Castello di Miramare

This stunning castle is located in Trieste, Italy and was built in 1856 and took 4 years to complete. It was built for the Archduke of Austria and his family. It sits on the coast with 54 acres with different kinds of tropical trees and plants. It got passed around by several monarchs over time and has been used to house German troops during the first World War. The castle is now a museum and you'll be able to see the inside and most of the rooms are still what they looked like when it was first built. The audio tour comes in several languages so you can hear the full history of each room you walk through, from the bed room to the ball room. The garden provides a quite place to site and watch the waves and a little cafe to enjoy a cup of coffee.

I visited this sea side castle with a friend and her two daughters and it was just stunning. I love castles but this one was different. It was a little out of the way to get to but the drive alone was worth it. A must visit if you go to the east upper side of Italy.