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The French and German castles Americans google most in 2026

Search volumes measured on October 25, 2026

How many times a month people in the US type the name of each castle in France and Germany into Google: 2,137 castles, ranked. What Americans search for that the French and Germans don’t, and the words they use.

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  1. Americans google the castles of France and Germany about 593,640 times a month (2,137 castles measured).
  2. 54% of those searches are for German castles, 46% for French ones.
  3. The most googled: Palace of Versailles (120,900 searches a month), ahead of Neuschwanstein Castle (116,600) and Eltz Castle (30,300).
  4. Neuschwanstein Castle alone accounts for 36% of American searches for German castles.
  5. The ten most googled castles take 58% of all searches.
  6. For French castles, Americans type “chateau” 10 times as often as “castle”.
  7. Colditz Castle weighs 13 times more in American searches than it does at home.
  8. In France, Île-de-France gets the most American searches: 55% of those for French castles.
  9. In Germany, Bavaria gets 54% of American searches for German castles.
  10. The busiest month is October, with 9.4% of the year’s searches; the quietest is December (7.6%).
  11. Per head, Brits google these castles 1.8 times as often as Americans.

Source: Chateaupedia, “The French and German castles Americans google most in 2026”, https://chateaupedia.com/en/presse/castles-americans-google-most-2026, search volumes measured on October 25, 2026

The top 50

Average monthly Google searches in the US over twelve months, all the forms an English speaker types added up (“palace of versailles”, “chateau de chambord”, “neuschwanstein castle”). The last column compares each castle’s share of American searches with its share of searches at home.

The top 20, in searches a month
  1. Palace of Versailles120,900
  2. Neuschwanstein Castle116,600
  3. Eltz Castle30,300
  4. Hohenzollern Castle13,400
  5. Heidelberg Castle13,400
  6. Nymphenburg Palace12,800
  7. Château de Chambord11,000
  8. Château de Chenonceau9,100
  9. Munich Residence9,000
  10. Linderhof Palace8,500
  11. Frankenstein Castle8,100
  12. Palace of Fontainebleau7,320
  13. Vaux-le-Vicomte5,930
  14. Colditz Castle5,450
  15. Nuremberg Castle5,410
  16. Château de Chantilly5,380
  17. Hohenschwangau Castle5,280
  18. Lichtenstein Castle4,900
  19. Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg4,210
  20. Charlottenburg Palace3,900
RankCastleCountryRegionSearches a month (US)At homeWeight vs home
1Palace of VersaillesFranceÎle-de-France120,900301,000×6.4
2Neuschwanstein CastleGermanyBavaria116,600246,000×9.2
3Eltz CastleGermanyRhineland-Palatinate30,300135,000×4.4
4Hohenzollern CastleGermanyBaden-Württemberg13,40090,500×2.9
5Heidelberg CastleGermanyBaden-Württemberg13,40090,500×2.9
6Nymphenburg PalaceGermanyBavaria12,800135,000×1.8
7Château de ChambordFranceCentre-Val de Loire (Loire Valley)11,00074,000×2.4
8Château de ChenonceauFranceCentre-Val de Loire (Loire Valley)9,100110,000×1.3
9Munich ResidenceGermanyBavaria9,00090,500×1.9
10Linderhof PalaceGermanyBavaria8,50074,000×2.2
11Frankenstein CastleGermanyHesse8,10027,100×5.8
12Palace of FontainebleauFranceÎle-de-France7,32074,000×1.6
13Vaux-le-VicomteFranceÎle-de-France5,93074,000×1.3
14Colditz CastleGermanySaxony5,4508,100×13
15Nuremberg CastleGermanyBavaria5,41049,500×2.1
16Château de ChantillyFranceHauts-de-France5,38060,500×1.4
17Hohenschwangau CastleGermanyBavaria5,28027,100×3.8
18Lichtenstein CastleGermanyBaden-Württemberg4,90074,000×1.3
19Château du Haut-KoenigsbourgFranceGrand Est4,21040,500×1.7
20Charlottenburg PalaceGermanyBerlin3,900110,000×0.7
21Sanssouci PalaceGermanyBrandenburg3,62090,500×0.8
22Reichsburg CochemGermanyRhineland-Palatinate3,60060,500×1.2
23MarksburgGermanyRhineland-Palatinate3,60033,100×2.1
24Schloss ElmauGermanyBavaria2,92049,500×1.1
25Palais des PapesFranceProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur2,90060,500×0.8
26Castle of PierrefondsFranceHauts-de-France2,88049,500×0.9
27Guédelon CastleFranceBurgundy-Franche-Comté2,88040,500×1.1
28Schwerin CastleGermanyMecklenburg-Western Pomerania2,54014,800×3.3
29Château de VillandryFranceCentre-Val de Loire (Loire Valley)2,48040,500×1
30Clos LucéFranceCentre-Val de Loire (Loire Valley)2,43027,100×1.4
31Château d'AmboiseFranceCentre-Val de Loire (Loire Valley)2,16040,500×0.9
32Château GaillardFranceNormandy2,04040,500×0.8
33Würzburg ResidenceGermanyBavaria1,99060,500×0.6
34WartburgGermanyThuringia1,90090,500×0.4
35Schloss DrachenburgGermanyNorth Rhine-Westphalia1,89060,500×0.6
36WewelsburgGermanyNorth Rhine-Westphalia1,60033,100×0.9
37Rheinstein CastleGermanyRhineland-Palatinate1,60022,200×1.4
38Dresden CastleGermanySaxony1,59033,100×0.9
39Château de BloisFranceCentre-Val de Loire (Loire Valley)1,58018,100×1.4
40Château de MalmaisonFranceÎle-de-France1,52018,100×1.3
41Château de ChevernyFranceCentre-Val de Loire (Loire Valley)1,51074,000×0.3
42Ehrenbreitstein FortressGermanyRhineland-Palatinate1,49040,500×0.7
43Rheinfels CastleGermanyRhineland-Palatinate1,30014,800×1.7
44Pfalzgrafenstein CastleGermanyRhineland-Palatinate1,3009,900×2.5
45Schloss BraunfelsGermanyHesse1,27022,200×1.1
46Berlin PalaceGermanyBerlin1,27014,800×1.7
47Moritzburg CastleGermanySaxony1,26074,000×0.3
48Château de FerrièresFranceÎle-de-France1,2309,900×2
49Castle of CaenFranceNormandy1,20022,200×0.9
50Ludwigsburg PalaceGermanyBaden-Württemberg1,19049,500×0.5

