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Castles in Greece

134 landmarks in the Castle Map atlas — every one mapped with a photo and its story, 103 with sourced founding dates, ranked by Wikipedia coverage and real readership.

The most famous castle in Greece is Mycenae, ranked #4 of 9,079 in the world — followed by Acropolis of Athens and Knossos.

The Castle Map atlas charts 61 castles, 32 fortresses, 7 palaces & châteaux and 34 ruins in Greece. They span more than 38 centuries — from Knossos (founded c. 1900 BC) to Oxyro Nymfaias (1936). Every one is plotted with its photo and story on the interactive castle map of Greece.

How many castles are there in Greece?

Map of castles in Greece

On the map they cluster thickest around Athens — 28 within a 100 km day trip, then Kalamata (26) and Chalkída (20). The northernmost is Castle of Didymoteicho, the southernmost Kastro Kales — about 709 km apart.

Planning a visit? Day-trip guides: Castles near Athens · Castles near Kalamata · Castles near Chalkída · Castles near Thessaloniki · Castles near Ioannina · Castles near Patras.

By region: Castles in the Peloponnese.

See them on the map →

When they were built

Of the 134 landmarks mapped in Greece, 103 carry a sourced founding date. Most were founded in the 13th century — 28 of them. 79 predate 1500 and 13 were built after 1700.

