The 15 Most Instagrammed Castles in Europe
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Europe is steeped in history, peppered with historic sites that date back centuries. Holidaying there offers the chance to experience this history for yourself — and there are few better or more picturesque places to see history than in a castle.
But how do you know which of Europe’s many castles to prioritise when planning your trip? One way is to see which are most often featured in social media. For this article, we’ve combed through Instagram’s hashtag data to put together a list of the most popular castles in Europe. Read on to learn more - from crown jewels and amazing architecture to magical eggs, there’s much to explore.
The 15 Most Instagrammed Castles in Europe
1. Tower of London — London, England
The oldest parts of the structure date back to the decades after the Norman conquest, and for centuries the complex was used to hold prisoners. Now, it’s a tourist attraction, and notably the home of the nearly 24,000 gemstones that make up the Crown Jewels.
Number of posts on Instagram: 647,112
Hashtag: #toweroflondon
2. Edinburgh Castle — Edinburgh, Scotland
Atop the 700 million year old extinct volcano fittingly known as Castle Rock, Edinburgh Castle is an imposing presence, and one of Scotland’s most important national heritage sites. Visitors can enjoy guided tours, see inside the great hall, and listen out for the cannon fire of the one o’clock salute, which takes place every weekday.
Number of posts on Instagram: 646,244
Hashtag: #edinburghcastle
3. Mont Saint-Michel — Normandy, France
Le Mont Saint-Michel is truly unique. It’s a tiny island approximately one kilometre off the coast, with a population of fewer than 30 people. High tide historically served a defensive role, cutting off would-be attackers and keeping them from taking the castle.
Number of posts on Instagram: 596,062
Hashtag: #montsaintmichel
4. Prague Castle — Prague, Czechia
Still used as the official office of the Czech president, Prague Castle was a seat of power for leaders dating back to the Holy Roman Empire. It also holds the Guinness World Record for largest ancient castle, and many areas of the site are free to access.
Number of posts on Instagram: 594,837
Hashtag: #praguecastle
5. Windsor Castle — Windsor, England
First established by William the Conqueror in the eleventh century, Windsor Castle has a close association with the British monarchy, including acting as the primary residence of Queen Elizabeth II from 2011 to her death in 2022.
Number of posts on Instagram: 432,092
Hashtag: #windsorcastle
6. Castle Sant’Angelo — Rome, Italy
One of the most impressive buildings in Italy’s eternal city, Castle Sant’Angelo was first built as a mausoleum for the Emperor Hadrian. Now a museum, it’s one of the best places in Rome to get a sense of the city’s transformation over two millennia of history.
Number of posts on Instagram: 347,762
Hashtag: #castelsantangelo
7. Neuschwanstein Castle — Hohenschwangau, Germany
Neuschwanstein Castle dates back to the nineteenth century, commissioned as a retreat by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and inspired by the operatic works of Richard Wagner. Visitors today can take in the interior on a 35-minute guided tour, and admire the extraordinary Romantic architecture, which looks almost like a fairy tale in its delicate stylings. In fact, the fantasy feel of the castle served as inspiration for the castle in Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty.
Number of posts on Instagram: 260,849
Hashtag: #neuschwansteincastle
8. Buda Castle — Budapest, Hungary
First built as a palace for Hungarian kings in the thirteenth century, Buda Castle is home to both Hungary’s national gallery and Budapest’s history museum, making it the perfect place to learn more about history and culture of one of Central Europe’s most storied cities.
Number of posts on Instagram: 205,807
Hashtag: #budacastle
9. Palace of Versailles — Versailles, France
A former royal residence built by France’s ancien regime ‘sun king’ Louis XIV, the Palace of Versailles is perhaps best known today as the site of the post-WWI peace negotiations. The castle and its gardens are open to tourists, offering a chance to see some of the most ornate, grandiose and breathtaking architecture in Europe.
Number of posts on Instagram: 185,311
Hashtag: #palaceofversailles
10. Castel dell’Ovo — Naples, Italy
Italy’s ‘egg castle’ gets its name from a Mediaeval legend about the Roman poet Virgil, which claimed that he placed a magical egg into the castle’s foundations at the time of its construction several centuries before the start of the Common Era. While this story hasn’t quite been verified, the castle is still an awe-inspiring sight.
Number of posts on Instagram: 175,664
Hashtag: #casteldellovo
11. Pena Palace — Sao Pedro de Penaferrim, Portugal
Another nineteenth-century Romantic castle, Pena Palace is listed as one of the Portuguese ministry of culture’s seven wonders of Portugal. Its striking, colourful design incorporates bright reds and yellows, and makes it an especially popular destination for those looking for the perfect Instagram shot.