France or Germany?

Share of American searches for the castles of each country.

France or Germany?
  1. German castles321,200 · 54%
  2. French castles272,440 · 46%

“Chateau” or “castle”?

The words Americans type when they google a French castle, in searches a month. “Palace” is almost entirely Versailles and Fontainebleau.

“Chateau” or “castle”?
  1. with “chateau”139,070 · 53%
  2. with “palace”111,410 · 42%
  3. with “castle”13,510 · 5%

What Americans google more than the locals

Well-known castles (an article in ten Wikipedia languages or more) whose share of American searches is at least one and a half times their share at home.

RankCastleCountryRegionSearches a month (US)At homeWeight vs home
14Colditz CastleGermanySaxony5,4508,100×13
2Neuschwanstein CastleGermanyBavaria116,600246,000×9.2
1Palace of VersaillesFranceÎle-de-France120,900301,000×6.4
11Frankenstein CastleGermanyHesse8,10027,100×5.8
3Eltz CastleGermanyRhineland-Palatinate30,300135,000×4.4
78Marburg CastleGermanyHesse6302,900×4.2
17Hohenschwangau CastleGermanyBavaria5,28027,100×3.8
28Schwerin CastleGermanyMecklenburg-Western Pomerania2,54014,800×3.3
4Hohenzollern CastleGermanyBaden-Württemberg13,40090,500×2.9
5Heidelberg CastleGermanyBaden-Württemberg13,40090,500×2.9

Lesser-known châteaux that punch above their weight

Smaller places, with fewer than ten Wikipedia languages, whose share of American searches is at least three times their share at home.

RankCastleCountryRegionSearches a month (US)At homeWeight vs home
65Château du TheilFranceNouvelle-Aquitaine8801,000×14.1
76Château d'AngéFranceCentre-Val de Loire (Loire Valley)7201,000×11.5
64Château de TourreauFranceProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur8801,340×10.5
88Château d'AudrieuFranceNormandy5901,000×9.4
107Château de PressacFranceNouvelle-Aquitaine4801,000×7.7
87Château des ArpentisFranceCentre-Val de Loire (Loire Valley)5901,300×7.3
130Palais de l'AlmaFranceÎle-de-France3901,000×6.2
75Château de FonscolombeFranceProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur7201,900×6.1
56Château de ChaumontFranceNouvelle-Aquitaine1,0002,720×5.9
63Château Louis XIVFranceÎle-de-France8802,400×5.9

French regions

Searches for the castles of each region, and the most googled of them.

