Fascinating Castles and Palaces From Around the World

We have all had moments when we wished we lived in a castle or palace and sometimes our dreams do come true although I am still waiting.  So I found this collection of the most spectacular castles and palaces in the world so we can still dream.

Tibet’s Greatest Monumental Structure: The Potala Palace

This palace is located on Marpo Ri hill one hundred and thirty meters above Lhasa valley when combined with the height of the palace which is one hundred and seventy meters higher. This is the greatest monumental structure in all of Tibet. The building you see standing today was built in 637 by Emperor Songtsen Gampo but this structure stood until the 17th century when the building was incorporated into the foundation of the building that now stands there.

The present palace also has its own history as it was started in 1645. This was during the reign of the fifth Dalai Lama then in 1648 the Potrang Karpo, or White Palace was completed. The Red Palace was added between 1690 and 1694. It took the efforts of 7000 workers and 1500 artist and craftsmen to construct this part of this spectacular palace.

A Medieval Castle on a Small Island: Mont Saint-Michel

This awesome castle is located on a quasi-island on the Normandy Coast near Brittany, France. This castle is unique in that when the tide comes in it is totally surrounded by ocean except for the narrow causeway that was constructed in 1880. It is also unique in the fact that unlike most castle and palaces which started out as a defense property or a pleasure property this castle started out its beginnings as a monastery.  There is a whopping four

Integrated in a Cave: Predjamski Castle

No two castles are the same and this one has its own uniqueness as it is the only castle in the world that is built into a cave. This castle is located in Slovania and is rather small and humble compared to other castles of the world but it is connected to the second largest cave system in Slovania. Like many castles this one wasn’t built all at once. There are records that exist from the 13th century about this castles construction and some people believe it was started in the 12th century. The middle part was added in the renaissance era and the right wing was constructed approximately 1570. In the 1990’s renovations were started to bring back the architecture that was there in the 16th century.