Castles still rank among the most-searched travel photos on Google. These 15 photographs cover Germany, France, Scotland, Spain, Portugal, Japan, and more — hilltops, moats, and palaces that look painted. Every image is used with a free license. Credit sits under each photo.
1. Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany
The Disney-look castle above Bavaria's Hohenschwangau. Ludwig II built it as a private retreat; millions now queue for the view from Marienbrücke.
Photo: Wilfredor / Wikimedia Commons / CC0
2. Edinburgh Castle, Scotland
A volcanic plug in the middle of the city. The esplanade shot is the one that shows why the skyline still belongs to the garrison.
Photo: Daniel Kraft / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
3. Prague Castle, Czechia
The largest ancient castle complex in the world, seen from Petřín. Spires, palaces, and the river sit in one frame.
Photo: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
4. Mont-Saint-Michel, France
A tidal island abbey off Normandy. At sunset the mount looks less like a monastery and more like a ship of stone.
Photo: Benh LIEU SONG / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.5
5. Alcázar of Segovia, Spain
A prow-shaped fortress at the meeting of two rivers. The slate turrets are why it keeps showing up in castle roundups.
Photo: Carlos Delgado / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
6. Château de Chambord, France
The Loire's showpiece: a forest of chimneys and a double-helix staircase. The northwest facade is the postcard.
Photo: Benh LIEU SONG / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
7. Pena Palace, Portugal
Sintra's painted hilltop palace. Romantic, loud colors, and fog from the Atlantic that makes the walls look unreal.
Photo: Diego Delso / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
8. Bran Castle, Romania
Marketed as Dracula's castle, actually a mountain fortress on a trade road. The towers still photograph like a Gothic novel.
Photo: Todor Bozhinov / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
9. Hohenzollern Castle, Germany
A 19th-century rebuild on a cone of rock in Baden-Württemberg. On a clear day it looks suspended over the plain.
Photo: Sven Teschke / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 DE
10. Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland
A three-way sea loch in the Highlands, a stone bridge, and a restored keep. This is the castle on a thousand Scotland postcards.
Photo: Diliff / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
11. Burg Eltz, Germany
A family castle in a wooded valley of the Eifel. It has never been destroyed, which is why the timber and turrets still look medieval.
Photo: Freak-Line-Community / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0
12. Cité de Carcassonne, France
A double-walled medieval city in the south of France. From the air the turrets look like a game board that got built for real.
Photo: Chensiyuan / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
13. Château de Chenonceau, France
The castle that spans the Cher River. Galleries sit over the water, which is why this Loire château photographs unlike the others.
Photo: derivative of Ra-smit / Wikimedia Commons / GFDL
14. Malbork Castle, Poland
The largest brick castle in the world, built by the Teutonic Order on the Nogat. From the river it reads as a whole city of red brick.
Photo: Gregy / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 PL
15. Himeji Castle, Japan
Japan's best-preserved feudal castle, nicknamed the White Heron. After the 2015 restoration the plaster still photographs as a clean white keep.
Photo: Nikos Kitsakis / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
All 15 photos are from Wikimedia Commons. If you republish, keep the photographer credit and license link under each image.
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