Castles to Cathedrals

Windsor Castle has been continuously used as a royal residence for close to a thousand years.

Neuschwanstein was built in the 1800s in a romanticized medieval style commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria.

Edinburgh Castle sits on an extinct volcanic rock and has withstood more sieges than almost any site in Britain.

Himeji Castle is considered Japan's finest surviving example of feudal-era castle architecture.

The Alhambra combines palace and fortress architecture built under Granada's Nasrid rulers.

The Tower of London has served across its history as a royal residence, treasury, armory, and prison.

Malbork Castle was built by the Teutonic Knights and remains the largest castle in the world by area.

Prague Castle is recognized as one of the largest coherent castle complexes anywhere in the world.

Bran Castle guarded a mountain pass in Transylvania and is popularly linked to the Dracula legend.

Conwy Castle was one of a ring of fortresses King Edward I built to control conquered Wales.

Versailles grew from a royal hunting lodge into the vast palace and seat of the French court under Louis XIV.

Warwick Castle on the River Avon changed hands repeatedly during centuries of English political conflict.

Dover Castle guards the shortest sea crossing to France and still contains a surviving Roman lighthouse.

Matsumoto Castle's dark wooden exterior earned it the nickname Crow Castle.

Spiš Castle's ruins cover one of the largest castle sites anywhere in Central Europe.

Leeds Castle in Kent rises from two islands in a lake and has served as both fortress and royal home.

Bodiam Castle's moated, symmetrical design dates to fears of French invasion during the Hundred Years' War.

Notre-Dame de Paris is a landmark Gothic cathedral whose flying buttresses helped support its soaring walls.

Chartres Cathedral is renowned for its medieval stained glass and became a major pilgrimage destination.

Cologne Cathedral's construction spanned centuries, resuming in the 1800s after a long medieval pause.

Mont-Saint-Michel rises from tidal flats off Normandy and has drawn pilgrims for centuries.

Milan Cathedral took centuries to finish and is crowned by a gilded statue of the Madonna.

Seville Cathedral rose on the site of a mosque and is traditionally said to hold Columbus's tomb.

Salisbury Cathedral's spire is the tallest in Britain, and it holds one of the surviving original Magna Carta copies.

Reims Cathedral hosted the coronations of French kings for centuries and was rebuilt after First World War damage.

Hagia Sophia's huge dome was an engineering feat when it was built under the Byzantine emperor Justinian.

Château de Chambord blends French medieval castle form with Renaissance design under King Francis I.

Krak des Chevaliers is a Crusader castle in Syria famed for its concentric defensive walls.

The Alcázar of Segovia's dramatic shape has long been linked to fairy-tale castle imagery.

Burg Eltz has remained in the hands of the same family for over 800 years and was never destroyed in war.