Number of posts on Instagram: 145,615
Hashtag: #penapalace
12. Castello Aragonese — Gulf of Naples, Italy
Built on a rocky islet just off the island of Ischia in the fifth century BC, Castello Aragonese changed hands many times over the centuries and was, at one time, home to an abbey of Basilian monks of the Greek Orthodox Church.
Number of posts on Instagram: 126,197
Hashtag: #castelloaragonese
13. Warwick Castle — Warwick, England
Built as a motte-and-bailey in 1068 on the site of a fortified Anglo-Saxon settlement, Warwick Castle was extended and developed across the Mediaeval era and into the nineteenth century, by which time it was already a popular tourist destination. Perhaps the most notable attraction is the working trebuchet, built in 2005 to thirteenth and fourteenth-century designs. It’s currently under repairs, but the castle’s website assures us that ‘Ursa will fire again’.
Number of posts on Instagram: 123,848
Hashtag: #warwickcastle
14. White Tower of Thessaloniki — Thessaloniki, Greece
Constructed by the Ottoman Empire in the fifteenth century, and likely replacing an older Byzantine tower on the same site, the White Tower is a symbol of Thessaloniki.
Number of posts on Instagram: 122,649
Hashtag: #whitetower
15. Leeds Castle — Kent, England
Leeds Castle is not in fact located anywhere near Leeds. Rather, it is just southeast of Maidstone, Kent — nearly 250 miles from the Northern city. Though the site was first established in the mid-ninth century, the present structure predominantly dates to the nineteenth, with tourist attractions including the Birds of Prey Centre, which hosts free-flying falconry displays.
Number of posts on Instagram: 110,061
Hashtag: #leedscastle
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The Best Castles in Greece
1. White Tower of Thessaloniki — Thessaloniki
A prime tourist destination in Thessaloniki, the White Tower is home to an exhibit focused on the city’s history, put together by the Museum of Byzantine Culture.
Number of posts on Instagram: 122,649
Hashtag: #whitetower
2. Monemvasia Castle — Monemvasia
Monemvasia is a town built around a Mediaeval fortress and was a major commercial centre in the Byzantine period. The castle was first founded in the sixth century, and the town enjoys the distinction of being one of Europe’s longest continually inhabited fortress settlements.
Number of posts on Instagram: 22,270
Hashtag: #monemvasiacastle
3. Palamidi Fortress — Nafplio
Built by the Venetians during their eighteenth-century occupation of the area, Palamidi Fortress stands high above the city of Nafplio, and visitors who climb the more than 1,000 steps to the very top of the castle are rewarded with commanding views of the Argolic Gulf.
Number of posts on Instagram: 20,946
Hashtag: #palamidi
4. Bourtzi Fortress — Nafplio
Another Venetian construction in Nafplio’s harbour, Bourtzi Fortress is well regarded for its impressive and elegant Italian design, and acts as host for a variety of musical and cultural events throughout the summer.
Number of posts on Instagram: 13,494
Hashtag: #bourtzi
5. Methoni Castle — Methoni
Separated from the land by a deep now-dry moat, and surrounded on three sides by the sea, Methoni Castle had a long career as a prison before coming into its own in the modern day as a historic attraction.
Number of posts on Instagram: 6,491
Hashtag: #methonicastle
Honourable mention: Angelokastro Castle — Corfu
Angelokastro Castle stands 1,000 feet above the city of Corfu on the northwest of the island, and forms a defensive triangle with the castles of Gardiki to the south and Kassiopi to the northeast. Today, travellers can make the steep climb up to explore what is regarded as one of the most important archaeological sites on the Ionian Islands.
Number of posts on Instagram: 4,426
Hashtag: #angelokastro
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The Best Castles in France
1. Mont Saint-Michel — Normandy
Mont Saint-Michel is a small commune on a tidal island just off the coast of Normandy, with history dating back to the Roman era. It acted as a prison in the nineteenth century until it was closed in 1863, after a public campaign involving figures including novelist Victor Hugo. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, the Mont today attracts almost 3 million visitors every year.
Number of posts on Instagram: 596,062
Hashtag: #montsaintmichel
2. Palace of Versailles — Versailles
An architectural wonder famous around the world for its beautiful gardens and ornate interiors, including the Hall of Mirrors, the Palace of Versailles was the seat of government for France’s kings in the decades leading up to the 1789 French Revolution, and is still used in the modern era for important state functions.
