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Swallow's Nest Castle, Ukraine
Photograph by Steve Raymer
The neo-Gothic Swallow's Nest castle perches 130 feet (40 meters) above the Black Sea near Yalta in southern Ukraine. Built by a German noble in 1912, the flamboyant seaside residence now houses an Italian restaurant.
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Prague Castle, Czech Republic
Photograph by Francisco Estrada
Floodlights wash over Prague Castle and reflect in a glassy Vltava River in Prague, Czech Republic. The Prague Castle complex is the largest of its kind in the world, housing everything from the nation's crown jewels to the offices of the president to Prague's largest church. It also offers the best views of the city.
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Burgundy Castle, France
Photograph by James L. Stanfield
A chateau and church crown fertile fields in the Côte-d'Or, a 30-mile (50-kilometer) strip of land in Bourgogne (Burgundy), France. The Côte-d'Or produces some of France's most venerated wines.
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Neuschwanstein, Germany
Photograph by George F. Mobley
Commanding a view of the bluish-green Alpsee lake and girded by dark forests, King Ludwig's fairy-tale marble castle Neuschwanstein rises from a lofty rock west of Hohenschwangau in Bavaria, Germany.
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Makarevski Sheltovodskii Monastery, Russia
Photograph by James P. Blair
The Makarevski Sheltovodskii monastery stands silhouetted against a pearly sky as the waters of Russia's Volga River drift by. Originally built in the early 14th century, it was sacked by Tatar forces in 1439 and rebuilt in 1624.
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Bodrum Castle, Turkey
Photograph by James L. Stanfield
Turkey's Bodrum harbor is home to the Castle of St. Peter, which was built by the Hospitallers in the early 1400s. Süleyman I the Magnificent captured the site in 1522.
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Castle of Presule, Italy
Photograph by Zoltan Toth
A dense winter fog cleared briefly to reveal this fairy-tale scene around the Castle of Presule in South Tirol, Italy. The main castle was built around 1500, but it contains portions of the original fortress erected on the site in the early 13th century.
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Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland
Photograph by James MacKenzie
Built on a small island in Loch Duich in the scenic Scottish highlands, Eilean Donan Castle served first as a defense against Viking raiders in the early 13th century. It lay in ruins for nearly 200 years after English soldiers fighting the Jacobite uprising nearly leveled it in 1719, but it was fully restored in 1932.
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Manobier Castle, Wales
Photograph by Robert W. Madden
Surrounded by shrubs, Manorbier Castle fits nicely into the Welsh countryside. Built by Norman conquerors in the 11th century—first as a wooden structure and later of stone—this well-preserved castle in Pembrokeshire is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Wales.
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Edinburgh Castle, Scotland
Photograph by Jim Richardson
Spotlights cast shadows on Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. Built on a dormant volcano, the castle began as a small fortress around the year A.D. 600. Over the centuries it has been the site of scores of battles.
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Spiš Castle, Slovakia
Photograph by James L. Stanfield
The ruins of Spiš Castle loom high above the Slovak village of Spišské Podhradie. Stronghold for generations of Hungarian princes, this largest of all central European fortresses was destroyed by fire in 1780.
