The key to the hotel room is the key to the castle gate, the iron, the heavy, the 300 years old, the 15 cm long, and the key that has opened the same lock for the 10 generations of the same family that now rents you the room in the tower for the €200. The castle hotel in Europe is the essential European experience: the history, the architecture, the food, and the sense of the privilege, the room that was the bedchamber of the count, the breakfast in the Great Hall, and the walk in the garden that was the designed by the Capability Brown or the Le Nôtre. Here is how to plan the royal trip.

Castle Hotels in Europe, Plan a Royal Trip

• The essential castle hotels: The Château de la Treyne (the Dordogne, the France): the 14th-century castle on the cliff above the River Dordogne, the 17 rooms, the Michelin-starred restaurant, the infinity pool on the cliff edge, and the most beautiful castle hotel in the France. ~€250/night for the room, and the essential: the room with the river view, the Dordogne winding through the valley, the sunrise, and the best start to the any day in the France. The essential dinner: the “Menu Découverte”, the 7-course, the €95, and the best-value Michelin-starred dinner in the Dordogne. The essential Dordogne: the Lascaux IV (the cave, the replica, the 20,000-year-old paintings, the most important prehistoric art in the world. ~€22) is the 1 hour from the Château. The Thornbury Castle (the Gloucestershire, the UK): the 1511, the Henry VIII and the Anne Boleyn stayed at the Thornbury in the 1535 (the 10 days, the progress of the realm, and the bedchamber that is the same), the 28 rooms, the 4-poster beds, the tapestries, the fire, and the most authentic castle hotel in the England. ~£200/night for the room, and the essential: the Catherine of Aragon Suite, the Tower Room, the best room in the castle. More Europe →
• The castle hotels across the Europe: The Castello di Velona (the Tuscany, the Italy): the 11th-century castle on the hill above the Val d’Orcia, the thermal water, the spa, the view of the Monte Amiata, the Brunello wine region, and the most beautiful castle spa in the Italy. ~€400/night, and the essential: the sunset from the thermal pool, the Val d’Orcia, the cypress lanes, and the most beautiful view in the Italy. The Burg Wernberg (the Bavaria, the Germany): the 12th-century castle, the restaurant, the 1 Michelin star, the Thomas Kellermann, the €155 for the 7-course tasting menu, and the most authentic castle experience in the Bavaria at the €180/night (the best value castle hotel in the Germany). The essential strategy: the Sunday–Thursday (the weekends are the wedding-venue rates, the 30–50% more, and the weddings will dominate the atmosphere). The essential budget castle, the Pousadas of Portugal: the Pousadas de Portugal are the state-owned chain of the historic buildings converted to the hotels, the castles, the monasteries, the palaces, and the best-value castle-hotels in Europe: the Pousada do Castelo in the Óbidos (the 13th-century castle, the walls, the room in the castle, the €120/night, and the best-value castle experience in Europe)