If you like castles, Spain is your country. Even some small Spanish towns in the middle of nowhere have a castle. Obviously, not all of them are so interesting to see but in Spain we have a bunch of castles and old palaces that will amaze you. One of those impressive and well conserved castles is the Royal Palace of Olite, in the province of Navarra.

Olite is a nice and small town surrounded by wineries in the centre of Navarra. Its main atraction is the Royal Palace. You can visit it in a guided visit for around 3,50€ or do it by yourself with an audio guide.

The Royal Palace of Olite was built following the Gothic style during the 13th and 14th centuries and it was considered as one of the most luxurious mediaeval castles in Europe. For years it was the seat of the Court of Navarre until its union with Castile in 1512. In 1925 the Royal Palace of Olite was declared a National Monument.

Nowadays, the building has been restored to look as spectacular and magical as it used to be. The whole structure is a bit chaotic, because it was built during several years adding different parts to the main structure, that is basically formed by the Old Palace, (now a Parador Nacional de Turismo), and the New Palace. The castle is dominated by the keep (Torre de Homenaje) and surrounded by battlemented walls. Inside the walls there are gardens, cloisters and beautiful balconies.