Palaces of Europe

My name is Jet. I am from the Netherlands, incidentally one of the few European countries that still have a constitutional monarchy.

Want to know more about me, my fascination with royalty, and about this website?

Visit my page here.

Do you have a fascination for the castles and palaces of Europe? For the daily life of the European kings and queens, their mistresses, their family and their servants?

For their outrageous wealth and display of power? Their madness, weaknesses and courage? And their love life..?

So do I!

On this website, I have gathered stories of famous European palaces, the people that lived there and details of their life.

If you completely want to get into it, I have added some tips on spending the night in a European castle!

DISCLOSURE: I get commissions for purchases made through some of the links in this article.

Find the answer to burning questions

Palaces of Europe by country

While Austria was ruled by the holy roman emperor, a char ruled in Russia. Italy was divided into several small city-states and kingdoms where the Doge ruled Venice and a Queen resided in Parma. French was ruled by a lot of Louis', always fighting with the United Kingdom on the other side of the sea.

European Countries that still have a royal family today are Andorra Belgium, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and last but not least the United Kingdom. In most of these countries, the monarch has a mere ceremonial role these days.

All these royals left a wide variety of palaces and castles in almost all countries in Europe. Here are some of my favourites.

Palaces of France

Kingdom of the Netherlands

Palaces of Germany

Austrian Palaces

Famous palaces

Achilleon

Sisi's palace on the island of Corfu named after the Greek hero Achilles.

versailles

Louis XIV made Chateau de Versailles the centre of political and cultural power of france.

Neuschwanstein

Ludwig II 's palace , based on the opera's by Wagner and names after the "Swan Knight” .

Palaces of Europe, who live(d) there?

The children of Marie Antoinette

Due to centuries of marriage politics, the royal families that exist today are almost all related to one another. Marriages where political, for love the kings and queens of Europe had to look elsewhere.

I gathered some stories, not only of the famous royals but also of the Royal Mistress, the King’s sister, the maid. What did they do, eat, wear, where did the sleep and what did they do for fun? You can find some of their stories here.

In the menu below, you will find stories about the famous king Louis the 14th and Empress Sissi.

Also meet the last mistress of Louis the 15th, the sister of the crown prince of Austria and the children of Marie Antoinette.

Famous palace Residents

Empress Elisabeth (Sisi)

Louis XIV

Madame de Pompadour

Madame du Barry

Josephine de Beauharnais

Louise of Belgium

Marie Antoinette

Charles II of Spain

Duchess Helene in Bavaria, Princess of Thurn und Taxis

The children of Maria Theresa and Fransic I

Exploring the Palaces of Europe

Where did Empress Elisabeth stay during her never-ending journeys across Europe?
What castle do I visit when I want to go ghost hunting?
Can I visit that castle where they filmed the famous Sissi Trilogy? Or that beautiful movie Marie Antoinette?

Look no further, you will find all the answers here:

On the trail of Empress Sisi

The scariest Haunted Castle Hotels

Palace Film Locations

Sleeping in the Palaces of Europe

When you have the chance, spending the night in a castle will truly make you feel like royalty for a few days!

Many European castles have opened their doors to commoners like us and transformed into a luxury hotel or simple bed & Breakfast. You can also put up your tent in the castle garden and enjoy the scenery from there.

So take your pick and choose your favourite stay; a Scottish castle, German Schloss, French chateau, or Dutch landgoed. Here are some other suggestions: