Editors' choiceIstanbul, Turkey
Çırağan Palace Kempinski
The Ottoman palace of Sultan Abdülaziz (1863–1867) on the European shore of the Bosphorus, now a Kempinski hotel.
Castles & palaces
Photos: Grendelkhan, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0); yanshoof • שיחה • דרוש משתמש שיש לגביו הסכמה כללית בוויקי לניסוי מעניין (Transfered by מתניה/Original uploaded by Yan, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0); Ericci8996, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0); Jlahorn, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0); No machine-readable author provided. El Comandante assumed (based on copyright claims)., Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Ireland
Ashford Castle
A castle from 1228 on the shore of Lough Corrib, rebuilt in the Victorian era. Once owned by the Guinness family, now a hotel.
Ashford is a largely Victorian and medieval castle near the village of Cong on the Mayo–Galway border, on the shore of Lough Corrib. It has been extended many times and is now a five-star hotel. It was once owned by the Guinness family.
History
The castle was built in 1228 by the Anglo-Norman de Burgos (Burkes). In 1589 it passed to Sir Richard Bingham. In 1715 the Brownes built a hunting lodge here in the style of a French château — the double-headed eagles of their crest can still be seen on the roof. In the 19th century the Guinnesses bought the estate and rebuilt it in Victorian style.
Views from the rooms
Lough Corrib, the River Cong and the estate grounds.
Who it suits
For fairy-tale trips, weddings, anniversaries and castle lovers.
What to see nearby
- Cong village and Cong Abbey.
- Connemara.
Location
Cong, Co. Mayo, F31 CA48, Ireland
Open in Yandex MapsIn collections
Checked by our editors: 28 October 2026.
Sources:
Wikipedia (EN); Wikipedia (RU); Official website; photos — Wikimedia Commons (free licences, authors credited under the photos)
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