One of my favourite sites to look at for inspiration is the Knight Frank website. These guys specilise in property sales of mansions, castles, chateaus and "prime real estate" across the globe. I love to check out their site to see what's on sale around the world - particularly their page on french chateaus like this one below. Yours for just €1,000,000 if you can afford it! (look at that view!)
Location, location, location
But enough dreaming! This particular post is about location! So... where to start?
Well for me, I'm looking for a few things in a location. Climate and weather come high up on my list - as do remoteness (a castle has to be a refuge right?!) scenery and landscape.
Based on the above I can pretty much rule out the UK (weather) any large cities (remoteness) and anywhere with modern architecture or skyscrapers. Don't get me wrong - I love the UK - but I don't see myself retiring here!
No, for me it has to be France, Italy or somewhere in or close to the Mediterranean generally.
I think its safe to say we can rule out Libya! (I'm not that adventurous).
My top picks in terms of location are as follows:
Croatia
France
Italy
So what do they have to offer?
Croatia
Croatia is gorgeous. I would love to go to Dubrovnik (pictured). It's where they filmed Game of Thrones and would be a great setting for my castle!
There are already some excellent castles there as you might expect - including Cakovec Castle pictured below. Serious bonus points to Croatia for the horse.
There's actually great blog about some of these castles, here.
The water looks amazing there too - and they even have floating boats... (joke!)
France
France has a lot going for it as a location. WINE is high on the list here - but there are plenty of other reasons. I love the sophistication of a French Chateau - perhaps with a vineyard attached and well stocked 'cave' (Ok it's mostly about the wine)
That's not to say they don't have great Chateaus like this SIXTEEN BEDROOM behemoth in Sarlat - currently on the market for less than £1m!
I mean, seriously - If I had the money for this place..!
Italy
Italy is another great option. Particularly Tuscany where the average temperature is in the mid 20s for most of the year and the landscape looks like this:
It's unreal - I mean, can you imagine climbing up onto the battlements and looking out and seeing this?
Or this?
Not to mention the castles they have already - some of which are amazing, like this one, Castello Di Vincigliata in Tuscany, Florence.
Also... did I mention wine?
Decisions, decisions!
What do you guys think? Where would you have your castle?
Where would you ideally want to retire to?
Comment below and let me know your thoughts!
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