One of the World’s Most Beautiful Castles is also a School for Wizards

I‘m not really sure where to start with Mozna Castle. The middle of old nowhere would probably be quite accurate, but to be more specific, this Baroque behemoth lies in old Bohemia, otherwise known as Upper Silesia, Poland. The castle has 365 rooms and 99 spires. Its historical records only date back to the 17th century but excavations in…

England’s Secret Historic Hotel Network

I don’t know what’s more astonishing– discovering so many spectacular historic buildings where ordinary people can actually spend the night, or the fact that most of them won’t cost me more than £20 per person a night … OR that it took me so long to discover the Landmark Trust. Hiding in the shadows of the mainstream…

Won’t Someone Save this Scandalously Forgotten Chateau?

This post has been updated with new information you can find at the end of the post. With every passing day, the Château de la Mothe-Chandeniers falls further into ruin; another stone becomes dislodged by strangling vines, what remains of the roof sinks a little lower. Nature is winning. (c) Jean-Luc She’s a sleeping beauty situated in the…

How a Lost English Castle is Coming Back from its Hopeless Ruin

How to save a ruin? It’s a question that’s been on my mind lately since I discovered a derelict 17th century château just outside of Paris, which could soon be beyond saving. So when I came across the story of another 17th century historic ruin across the channel in England, arguably found in much worse shape than…

10 French Châteaux For Sale just in case You Win the Lottery

With talk of lottery jackpots reaching over a billion dollars these days, I’ve been having more frequent daydreams about what sort of French chateau I’d like to retire in. So, just in case, I took it upon myself to see what’s currently on the market. From ready-to-live in palaces to crumbling DIY projects, today I’ve made…

Inside the Castle in the Middle of the Death Valley Desert

On my first California road trip a few years ago, one of our stops I was looking forward to the most was Death Valley’s mysterious Scotty’s Castle, a sprawling Spanish style manor built in the middle of nowhere in the roaring twenties. We were dangerously low on gas but determined to find this isolated oasis, and to my…

America’s Prehistoric High Rise Apartment Complex

They call it the Montezuma Castle, but the 90ft high monument should never have been named that. The thing is, the Aztec emperor who the ruins were named after, Montezuma, mistakenly believed to have been connected to their construction, was not even born until the cliff dwellings had already been abandoned for several decades. The European-Americans who…

Dolce Vita Villas For Sale on the Forgotten Italian Riviera

Sprawling over several small bays with clear blue waters peppered with fishing boats, is a dormant paradise of the dolce vita years. A forgotten “St. Tropez”, where movie stars, artists and writers once flocked to the scenic beaches of Tuscany during summer. Whereas most of us think of Tuscany for its rolling hills, scenic countryside and…

The Cliff-hanging Castle at the Mouth of a Hidden Cave Network

Riddled with secret passageways and narrow shafts into the mountainous cave network of south Slovenia, Predjama Castle is what legends are made of. Built in the 11th century, it made a name for itself when a rebellious knight, a real-life Robin Hood of sorts, locked himself inside the fortress at the mouth of a cave for a year and…

Big Empty Italian Castles For Sale

There is an Italian real estate agency that currently has 70 castles up for sale on its books. That’s an unusually high amount of castles, wouldn’t you say? Each more breathtaking than the last, I spent the morning scrolling through 59 pages of deserted castles, villas and historic properties for sale on the Florence-based realtor’s website,…