Castles in Belgium

[caption id="attachment_7719" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Castles in Belgium[/caption] It’s said, there are more castles and châteaux per square kilometre in Belgium, than anywhere else in the world. Whether or not this statistic is true, we do know there are more than 3000 castles and chateaux dotted around Belgium, from the top...
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To us, nothing says fairy-tale holiday in Europe like exploring a historic castle. We’ve visited a variety of the best castles in Europe and we’re always on the lookout for more. Below we’ve listed all of the castles, chateaux, palaces, fortresses and citadels we’ve mentioned on CheeseWeb. They are organised...
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In Canada, architecture that is over a hundred years old is considered … well, really old. If a building reaches this 'landmark' age, you can rest assured that someone will slap an informative plaque and/or interpretive sign on the wall and it will henceforth be governed by a million rules...
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Raglan Castle, Wales

Raglan Castle, Wales

While Belgium has hundreds of beautiful castles to explore, sometimes it’s nice to step beyond our borders and step into the history of another country. One of our favourite non-Belgian castles is the late-Medieval Raglan Castle, in Wales.

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Pena National Palace, Sintra, Portugal

This entry is part 8 of 23 in the series Portugal & Andalusia 2012

Pena National Palace, Sintra, Portugal

High on a hilltop, above Sintra, the multi-coloured turrets of Pena National Palace can be seen from as far as Lisbon on a clear day. Pena’s dramatic architecture has landed it on the UNESCO World Heritage sites list and made it one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. For me though, it was the woodland garden of Pena, that stole the show.

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Bunratty Castle

This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series Exploring Ireland

Bunratty Castle

Visiting historical sites is a great way of gaining an appreciation for events and places. In my previous post about the Castles of Shannon Heritage, I wanted to show history doesn’t have to be boring. I’d love to travel back in time, but sadly the time machine hasn’t been invented. However, there is Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, which does more than just present the history, it immerses you in it.

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Kylemore Abbey, Connemara, Ireland

This entry is part 2 of 6 in the series Exploring Ireland

Kylemore Abbey, Connemara, Ireland

When I was in university, I had a poster on my wall of a beautiful castle. It was built of pale grey stone and had turrets and arched windows. It was perched on the edge of a lake and was surrounded by forest. I didn’t know what it was called or where it was located but, for my young self, it represented all that was wild and romantic about travel. I longed to visit it someday.

It wasn’t until many years later, I learned my dream castle was actually Kylemore Abbey, located in the stunning mountains of Connemara, Ireland. At that time, it wasn’t open to the public and I believed I would never get to see my poster castle in person.

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Knappogue Castle, Quin, Co. Clare, Ireland

This entry is part 1 of 6 in the series Exploring Ireland

Dark and Foreboding, Knappogue Castle tower looms over the countryside.

Alison and I recently returned from a week-long road-trip of Western Ireland. One of the highlights was visiting the castles and heritage properties of the Shannon region.

While there, we visited no less than seven castles, abbeys, and tower houses. Even so, we barely scratched the surface, as there were hundreds of tower houses built during Norman rule, in the 12th century, and beyond. We decided to concentrate on properties maintained by Shannon Heritage. Each one had something special to engage the visitor and bring Ireland’s ancient history to life.

Studying history in school often requires boring memorization of dates and names. Luckily, I was inspired, early on, by a public school teacher who showed my class slides of his travels in Italy, Greece, and more. His personal descriptions of the places and their history made it more real to us as students.

Twenty-five years later, having had the opportunity to travel, I understand his passion for history.  When you visit historical locations in person, the story becomes much more engaging. If done right, such a visit should make you feel like you have stepped back in history. This is exactly what we found at the Shannon Heritage castles.

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