No tour of castles would be complete without a visit to Spain. Maybe it is the abundance of good quality materials, or maybe it is the availability of good stone masons, or perhaps it is due to the presence of foreign invaders, but whatever the reason, this country is filled with these magnificent structures. Castles are everywhere, but a good place to start is at the capital and head southeast to the town of Cuenca and visit the nearby Castle of La Mancha. Next head west to the city Greco made famous, Toledo and the marvelous Alcazar, which is Spanish for Castle. Then there is the Avila Castle, which happens to be conveniently located in the town of Avila. Finally you wrap things up with a visit to Alcazar Segovia. That should be enough to satisfy any castle buff, but just in case it isn't, there is the city of Salamanca, located a little ways west of Avila.
Across the border in France there is a very large castle in Carcassonne with a youth hostel inside. Spend the night here and head out for some of the other Cathar castles in the region. None are as big as the one at Carcassonne, but you'll enjoy the trip through the province of Languedoc and across the French countryside, while learning about the history of the Cathars at the same time. You will find genuine remnants of Cathar castles located at Puivert, Lastours and Peyrepertuse.
Castles are not genuinely associated with these two Scandinavian countries, but Denmark has quite a few near Copenhagen. Once in Denmark, you might as well drive across the new bridge and visit the large castle at Kalmar in Sweden. The best place to start is the Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen along with the gardens that surround the structure. From the city head north to the Kronborg Castle in the town of Helsingor. This castle on the water has been nicknamed Hamlet's castle, even though Hamlet is a fictional character. Nearby in Hillerod is the even more impressive Frederiksborg Castle. Finally, several hours away in neighboring Sweden is the Kalmar Castle.
