Best Castles in the world? Recommendations and raves.

I decided to open a thread all about castles (and why not). What are the best castles you guys have visited?

To start off here's some that I thought were pretty special:

1) The Alhambra - Spain



2) Tintagel - England (coastline of north Cornwall)



3) Rasnov - Romania (better than over-rated Bran castle)



4) Devin - Slovakia



5) Budapest castle - Hungary



(not my photos)

My favourite - Crac des Chevaliers, Syria

There's another castle nearby, Misyaf, that's not quite as impressive, but not as 'overrun' by tourists as Crac (inasmuch as anything in Syria is overrun by tourists)

Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria


I also enjoyed Rasnof, though my memory there is coloured by an unexpected rainstorm that we were ill prepared for.

the only castle ive so far visited is "schloss heidelberg" in heidelberg germany. its pretty touristy, but i dont care. its that gorgeous red eart color, and over looks a river, and it just makes a lovely day trip. we took the train from bad nauheim to frankfurt and then to heidelberg, and back. being there was one of the things that made me realize i was actually in germany.

Hey 2wanderers, nice selection. That first one looks bloody amazing.

Although extreme touristy, Carcasonne is kinda nice... but Disney in a weird way.


I will agree that Prague and Budapest are cool. The Alhambra is just beyond words, but then its more of a palace than a castle.

Bouillon, Belgium



Spisske Hrad, Slovakia (photo not taken by me)



Sana'a, Yemen (unfortunatly you can't visit this one as it's still in use by the army, but it looks pretty cool from the outside, too)

Cesky Krumlov Castle is kind of nice too

Someone one has to, and who better than me...?

Another good one I just remembered...

Belgrade Castle.

Bump. Two more good ones I saw recently.

Bamburgh, England


Chepstow, Wales

Okay, I don't know how to post photos so I'll add those if someone tells me. My favs are all in Northern Wales: Beaumaris, Conwy and Caernarfon.

Malbork, a castle of teutonic knights, the biggest brick castle in Europe.

het Muiderslot

http://www.castlesofmedievaltimes.com/muiderslot-castle.html

bicycle-able from Amsterdam.....need I say more?

cheers!

How about an American Castle? Biltmore Castle Asheville, NC