These 9 US Castles Are Straight Out of a Fairy Tale

Blink and you might miss Pollepel Island as your train trundles through New York’s Hudson Valley. But this isle in the middle of the Hudson River, home to Bannerman Castle, is worth making a stop for. The castle was built in 1901 by Scotland-born munitions businessman Francis Bannerman VI as an arsenal of sorts to store his company’s excess gunpowder and cannons, among other supplies. An explosion—go figure—destroyed part of the structure in 1920, and another devastating fire tore through it again in 1969, leaving the ruin you see today. Though going inside is now prohibited, the Bannerman Castle Trust still hosts walking and kayaking tours of the island.

The views of the Connecticut River are spectacular from Gillette Castle. Actor, director, and playwright William Hooker Gillette personally chose this spot—a rocky 184-acre clifftop in East Haddam, Connecticut—to build his private residence in 1919. Though the exterior exudes spooky, medieval vibes, the interiors are a far different story. Local craftsmen were commissioned to fill the rooms with bespoke furniture and curios, like carved wooden light switches and built-in couches, which still remain today. See if you can spot all 47 doors—no two are exactly alike—or the multiple hidden mirrors, which Gillette used to spy on neighbors.

Mainland America may not lay claim to any ruling royalty, but Hawaii was a different story back in the 1800s, when it was ruled by a unified monarchy under King Kalakaua and, later, his sister Queen Liliuokalani. Iolani Palace, built in 1879 in the heart of Honolulu, was the family’s official royal residence until the monarchy was overthrown in 1893. After that, it served as a government building before falling into disrepair, reopening again as a museum in 1978. The palace remains one of the only existing examples of American Florentine architecture. Don’t miss a visit to the crimson-and-gold throne room, which features heavy drapery alongside two royal thrones.

Evil laboratories get a romantic spin at this 1920s-era New England fortress, which was built by eccentric American inventor John Hays Hammond Jr. as a place to live and work. The structure sits along the banks of Gloucester Harbor in northeastern Massachusetts and has every feature you could dream of in a castle estate, including secret passageways, a drawbridge, an indoor pool, and a Great Hall complete with a massive pipe organ and stained-glass window. From room to room, you’ll also see various pieces of Roman, Renaissance, and medieval artifacts on display that Hammon collected during his travels—the most impressive of which are a series of old French storefronts that now line the inner courtyard.

When flying to Italy isn’t in the cards for American travelers, a piece of Tuscany hides in an equally storied wine region: Napa Valley, California. It took 15 years to erect Castello di Amorosa, a stone-for-stone replica of a 13th-century Tuscan castle, and it has all the medieval details to show for it—including a drawbridge, moat, dungeon, and Great Hall featuring Italian frescoes (sadly, also replicas). The architecture is stunning, to be sure, but you’re really here for the vino, right? The $55 general admission ticket includes access to the castle as well as a tasting of five estate wines. Although, as of fall 2020, Castello di Amorosa lost its historic farmhouse during the Glass Fire, the Calistoga castle was spared and has reopened. Wine tastings are currently being held outdoors and by appointment only. 

Leave it to an artist to draw up one of Pennsylvania’s most beautiful buildings. Completed in the early 1900s, Fonthill Castle was personally designed by archeologist and ceramicist Henry Chapman Mercer as a home for both himself and his vast collection of prints and tiles, which he made and collected. A lover of architecture, Mercer managed to mash medieval, Gothic, and Byzantine styles into the building, which features no fewer than 18 fireplaces and more than 200 windows, among its many rooms. Following his death, the structure, along with a separate tileworks building, became a museum.

Like the Taj Mahal, Boldt Castle in New York’s Thousand Islands archipelago was built for a great love—though, sadly, this story ends before it even begins. In 1900, hotel magnate George C. Boldt (owner of Waldorf Astoria New York at the time) built this 120-room private island estate for his wife as a summer house, modeled after castles he saw in Germany. Unfortunately, his wife passed away months before the project was finished, and Boldt abandoned it altogether. Today, Boldt Castle has been completely restored by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority and now features a defense tower, manicured gardens, and a drawbridge that lets visitors cross over the St. Lawrence River to Heart Island.

Montezuma Castle may not be a castle in the traditional sense, but its appearance is no less magical. The pre-Columbian Sinagua people of central Arizona carved this 45-room, five-story dwelling into a sheer limestone cliffside around 1125 A.D., where they lived another 300 years before migrating. The structure’s perch in a protective alcove is the reason why it still stands today, but even so, due to its fragile state, visitors are only allowed to see it from afar. The views are better that way, anyway.

Hearst Castle has been touted as America’s most famous castle on more than one occasion, and it’s true that a king once resided here—a king of the publishing world, that is. Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst commissioned this stately, 250,000-acre home on a hilltop in San Simeon, California, so that he could stay equidistant from San Francisco and Los Angeles. The estate, which is composed of multiple buildings, took nearly 30 years to complete and features no fewer than 165 rooms and two show-stopping swimming pools, including an indoor Roman bath lined with mosaics. Other property highlights include a vaulted Spanish ceiling from the 1400s, Egyptian and Greek art, a wine cellar, and terraced gardens with sweeping Pacific Ocean views—all of which can be seen on a museum tour.