My home state of Texas doesn’t seem like castle country...until it does. I went looking for towers and found quirks. For battlements and found families. For fantasy—and found people who built it with brick and willpower and a little bit of Texas audacity. These castles weren’t about royalty. They were about devotion—to vision, to architecture, and sometimes to pure whimsy. And each one made me slow down and look up.
Best Castles in Texas
Take a self-guided tour of Bishop's Palace in Galveston
“This feels like someone tried to bottle moonlight in limestone.” Bishop’s Palace—also known as Gresham’s Castle—is a Victorian behemoth of granite and steel, rising three stories high just blocks from the Gulf. I stepped inside and immediately felt the hush of old wealth, oil money carved into mahogany and lit by rainbow-streaked stained glass.
The grand staircase curved like a secret. Carvings of dragons, angels, and vines caught the sun in intricate relief. I wandered from room to room, eavesdropping on the echoes of long-gone dinner parties. From the turret balcony, Galveston looked oddly subdued—modern roofs poking up like an afterthought. I thought, “This place wasn’t built to blend in. It was built to outlast.”
Afterward, I had lunch at ShyKatZ Deli: a hot roast beef sandwich with horseradish, melted Swiss, and just the right amount of crisped bread. It smelled like pepper and comfort. I ate outside, salty air tangled in my hair, wondering how many storms that palace had watched roll in off the sea.
Bishop’s Palace At a Glance
- Location: Galveston, TX
- Style: Victorian (with Gothic and Romanesque touches)
- Best For: History buffs, architecture lovers, design dreamers
- Tours: Self-guided and audio tours available daily
- Nearby Food: ShyKatZ, Mosquito Café
Tour Newman's Castle
I found Newman's Castle in Bellville to be a memorable day trip from Houston. It's a real castle, with castle-themed decor like swords and armor! “He built this. From scratch.” That thought echoed through my head as I stood beneath the functioning drawbridge at Newman’s Castle—a full-sized fortress dropped improbably into the Texas countryside. This wasn’t a replica. It was one man’s dream, realized brick by brick behind a bakery.
The tour began at Newman’s Bakery, where I drank coffee and ate a still-warm cinnamon roll that smelled like Sunday mornings. Then we drove out to the castle, where the owner himself greeted us like a medieval mayor. There were towers. A chapel. A working portcullis. Cannonball dents (faux, but convincing). It was theatrical in the best way, and also weirdly moving.
Standing on the battlements, I looked out at fields instead of moats and thought, “Fantasy, when built by hand, feels less like escape and more like permission.”
Newman’s Castle At a Glance
- Location: Bellville, TX (1.5 hrs from Houston)
- Style: Medieval-inspired fortress
- Best For: Families, dreamers, road-trip oddities
- Tours: Reservation-only through Newman’s Bakery
- Nearby Food: Start at Newman’s Bakery for breakfast or lunch
Book a stay at The Castle at Rockwall
If you want to stay in a castle, you can do so right here in Texas at The Castle At Rockwall. As an added bonus, you'll be in the lovely town of Rockwall where you can relax on the lake. “Am I at a wedding venue or a fortress?” The answer is: both. The Castle at Rockwall stands grand and gated just northeast of Dallas, a cross between Camelot and Texas Hill Country elegance. It’s mostly used for events now—but if you’re lucky enough to visit, the stone towers and arched gates will make you believe in pageantry again.
I walked the grounds late in the day, golden light spilling across flagstone and ivy. There were knights in armor (statues, not staff), a reflecting pool, and a great hall that smelled faintly of florals and candlewax. A group was setting up for a wedding, but the staff let me peek around.
I grabbed lunch in Rockwall proper—fried catfish at The Fatted Calf, hot and crisp with hush puppies on the side. I ate it under a crepe myrtle, birdsong overhead, and thought, “If Texas does chivalry, this is how it shows up.”
The Castle at Rockwall At a Glance
- Location: Rockwall, TX (40 mins from Dallas)
- Style: European revival / custom fantasy
- Best For: Weddings, photographers, modern fairy tales
- Access: Private events only; limited public viewing
- Nearby Food: The Fatted Calf, Zanata
Book a wine tasting at 290 Wine Castle at Chateau de Chasse
“This place is trying to convince me it’s in the French countryside.” Chateau de Chasse is tucked into a quiet residential area of Houston, but stepping through the gates feels like crossing an ocean. The design is unapologetically romantic—wrought iron balconies, limestone façade, turrets rising above manicured gardens.
It’s primarily a wedding venue, but it has that rare quality of being transportive. Every corner offered a photograph. Every breeze seemed choreographed. I wandered past the koi pond and floral archways thinking, “Who says fantasy can’t have AC?”
Lunch afterward was at Common Bond Café—a turkey brie croissant with fig jam and a tart lemonade that cut through the summer heat. I sat inside, watching people in linen come and go, and for a moment, Houston really did feel like Provence.
Chateau de Chasse At a Glance
- Location: Houston, TX
- Style: French-inspired chateau
- Best For: Romantic events, bridal photography, escapists
- Access: Private venue; tours by appointment
- Nearby Food: Common Bond Café, Local Foods
While you can't stay INSIDE the castle, you can actually see the castle from the outdoor pool at the Bentley Hotel on 290 just next door. The hotel is an getaway from Austin with rooms from $179 if you decide to make it an overnight trip!
Conclusion: Fantasy, Fortified
Texas may not be the first place you look for turrets and towers, but maybe that’s exactly what makes these castles matter. In a state known for its sprawl and swagger, someone still took the time to dream in stone. To carve dragons into stair rails. To install drawbridges behind bakeries. To build with both mortar and imagination.
What struck me wasn’t just the architecture—it was the intention. These castles weren’t copies of Europe. They were reinterpretations: personal, proud, sometimes a little odd, but always deeply human. Places that said, “Here’s what I see when I close my eyes. Now come inside.”
And maybe that’s the most Texan thing of all—not settling for the expected, but building a world that feels just a little bit bigger than it needs to be. One stone at a time.
Jump to a Spot...
- • Take a self-guided tour of Bishop's Palace in Galveston
- • Detail of The Bishop's Palace, Galveston Island, Texas
- • Queen Anne style architecture of Bishops Palace on Galveston Island, Texas
- • Newman's Castle just outside Bellville
- • Tour Newman's Castle
- • Book a stay at The Castle at Rockwall
- • Book a wine tasting at 290 Wine Castle at Chateau de Chasse
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