Number of posts on Instagram: 185,311
Hashtag: #palaceofversailles
3. Chateau de Chambord — Chambord
Chateau de Chambord is renowned for its French Renaissance architecture — despite never being completed. It stood as a monument to French royal power until, in the 1790s, the revolutionary government broke up and sold many of its furnishings. It was restored during the twentieth century, and now regularly attracts more than half a million visitors each year.
Number of posts on Instagram: 82,713
Hashtag: #chateaudechambord
4. Chateau de Chenonceau — Chenonceaux
The Chateau de Chenonceau spans the river Cher in the Loire Valley. Built in the sixteenth century and classified as a national monument historique since 1840, the chateau is one of the most picturesque and interesting historical attractions in the region.
Number of posts on Instagram: 41,805
Hashtag: #chateaudechenonceau
5. Chateau de Montresor — Montresor
Made up of a Mediaeval fortress and a Renaissance mansion, Chateau de Montresor enjoyed a new lease on life after its revolutionary-era decline, when, in the mid-nineteenth century, the Polish noble Count Xavier Branicki purchased the site. He began a significant project of redevelopment of both the estate and the village of Montresor, and the castle still attracts many visitors today.
Number of posts on Instagram: 23,825
Hashtag: #montresor
Honourable mention: Le Chateau du Prince Pierre Bonaparte — Calvi, Corsica
While it didn’t quite get onto the list of the most Instagrammed castles in Europe, Corsica’s Le Chateau du Prince Pierre Bonaparte is well worth both a mention here and a visit. The castle was used as the home of Pierre Bonaparte, nepher of the famed Napoleon I and a republican, revolutionary and socialist who fought in Romagna. Today, the ruins offer a chance to explore a notable piece of nineteenth-century Europe’s history.
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The Best Castles in Italy
1. Castel Sant’Angelo — Rome
An imposing cylindrical structure on the banks of the Tiber, Castel Sant’Angelo was used by popes as a fortress for centuries, and now houses one of the city’s best museums.
Number of posts on Instagram: 347,762
Hashtag: #castelsantangelo
2. Castel dell’Ovo — Naples
Perched on the peninsula of Megaride, Castel dell’Ovo offers visitors today the chance to explore centuries of the city’s history.
Number of posts on Instagram: 175,664
Hashtag: #casteldellovo
3. Castello Aragonese — Ischia
Aragonese Castle stands on a small volcanic islet, connected to the larger island of Ischia by the Ponte Aragonese causeway. It’s an impressive sight, and is accessible to visitors all year round.
Number of posts on Instagram: 126,197
Hashtag: #castelloaragonese
4. Castel del Monte — Puglia
A hilltop citadel in Puglia, Castel del Monte was founded by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the 1240s, and still bears the signs of the cosmopolitan king’s engagement with cultures from across the Mediterranean.
Number of posts on Instagram: 94,306
Hashtag: #casteldelmonte
5. Castell’Arquato — Piacenza
A fortress in the heart of the Mediaeval town of Castell’Arquato dating back to the eighth century, this castle was established as an administrative centre for the town, which remained independent for hundreds of years.
Number of posts on Instagram: 53,754
Hashtag: #castellarquato
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The Best Castles in the UK
1. Tower of London — London
The past looms large in the Tower of London — not least in the requirement that at least six ravens be kept here at all times, due to a myth that says that when they leave, the kingdom will fall.
Number of posts on Instagram: 647,112
Hashtag: #towefoflondon
2. Edinburgh Castle — Edinburgh
The ancestral home of the Scottish monarchs, Edinburgh Castle is home to Scotland’s national war memorial and museum, and stands on a site inhabited by humans since the Iron Age.
Number of posts on Instagram: 646,244
Hashtag: #edinburghcastle
3. Windsor Castle — Windsor
Visitors to Berkshire’s Windsor Castle can see and experience a thousand years of architectural history, at a site that has been rebuilt and renovated many times since its initial construction after the Norman conquest.
Number of posts on Instagram: 432,092
Hashtag: #windsorcastle
4. Warwick Castle — Warwick
Strategically placed at a meander on the River Avon, Warwick Castle is a major tourist attraction and, on occasion, plays host to a range of cultural and musical events.
Number of posts on Instagram: 123,848
Hashtag: #warwickcastle
5. Leeds Castle — Maidstone
Attractions at this Kentish castle include a classical English cottage and a Mediterranean-style grotto. Guests can also rent accommodation on the site, from bed-and-breakfast rooms to Mediaeval-style ‘Knight’s Glamping’ tents.
Number of posts on Instagram: 110,061
Hashtag: #leedscastle
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We hope this list of some of the most photographed and shared castles in Europe has inspired you. If you’re interested in planning a trip, why not check out our selection of elegant villas, and look for an Instagram-worthy palace all your own?
