Castles and palaces
Royal palaces, hilltop fortresses and country châteaux you can reach and return from in a day, with the time each one needs and the days it closes.
From Paris
All day trips from Paris
Worth a full dayVersailles
The palace of Louis XIV with its gardens and the Trianon estate, 14 minutes by train from Montparnasse or about 40 minutes on RER C.
Only with a tourLoire Valley
Renaissance châteaux spread along the Loire valley south-west of Paris; the nearest big one, Chambord, is 1 h 23 min by train plus a shuttle bus.
Worth a full dayFontainebleau
A royal and imperial château with Napoleon's apartments, free gardens and a forest around it, reached by suburban train from Gare de Lyon plus a short bus ride.
From London
All day trips from London
From Dublin
All day trips from Dublin
Worth half a dayMalahide Castle
A castle with 800 years of Talbot family history, a walled garden and a butterfly house, a 10-minute walk from Malahide village on the DART north of Dublin.
Worth a full dayKilkenny
A compact medieval city with a Norman castle and a cathedral round tower, about 1 h 30 south-west of Dublin by direct train.
Better to sleep thereCork and Blarney Castle
Ireland's second city, about 2 h 30 south of Dublin by hourly train, with Blarney Castle and its stone 8 km outside on the 215 bus.
From Lisbon
All day trips from Lisbon
Worth a full daySintra
A hill town of royal palaces and forest parks, 40 minutes by suburban train from Rossio station in central Lisbon.
Worth half a dayMafra
A baroque royal palace and convent that takes up one side of a small town, 47 minutes north-west of Lisbon by direct bus from Campo Grande.
Worth half a dayÓbidos
A small walled town with a castle and whitewashed lanes, one hour north of Lisbon by direct express bus from Campo Grande.
Worth a full dayTomar
A small river town below the Convent of Christ, a former Templar stronghold, about 2 hours north-east of Lisbon by direct Regional train.
From Madrid
All day trips from Madrid
Worth a full daySegovia
A Castilian city with a Roman aqueduct at one end and the Alcázar castle at the other, 27 minutes from Madrid Chamartín by high-speed train.
Worth half a dayAranjuez
A Bourbon royal palace with large formal gardens along the Tagus, about 48 minutes south of Atocha by Cercanías train.
Worth half a dayEl Escorial
The granite monastery-palace built by Philip II in the Guadarrama foothills, with a royal pantheon and a library, about 1 hour 10 minutes from Atocha by Cercanías train.
Worth half a dayÁvila
A small Castilian city ringed by a complete circuit of medieval walls you can walk on top of, about 1 hour 30 minutes from Madrid by regional train.
From Prague
All day trips from Prague
Worth half a dayKarlštejn Castle
A 14th-century royal castle on a hill above the Berounka river, about 40 minutes from Prague main station on the S7 commuter train.
Worth half a dayKonopiště Castle
A castle outside Benešov tied to Archduke Franz Ferdinand d'Este, visited on timed tour routes, 41 minutes from Prague by the fastest train plus a 2.4 km walk.
Better to sleep thereČeský Krumlov
A small UNESCO-listed town in South Bohemia built around a large castle, 2 h 35 min from Prague by the fastest direct bus.
Better to sleep thereVienna
The Austrian capital, with Schönbrunn Palace and a large historic centre, 4 h 12 min from Prague main station by the fastest direct train.
From Athens
All day trips from Athens
Worth half a dayAncient Corinth
The excavated Greek and Roman city with its museum, 10 minutes by car from modern Corinth and about an hour from Athens by suburban train.
Worth a full dayNafplio
A harbour town in the Argolid with a Venetian fortress on the hill above it, 2 h 10 from Athens by direct KTEL bus.
From Edinburgh
All day trips from Edinburgh
Worth half a dayStirling Castle
The Renaissance castle of the Stewart kings, on a volcanic crag above Stirling, 41 minutes from Edinburgh Waverley by direct train.
Worth a full daySt Andrews
A small university town on the Fife coast with the Old Course, a ruined cathedral and a castle, about 53 minutes by train plus a 15-minute bus.
Worth a full dayAlnwick Castle
A large medieval castle in Northumberland, England, used as a Harry Potter filming location, 58 minutes by train to Alnmouth plus four miles by bus or taxi.
Only with a tourLoch Ness and the Highlands
Scotland's best-known loch, 113 rail miles north of Edinburgh near Inverness, usually combined with Glencoe and Fort William on a one-day coach loop.