Castle festivals in Europe

April 2026

Stéphane D · CC BY-SA 2.0

Featured

Living History & Museums Castle Events

Guédelon Castle (living medieval construction site)

Treigny, France

Guédelon is a 13th-century castle being built from scratch in a Burgundy forest quarry using only the tools, materials and techniques of the 1230s, open to visitors from spring to autumn since the first stone was laid in 1997. Around forty masons, carpenters, blacksmiths, tilers, rope-makers and carters work in front of the public, and the site draws roughly 300,000 visitors a season.

On now until 1 Nov

Family

July 2026

Chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0

Featured

Jousting & Tournaments Castle Events

Tournoi de Chevalerie de Carcassonne (Knights' Tournament and Falconry Show)

Carcassonne, France

Every summer the lices between the double walls of the Cité de Carcassonne host a daily knights' tournament, a 45-minute show of mounted combat in armour, billed in 2026 as 'Tournois de chevalerie et spectacle de fauconnerie' after a falconry display was added. The 2026 season runs from 12 July to 27 August with three performances a day, every day except Saturday.

On now until 27 Aug

Family

September 2026

Featured

Living History & Museums Music, Feasts & Theatre +1

Karlštejnské vinobraní (Karlštejn Wine Harvest Festival with Emperor Charles IV)

Prague, Czechia

Karlštejn's wine-harvest festival brings Emperor Charles IV, Empress Elizabeth of Pomerania and a court of more than 150 costumed courtiers back to the castle he built 30 km south-west of Prague to guard the imperial crown jewels. Held on the last weekend of September, it combines ceremonial processions up to the castle, mounted knights' tournaments, period music, crafts and tastings of young wine and burčák; the 28th edition is confirmed for 26–27 September 2026.

26–27 Sep 2026

Family

May 2027

CesisCastle · CC BY-SA 4.0

Medieval Markets & Fairs Living History & Museums +1

Cēsis Castle Medieval Days (formerly Cēsis Medieval Festival)

Cēsis, Latvia

Cēsis Castle, the Livonian Order's mightiest fortress and Latvia's best-preserved castle ruin, runs a costumed 'medieval season' from May to September with craft days in the castle garden, a Hanseatic market during the July city festival and period-dressed castle folk on summer weekends. A standalone annual Cēsis Medieval Festival, the successor of the Baltic Medieval Festival first held here in 2001, could not be verified as still running in 2026, so this listing is marked unverified.

Expected May–Sep 2027

Family

July 2027

Jousting & Tournaments Living History & Museums +1

Visegrád International Palace Games

Visegrád, Hungary

The Visegrád International Palace Games are Hungary's largest medieval festival, held on the second weekend of July around the Royal Palace and Solomon Tower on the Danube Bend. Since 1985 they have recreated the court of King Charles Robert, host of the 1335 congress of kings, with jousting, royal processions, torchlit parades, falconry and a kilometre-long medieval fair.

9–11 Jul 2027

Family

Reenactment & Battles Living History & Museums +1

Trakai Medieval Festival (Viduramžių šventė)

Trakai, Lithuania

The Trakai History Museum's Medieval Festival brings re-enactors, craftsmen, musicians and 14th–15th-century warfare displays into the courtyards of the red-brick Island Castle for a summer weekend. Organised since 1998, it ran on 11–12 July 2026 with a separate €10 festival ticket.

Expected Jul 2027

Family