All 134 castles in Greece

Mycenae
Ruin · 14th century BC · #4 worldwide · #1 in Greece
Mycenae is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece.
Acropolis of Athens
Ruin · 5th century BC · #5 worldwide · #2 in Greece
The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens, Greece, and contains the remains of several…
Knossos
Ruin · 19th century BC · #13 worldwide · #3 in Greece
Knossos is an archaeological site and ancient urban centre in Crete, Greece. It is located within the southern periphery of Heraklion, about 5 km…
Mystras
Ruin · 13th century · #71 worldwide · #4 in Greece
Mystras or Mistras, also known in the Chronicle of the Morea as Myzethras or Myzithras, is a fortified town and a former municipality in Laconia,…
Tiryns
Ruin · 14th century BC · #77 worldwide · #5 in Greece
Tiryns is a Mycenaean archaeological site in Argolis in the Peloponnese, and the location from which the mythical hero Heracles was said to have…
Phaistos
Ruin · 19th century BC · #159 worldwide · #6 in Greece
Phaistos, also transliterated as Phaestos, Festos and Latin Phaestus, is a Bronze Age archaeological site at modern Faistos, a municipality in south…
White Tower of Thessaloniki
Castle · 15th century · #187 worldwide · #7 in Greece
The White Tower of Thessaloniki is a monument and museum on the waterfront of the city of Thessaloniki, capital of the region of Macedonia in…
Acrocorinth
Castle · 7th century BC · #196 worldwide · #8 in Greece
Acrocorinth is a monolithic rock overlooking the ancient city of Corinth, Greece.
Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes
Palace & château · 14th century · #298 worldwide · #9 in Greece
The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, also known as the Kastello, is a medieval castle in the city of Rhodes, on the island of…
Achilleion
Palace & château · 19th century · #301 worldwide · #10 in Greece
The Achilleion is a palace built on Corfu for Empress Elisabeth of Austria after a suggestion by the Austrian consul Alexander von Warsberg.
Tatoi Palace
Palace & château · #11 in Greece
Tatoi was the summer palace and 42 km2 estate of the former Greek royal family.
Palace of Nestor
Ruin · 13th century BC · #12 in Greece
The Palace of Nestor was an important centre in Mycenaean times and is traditionally identified with the palace of the Homeric king Nestor at "sandy…
Old Royal Palace
Palace & château · 19th century · #13 in Greece
The Old Royal Palace is the first royal palace of modern Greece. It is a neoclassical building situated at the heart of modern Athens, facing onto…
Palace of Zakros
Ruin · 19th century BC · #14 in Greece
Zakros is a Minoan archaeological site on the eastern coast of Crete in Lasithi, Greece.
Palamidi
Fortress · 18th century · #15 in Greece
Palamidi is a fortress to the east of the Acronauplia in the town of Nafplio in the Peloponnese region of southern Greece.
Rocca a Mare
Fortress · 16th century · #16 in Greece
The Koules or Castello a Mare is a fortress located at the entrance of the old port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
Presidential Mansion
Palace & château · 19th century · #17 in Greece
The Presidential Mansion in Athens, Greece, is the official residence of the president of the Hellenic Republic.
Bourtzi
Fortress · 15th century · #18 in Greece
The water castle of Bourtzi is a Venetian castle located in the middle of the harbour of Nafplio.
Old Fortress of Corfu
Fortress · 16th century · #19 in Greece
The Old Fortress of Corfu is a Venetian fortress in the city of Corfu, Greece.
Frangokastello
Castle · 14th century · #20 in Greece
Frangokastello is the location of a castle and scattered settlement on the south coast of Crete, Greece, about 12 km east of Chora Sfakion and within…
Fortezza of Rethymno
Fortress · 16th century · #21 in Greece
The Fortezza is the citadel of the city of Rethymno in Crete, Greece. It was built by the Venetians in the 16th century, and was captured by the…
Cadmea of Thebes
Ruin · 14th century BC · #22 in Greece
The Cadmea, or Cadmeia, was the citadel of ancient Thebes, Greece, which was named after Cadmus, the legendary founder of Thebes.
Angelokastro
Castle · #23 in Greece
Angelokastro (Greek: Αγγελόκαστρο; Venetian: Castel Sant'Angelo) is a Byzantine castle on the island of Corfu, Greece.
Walls of Thessaloniki
Fortress · 4th century BC · #24 in Greece
The Walls of Thessaloniki are the 4 kilometer-long city walls surrounding the city of Thessaloniki during the Middle Ages and until the late 19th…
Platamon Castle
Castle · 13th century · #25 in Greece
The Platamon Castle, an important part of the history of Pieria, is a Crusader castle in Macedonia, Greece and is located southeast of Mount Olympus,…
Gla
Fortress · #26 in Greece
Gla, also called Glas, was an important fortified site of the Mycenaean civilization, located in Boeotia, mainland Greece.
Heptapyrgion
Fortress · #27 in Greece
The Heptapyrgion, modern Eptapyrgio, also popularly known by its Ottoman Turkish name Yedi Kule, is a Byzantine and Ottoman-era fortress situated on…
Acropolis of Rhodes
Castle · 5th century BC · #28 in Greece
The Acropolis of Rhodes is the acropolis, or upper town, of ancient Rhodes dating from the 5th century BC and located 3 kilometers SW from the centre…
Fortifications of Rhodes
