany, however, you’ll be surprised, where you will find some of the most impressive castles in Europe.

First time in Europe?

If you are living in Europe, feel free to skip this section and scroll to the most Instagrammable castles in Europe. 

Travelling in Europe is easy! I have published a killer 16-day itinerary for Europe for Christmas, however, here are some tips you need to know if you’re coming to Europe for the first, second or third time.

Don’t be scared to fly with low-cost airlines like Easyjet, Ryanair, Volotea and more. Just keep in mind that you will have to pay for extra luggage. You can find cheap tickets on Skyscanner!

Booking.com is the best platform to book hotels and hostels in Europe. However, if you’re travelling with a group of friends, Airbnb could be the best option in terms of price. If you haven’t used it before, you can use my link to get an extra $25 towards your first booking! 

Finally, to avoid flying everywhere, you can just rent a car. Distances in Europe are not that huge, so you can easily drive from Germany to France and Switzerland, for2 example. You can fly to Spain and drive to Portugal from there, for example. You can rent a car through rentalcars.com

You can buy all the essentials for Europe on Amazon. You will need a couple of travel adaptors and if you like travel guides, then this one is amazing for Europe. You can also order a pre-paid SIM card for Europe.

I’m currently working on a huge post about spending summer in Europe and the best itinerary for 3 months in Europe and I’ll make sure to link to this post once I finish it.

Ready for the most Instagrammable castle in Europe? Let’s get started!

1. Burg Eltz or Eltz castle in Germany

Burg Eltz is a proper fairytale castle that you must have seen online. Instagrammers from all around the world head there to take a dreamy picnic photo in front of the castle. However, in my opinion, the best views of the castle you can find from the road to the castle, where the shuttles go. Don’t be lazy and don’t skip the shuttle (you can take it on the way back, which is more challenging). Walk for about 10 minutes and you’ll see a lot of spots, from where you can enjoy a fabulous view of one of the most impressive castles in Europe!

The most instagrammable castle in the world

Visit it on a tour: Day trip to Eltz Castle from Frankfurt

Read my post about my 3-day road trip itinerary for Germany and France visiting the Eltz castle and some of the most beautiful locations in Germany and Alsace (Colmar and more!) >>>

2. Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

Neuschwanstein Castle is another castle in Germany that you must have seen all over the internet. It’s especially impressive in winter when the mountains around are covered by snow. I visited Neuschwanstein on a tour in 2009 and my dad took this amazing photo below.

15+ most Instagrammable Castles in Europe - The Fairytale Castles
My dad’s photo

Visit it on a tour: Day trip to Neuschwanstein from Munich, Germany

There are some amazing places to visit nearby, for example, Bad Reichenhall and Berchtesgaden. Read my posts about the best things to do there in the embedded links. 

3. Pena palace or Sintra Castle, Portugal 

One of my favourite fairytale castles in Europe is Pena Palace or Sintra Castle how it often referred to. Please keep in mind, that there are two castles in a Sintra, Pena Palace and Sintra castle, which we will also talk about later. 

Pena Palace is absolutely gorgeous and very Instagrammable. If you stay there until the closing time in summer, you can actually take a shot of the castle being empty. In the last years, the castle became increasingly popular, however, it is for a reason. 

Visit it on a tourSintra & Cascais small group tour from Lisbon

Read my post about the 2-week itinerary for Portugal visiting Pena Palace and some other amazing highlights >>>

4. Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

Edinburgh Castle shapes the entire landscape of Edinburgh and the beautiful Scottish Capital is unthinkable and unimaginable without its castle. Edinburgh might not be the most colourful and sunny city (quite the contrary to that, actually), but it’s a stunning city. I was lucky to call it home for over 1.5 years and I miss it a lot. 

There are so many amazing places to take a photo of Edinburgh castle, but one of my favourite ones is definitely from the terrace of the National Museum of Scotland!

Buy online: Skip-the-line ticket & Edinburgh castle tour

Edinburgh has a lot of amazing Instagrammable places apart from the Castle. You can see the list of the Instagram spots in Edinburgh here >>>

5. Segovia Castle, Spain

Segovia Castle is a very impressive castle in a small Spanish town 1 hour away from Madrid called Segovia. Segovia is one of the European hidden gems and one of the most underestimated cities in Europe. Segovia castle is often named as the inspiration for the Disneyland castles. Besides the castle, there are plenty of things to do in Segovia, so make sure to visit the city for a day or maybe even longer. 

Visit it on a tour: Segovia & Toledo day tour from Madrid

Read my post about 16 days in Europe where I also visited the Segovia castle as part of the trip >>>

6. Cochem Castle

Cochem Castle is a gorgeous castle in the Moselle Valley in Germany. Moselle Valley is the famous wine region of Germany (yes, Germany produces a lot of wine, mostly white wine). The town of Cochem is also very beautiful and quite touristic as well. We spent about 3 hours in Cochem in total, but we should have stayed longer and taken one of the nice boat tours. Cochem is a very small town, so don’t expect to stay there for long, however, sitting in one of the cafes overlooking Moselle river and sipping German process sounds like a great plan. 

Cochem Castle

Read my post about our road trip around Rhine Valley and Alsace, where we also visited Cochem >>>

7. Mont St Michel France

Mont St Michel is the most famous castle in France and it’s also one of the most Instagrammable castles in Europe. Located in the North of France in the region of Normandy, this castle faces the UK and has its counterpart, a very similar castle called St. Michaels Mount in Cornwall. Mont St. Michel is, however, slightly more impressive, in my opinion. You can easily drive there from Rennes or Caen or even Paris (but you have to drive for 4 hours).