RegionCastlesSearches a month (US)ShareMost googled
Île-de-France115150,65055%Palace of Versailles
Centre-Val de Loire (Loire Valley)11641,26015%Château de Chambord
Nouvelle-Aquitaine14612,8805%Château de Beynac
Hauts-de-France4810,4204%Château de Chantilly
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur589,1503%Palais des Papes
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes1698,4103%Château d'Annecy
Burgundy-Franche-Comté748,3103%Guédelon Castle
Grand Est777,8203%Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg
Normandy657,5403%Château Gaillard
Pays de la Loire796,8403%Château d'Angers
Occitania1066,2902%Château de la Treyne
Brittany762,8401%Château de Suscinio
Corsica3300%Château Conti

German states

RegionCastlesSearches a month (US)ShareMost googled
Bavaria180172,88054%Neuschwanstein Castle
Rhineland-Palatinate9852,21016%Eltz Castle
Baden-Württemberg13940,17013%Hohenzollern Castle
Hesse9013,6604%Frankenstein Castle
Saxony6611,1903%Colditz Castle
North Rhine-Westphalia1889,7803%Schloss Drachenburg
Berlin146,6802%Charlottenburg Palace
Brandenburg355,5302%Sanssouci Palace
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania363,1201%Schwerin Castle
Thuringia392,5201%Wartburg
Lower Saxony531,7401%Herrenhausen Palace
Saxony-Anhalt441,0900%Wernigerode Castle
Schleswig-Holstein165400%Gottorf Castle
Saarland4600%Burg Kirkel

When do Americans google castles?

Each month’s share of the year, across the top 100 (100 with monthly figures).

Share of the year’s searches, month by month
  1. January8.3%
  2. February7.9%
  3. March8.6%
  4. April8.9%
  5. May8.8%
  6. June8.5%
  7. July8%
  8. August7.8%
  9. September7.7%
  10. October9.4%
  11. November8.5%
  12. December7.6%

And in the UK?

The same measurement in the UK: 220,310 searches a month.

The castles Brits google most

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The figures and rankings on this page can be reused freely, including commercially, as long as you credit Chateaupedia with a link to this page (ODbL 1.0 for the file).

Suggested citation

Source: Chateaupedia, “The French and German castles Americans google most in 2026”, https://chateaupedia.com/en/presse/castles-americans-google-most-2026, search volumes measured on October 25, 2026

Example sentence

According to a Chateaupedia study of Google searches, the castle Americans google most in 2026 is Palace of Versailles, and 54% of their searches for French and German castles are for German ones.

Method

Volumes are Google Ads averages over twelve months, measured in the US in English through DataForSEO for the 2,527 castles most searched for in France and Germany. Each castle is measured under the forms an English speaker types: its name without accents (“chateau de chambord”, “schloss neuschwanstein”), “chateau X” and “X chateau” for French châteaux, “X castle”, and its English name when there is one (“palace of versailles”, “nymphenburg palace”). Forms that Google groups together, and so return identical figures, are counted once.

A keyword is not always a place. A form only counts if it contains a castle word, and translated forms only for castles with an article in at least ten Wikipedia languages: below that, “hermitage castle” is in Scotland and “salzburg castle” in Austria. A castle with fewer than twenty Wikipedia languages that would be googled more in the US than at home is measuring a namesake and is left out; Colditz, with twenty-four, stays in, and Brits google it more than Germans do. Wines (Château d’Yquem), hotels (Château Frontenac), museums (the Louvre) and the Paris metro station Château de Vincennes are excluded, as are the cases already excluded by our study of searches in France and Germany. When Google knows the place, a volume is capped at twenty times its Google reviews.

The comparison with home uses that study: each castle’s share of American searches for the castles of its country, divided by its share of searches in its own country.

Download the data

One castle per row, both markets: rank, name, country, region, searches a month in the US and in the UK, searches at home, main search term and the address of the castle page.

chateaupedia-anglo-searches-2026.csv

Press contact

Nicolas, founder of Chateaupedia, replies within the day.

presse@chateaupedia.com

The castles most searched for in France and Germany

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