Fortress · 14th century · #29 in Greece
The fortifications of the town of Rhodes are shaped like a defensive crescent around the medieval town and consist mostly of a fortification composed…
Ioannina Castle
Castle · 14th century · #30 in Greece
The Ioannina Castle is the fortified old town of the city of Ioannina in northwestern Greece.
Chlemoutsi
Castle · 13th century · #31 in Greece
Chlemoutsi, also known as Clermont, is a medieval castle in the northwest of the Elis regional unit in the Peloponnese peninsula of southern Greece,…
Midea (citadel)
Ruin · 13th century BC · #32 in Greece
Midea or Mideia was a city of ancient Argolis. Midea was originally called Perseuspolis, and is mentioned by Pseudo-Apollodorus in connection with…
Acronauplia
Fortress · #33 in Greece
The Acronauplia is the oldest part of the city of Nafplion in Greece. Until the thirteenth century, it was a town on its own.
Larissa Fortress
Ruin · #34 in Greece
Larisa is the ancient and medieval acropolis of Argos, located on a high rocky hill, within the town's boundaries to the west.
Old Navarino Castle
Castle · 13th century · #35 in Greece
The Old Navarino castle is a 13th-century Frankish fortress near Pylos, Greece.
Methoni Castle
Castle · 13th century · #36 in Greece
The Castle of Methoni is a medieval fortification in the port town of Methoni, Messenia, in southwestern Greece.
Corfu New Fortress
Fortress · 16th century · #37 in Greece
The New Fortress of Corfu is a Venetian fortress built on the hill of St. Mark in Corfu in stages.
Aigosthena
Ruin · 4th century BC · #38 in Greece
Aigosthena was an ancient Greek fortified port city of Megaris, 19 km northwest of the ancient city of Megara to which it belonged.
Palace of St. Michael and St. George
Palace & château · 19th century · #39 in Greece
The Palace of St. Michael and St. George is a palace in Corfu City on the island of Corfu, Greece.
New Navarino Fortress
Fortress · #40 in Greece
The fortress of New Navarino is an Ottoman fortification near Pylos, Greece. It is one of two castles guarding the strategic Bay of Pylos, on which…
Assos Castle
Castle · 16th century · #41 in Greece
The Assos Castle is a Venetian fortification on Kefalonia island in western Greece.
Castle of Mytilene
Castle · 6th century · #42 in Greece
The Castle of Mytilene, also Fortress of Mytilene, is located in Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos, North Aegean.
Neratzia
Castle · 14th century · #43 in Greece
The fortress of Neratzia (Greek Κάστρο της Νερατζιάς Kastro tis Neratzias, more rarely Castle of Narangia) is a fortress of the Order of St John in…
Fortifications of Heraklion
Fortress · 15th century · #44 in Greece
The fortifications of Heraklion are a series of defensive walls and other fortifications which surround the city of Heraklion in Crete, Greece.
Patras Castle
Castle · 6th century · #45 in Greece
Patras Castle is a medieval structure in Patras, Greece. It was built around the mid-6th century AD above the ruins of the ancient acropolis of the…
Castle of Chios
Castle · 10th century · #46 in Greece
The Castle of Chios is a medieval citadel in Chios town on the Greek island of Chios.
Acropolis of Lindos
Ruin · #47 in Greece
The Acropolis of Lindos is an archaeological site built atop a steep rock 116 metres high, towering over the traditional settlement of Lindos on…
Gardiki Castle, Corfu
Castle · 13th century · #48 in Greece
Gardiki Castle is a 13th-century Byzantine castle on the southwestern coast of Corfu.
Panopeus
Ruin · #49 in Greece
Panopeus, or Phanoteus, was a Greek town of ancient Phocis, near the frontier of Boeotia, and on the road from Daulis to Chaeronea.
Feraklos Castle
Ruin · #50 in Greece
Feraklos Castle, also Feraklou and Faraklenon Castle, is a ruined medieval fortress, located on an 85 m-high hill overlooking the village of Charaki…
Izzeddin Fortress
Fortress · 19th century · #51 in Greece
The Izzeddin Fortress is an Ottoman fortress in Souda Bay, Crete, near the village of Kalami, best known for its role as a prison for political…
Antimachia Castle
Castle · #52 in Greece
Antimachia Castle is a medieval fortress of the Knights of St John 3 km east of Antimachia, the administrative seat of the municipality of Iraklidis…
Fortifications of Chania
Fortress · 14th century · #53 in Greece
The fortifications of Chania are a series of defensive walls and other fortifications which surround the city of Chania in Crete, Greece.
Rio Castle
Ruin · 15th century · #54 in Greece
The Rio Castle, historically known as the Castle of the Morea in opposition to its counterpart, the Castle of Rumelia at Antirrio, is located at the…
Kassiopi Castle
Castle · #55 in Greece
Kassiopi Castle is a castle on the northeastern coast of Corfu overseeing the fishing village of Kassiopi.
Palaio Pyli
Castle · #56 in Greece
Palaio Pyli (Greek Παλιό Πύλι) is an abandoned village with a castle in the municipal district of Dikeos on the Greek Dodecanese island of Kos.
Palace of Galerius
Ruin · 3rd century · #57 in Greece
The Palace of Galerius is an imposing building complex that forms part of the Galerian complex and lies in the centre of Thessaloniki.
Castle of Bouka
Castle · 15th century · #58 in Greece
The castle of Bouka was the first major Ottoman fortification of Preveza, in northwestern Greece.
Parga Castle