Most impressive castles in Europe
Photo by Gautier Salles on Unsplash

Visit it on a tour: day trip to Mont St Michel from Paris >>>

8. Bojnice Castle, Slovakia

If you didn’t know that before, Slovakia is full of amazing castles. One of the best castles in Slovakia could be considered one of the most photogenic castles in Europe, it’s Bojnice Castle. Slovakia is a relatively small country, so you can drive to Bojnice Castle from Bratislava in 2 hours or you can even drive there from Hungary in 3 hours. It’s also just 3 hours away from Vienna, Austria. 

The best castles in Europe
Image by katkaZV from Pixabay

Visit it on a tour: Full day tour of the most beautiful castles in Slovakia

9. Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland

Another of the most impressive castles in Europe is located in the north, very close to the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The weather in Scotland is very rough and so is the architecture. Eilean Donan castle is not a typical fairytale castle from the pictures, but it is very photogenic in its way. In my opinion, the castle is stunning and the Scottish landscapes only make it better.

Most impressive castles in Europe
Photo by Mary-Anne Alejandro on Unsplash

We visited Eilean Donan castle on our 2-day road trip to the Isle of Skye, you can read this post here >>>

Visit it on a tour: Isle of Skye and Eilean Donan castle tour from Inverness

10. Aragon Castle in Ischia, Italy

Another very impressive and not widely known epic castle in Europe is Ischia Castle. Ischia is an amazing island in Italy, very close to Capri or Naples (if Capri doesn’t ring a bell). Ischia is a cheaper option compared to opulent Capri, but it’s also a bigger island with more things to do. The highlight of Ischia is the mountain with stunning views over the entire island and the Aragon castle. There is not that much to see inside the castle, but the views from the top of it are amazing!

Most Instagrammable castles in Europe

Visit it on a tour: Ischia day tour from Sorrento

>> (opens in a new tab)”>Read my post about 4 days in Ischia here >>>

11. San Marino Castle (the Guaita of San Marino)

San Marino is one of the smallest countries in Europe and yes, it has a stunning castle. Pretty much half of San Marino is a castle (I’m exaggerating, of course, but the country is seriously small). Technically, it’s not a castle, but a tower, but it looks like a castle. There are three of these towers, however, the most famous and the most impressive one is the Guaita Tower. 

Most photogenic castles in Europe
Photo by Lorenzo Castagnone on Unsplash

Read my post about 10 day-road trip through Italy, San Marino, Austria, Germany and Switzerland >>>

12. Bran Castle Romania

Romania also has amazing castles! My absolute favourite castle in Romania is located in the famous region of Transylvania and it is called Peles castle. You can’t visit Peles without a tour, however, the tour was quite fast and also very interesting. Peles is located not so far from Bran – the famous Dracula Castle in Transylvania. I liked a lot both castles and you should definitely visit both of them and decide for yourself, which one do you like most.

Bran castle in Romania one of the most Instagrammable castles in Europe

Visit it on a tour: Peles and Brand castles in 1 day from Bucharest

Read my post about a 3-day road trip in Romania visiting Bucharest and Transylvania >>>

13. Predjama castle, Slovenia

Predjama is the famous cave-castle of Slovenia and it’s undoubtedly one of the most impressive and Instagrammable castles in Europe. It is very different from the traditional castles located on a top of the hill or in the city centre, however, it also makes it way more unique. The castle is also very old – it was first mentioned in the 13th century and it also has a hidden passageway. 

Most photogenic castles in Europe
Photo by Tomas Tuma on Unsplash

Visit it on a tour: Day trip to Predjama castle from Ljubljana

Slovenia has so many places worth visiting, so if you haven’t been to this beautiful country before, read my post about the best places to visit in Slovenia >>>

14. Chateau de Chambord, France

Another French castle of this list is Chateau de Chambord – the largest chateau in the Loire Valley. It is also one of the most famous castles in the world. It doesn’t have a typical defence of the castle and it looks more like a palace, but it is stunning. Chateau de Chambord can be reached from Paris in just 2 hours. 

Best castles to visit in Europe
Photo by Dorian Mongel on Unsplash

Visit it on a tour: Loire Valle castles day tour from Paris

15. Moorish Castle, Sintra – Portugal

As I mentioned before, there is more than one castle in Sintra. The first castle is the colourful Pena Palace, however, the second one if the impressive Moorish Castle or Castello dos Mouros. Unlike Pena palace, Moorish castle is very old – it was built in the 8-9th centuries. It is also located on the hill and the views from there are stunning. 

Laid-back 2-week itinerary for Portugal | Tripsget

16. Malbork Castle, Poland

Finally, there is Malbork Castle in Poland – a very impressive castle of a nice red/orange colour located in the North of Poland, close to Gdansk. You can reach Malbork Castle in just 45 minutes by car or in 55 minutes by bus. Malbork castle is very photogenic and also doesn’t look like any other castle features here – the architecture is pretty unique. It was originally built by German Teutonic Knights, however, at some point, it was sold to Poland, then got back to Prussia, and finally, when the territory was given to Poland after 1945, it found its home in Poland again. 

Instagram guide to castles
Image by Jan Nijman from Pixabay

Visit it on a tour: day tour from Gdansk visiting Malbork Castle

I hope you enjoyed this post about 15+ most Instagrammable castles in Europe. Don’t hesitate to ask any questions and please check out some of my other posts in the Instagrammable series.

5 thoughts on “15+ most Instagrammable Castles in Europe – The Fairytale Castles”

  1. Romania is a country of wonders: fairytale castles, centuries-old citadels, fantastic roads and stunning scenery that make for fabulous material for your social media feed. The beauty of these picture-perfect places will inspire you to continue traveling the country even further.

    Reply

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