Castle · 14th century · #59 in Greece
The Parga Castle is a medieval hilltop citadel complex in the town of Parga, Epirus, Greece.
Galatas Palace
Ruin · 18th century BC · #60 in Greece
The Galatas Palace is a Minoan archaeological site in Heraklion, Crete, Greece about 30 kilometers southeast of the city of Heraklion discovered in…
Dymaean Wall
Ruin · 13th century BC · #61 in Greece
Kazarma Fortress
Fortress · 13th century · #62 in Greece
Salmeniko Castle
Castle · 13th century · #63 in Greece
Siphae
Ruin · #64 in Greece
Arta Castle
Castle · 13th century · #65 in Greece
Castle of Santa Maura
Castle · 13th century · #66 in Greece
Kavala Fortress
Fortress · 15th century · #67 in Greece
Rogoi
Fortress · 9th century · #68 in Greece
Kalamata Castle
Ruin · 13th century · #69 in Greece
Fortress St. George
Fortress · 11th century · #70 in Greece
Araklovon Castle
Castle · 8th century · #71 in Greece
Anastasiopolis
Ruin · 5th century · #72 in Greece
Trikala Castle
Castle · 6th century · #73 in Greece
Castle of Didymoteicho
Castle · #74 in Greece
St. Andrew's Castle
Fortress · 18th century · #75 in Greece
Karababa
Castle · 17th century · #76 in Greece
Palaiochora
Ruin · #77 in Greece
Pontikokastro
Castle · 13th century · #78 in Greece
Skiathos Castle
Castle · 14th century · #79 in Greece
Mystras Castle
Castle · 13th century · #80 in Greece
Rododafni kastello
Palace & château · 19th century · #81 in Greece
Argyrokastro castle
Castle · #82 in Greece
Fort Istibey
Fortress · 20th century · #83 in Greece
Fort of Saint Nicholas
Fortress · 15th century · #84 in Greece
Nafpaktos castle
Castle · 5th century BC · #85 in Greece
Castle of Akrotiri
Ruin · 13th century · #86 in Greece
Akova Castle
Castle · #87 in Greece
Castle of Koroni
Castle · #88 in Greece
Mithymna Castle
Castle · 14th century · #89 in Greece
Rentina Castle
Castle · #90 in Greece
Castle of Kythira
Castle · #91 in Greece
Ios Palaiokastro
Ruin · 14th century · #92 in Greece
Kastro Gramvousas
Fortress · 16th century · #93 in Greece
Castle of Temenos
Castle · 10th century · #94 in Greece
St. George's Fort
Fortress · 19th century · #95 in Greece
Kastro Kales
Fortress · 13th century · #96 in Greece
Castle of Moglena
Ruin · 10th century · #97 in Greece
Passavas Castle
Ruin · #98 in Greece
Castelo Rosso
Castle · 13th century · #99 in Greece
Paralio Astros Castle
Castle · 13th century · #100 in Greece
Castle of Salona
Castle · 13th century · #101 in Greece
Castle of Paleochora
Castle · 13th century · #102 in Greece
Antirrio Fortress
Fortress · 15th century · #103 in Greece
Aptera Fortress
Fortress · 19th century · #104 in Greece
Kalavryta Castle
Ruin · 13th century · #105 in Greece
Mouchli Castle
Castle · 13th century · #106 in Greece
Bazeos Tower
Castle · #107 in Greece
Mylopotamos Castle
Castle · 16th century · #108 in Greece
Pantokratoras Castle
Castle · #109 in Greece
Medieval Castle of Levadia
Castle · #110 in Greece
Oxyro Nymfaias
Fortress · 20th century · #111 in Greece
Panteli Castle
Castle · #112 in Greece
Castle of Chora of Kalymnos
Castle · 11th century · #113 in Greece
Frourio Komotini
Castle · 4th century · #114 in Greece
Chrysocheria Castle
Castle · 15th century · #115 in Greece
Firka Fortress
Fortress · 17th century · #116 in Greece
Castle of Kythnos
Castle · 7th century · #117 in Greece
Sidirokastro in Achaea
Ruin · 14th century · #118 in Greece
Fortress of Vardari
Fortress · 16th century · #119 in Greece
Castle of Varnakas
Castle · 13th century · #120 in Greece
Potiri Castle
Castle · 15th century · #121 in Greece
Chalandritsa Tower
Ruin · 13th century · #122 in Greece
Kelefa Castle
Castle · #123 in Greece
Frourio Nymfaia
Ruin · #124 in Greece
Phyle
Fortress · 4th century BC · #125 in Greece
Damalas Castle
Castle · 13th century · #126 in Greece
Fort of Laskara
Fortress · 19th century · #127 in Greece
Egyptokastro
Castle · 13th century · #128 in Greece
Saflaouro Castle
Castle · 13th century · #129 in Greece
Castle of Tartaris
Ruin · 13th century · #130 in Greece
Fortress of Eleutherai
Ruin · #131 in Greece
Castle of Ochia
Ruin · #132 in Greece
Castle of Piada
Castle · 13th century · #133 in Greece
Apano Kastro of Naxos
Castle · #134 in Greece

Frequently asked questions

How many castles are in Greece?

The Castle Map atlas maps 134 landmarks (61 castles · 32 fortresses · 7 palaces & châteaux · 34 ruins) in Greece — a curated selection of well-documented landmarks from Wikidata, not a count of every fortification ever built.

What is the most famous castle in Greece?

Mycenae, ranked #4 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's fame ranking, founded in the 14th century BC.

What is the oldest castle in Greece?

The oldest dated landmark in the atlas in Greece is Knossos, founded c. 1900 BC. Earlier structures may have existed — this is the oldest with a documented founding year.

Where are most of the castles in Greece?

They cluster thickest around Athens — 28 of the atlas's landmarks within 100 km, then Kalamata (26) and Chalkída (20).

Which castles in Greece are UNESCO World Heritage Sites?

Per Wikidata, 7 of the mapped landmarks hold a UNESCO World Heritage designation — inscribed in their own right or as part of an inscribed ensemble: Mycenae, Acropolis of Athens, Mystras, Tiryns, Phaistos, Palace of Zakros, Walls of Thessaloniki.