To all our fellow culture buffs, how much of your current obsession with medieval castles and cute European towns frozen in time can be traced back to the Disney tales you watched on repeat as a child?
It might be easy to forget nowadays, when overly progressive creatives seem determined to rip beloved classics to shreds, but there was a time when Disney truly instigated awe.
If you’re missing those simpler times and could use a sprinkle of fairy dust, these 7 storybook towns across the pond are real-life gateways back to your favorite childhood memories:
Sleeping Beauty’s Castle
Real-Life Version: Neuschwanstein, Germany
Nestled in the German Alps, on a prominent hill surrounded by verdant nature and snow-capped peaks, Neuschwanstein is arguably the blueprint for every Disney princess castle in existence, though it bears a striking resemblance with Sleeping Beauty‘s.
The former retreat of a Bavarian king, it is a fairytalish as castles come, with conical towers, hidden courtyards, and lush gardens, and if there’s anywhere in the world you could find your happily ever after, we’ll take a wild guess and say it’s in Neuschwanstein.
Frozen’s Arendelle
Real-Life Version: Hallstatt, Austria
Wondering where Disney got ideas for Frozen‘s snow-clad kingdom of Arendelle from? Look no further than this quaint small town in Austria, with centuries-old wooden houses and a picturesque church lining the water.
Tip? For the best possible view of Hallstatt, without the crowds, make sure you board the Hallstätter Seeschifffahrt at some point: it connects the municipality to the train station, on the other side of the lake, and the townscape views are something straight out of a fantasyland.
The Beauty And The Beast Village
Real-Life Version: Riquewihr, France
One of the most famous entries into the Disney cannon, Beauty And The Beast is permeated with references to France, but none as eye-catching, or wondrous to watch than the animated version of Riquewihr, an actual place in the idyllic Alsace.
With half-timbered houses, cobble-paved alleys, vintage bookshops, and even a romantic well that made it on the screen, it isn’t hard to picture a daydreaming Belle strolling around as she belts out a melodic bonjour!—if you used to collect colorful cassettes in the 90s, you’ll get the ref.
Luca’s Portorosso
Real-Life Version: Cinque Terre, Italy
This one’s for the Disney adults who are still keeping up to the date with the latest releases: this generation’s Little Mermaid, Luca follows a sea creature dreaming of becoming part of the human world, except it’s not set in Denmark.
Instead, the backdrop to that story is Portorosso, a fictional village in Italy that heavily draws inspiration from the quintet of coastal villages called Cinque Terre—which, may we add, are characterized by their pastel-colored facades and postcard-ready harbors.
The Little Mermaid’s Prince Eric’s Castle
Real-Life Version: Château de Chillon, Switzerland
Of course Luca’s distant cousin Ariel would get a nod as well: the Little Mermaid may be a Danish tale, but when it comes to imagining the animation’s waterfront fortress, Disney turned to Switzerland’s lakeside Château de Chillon.
Located exactly halfway between the upscale resort town of Montreux, and a more laid-back Villeneuve—a half-hour walk from each—Chillon is perched on the shores of Lake Geneva, and it’s the textbook example of a medieval fortification that could double as a princely castle.
Tangled’s Corona Kingdom
Real-Life Version: Mont Saint-Michel, France
One of the most emblematic Disney castles of all time, Tangled‘s Corona is a fortified citadel topped with soaring towers, and surrounded by water, and if you think places like these can’t possibly exist in our dimension, think again.
Mont Saint-Michel in France is the original Rapunzel’s kingdom, and a UNESCO-protected town located on a tidal island off the coast of Northern France—with its quirky shops, family-owned crêperies, and historic abbey, it’s medieval Europe at its finest.
Brave’s Highland Castle
Real-Life Version: Eilean Donan, Scotland
Lustrous, curly red hair, a fiery personality, and an innate talent with the bow: Merida, the protagonist in Scotland-based Brave, is adventure personified, and her homeland is pinned somewhere in the dramatic Scottish Highlands.
Now, the movie isn’t set in any one particular real-life place, but nothing screams Brave quite like a highland castle, and Eilean Donan, nestled on a small islet at the confluence of three sea lochs, fits the description perfectly.
Pinocchio’s Village
Real-Life Version: Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
Finally, for the hardcore Disney fans, Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a lesser-known town in the hinterlands of Germany, largely built in the Middle Ages, that seems to have been conjured straight from an early Walt Disney sketch for Pinocchio.
It’s Rothenburg’s old townhouses, distinguished by their crookedness and steep roofs, storied workshops, and winding pathways that led Gustaf Tenggren, one of the concept artists, to come up with a loosely-inspired Italian look-alike.
Looking for Disney-coded destinations? Check out these 4 other picture-perfect towns in Italy without the usual crowds, and just exuding that Old World magic.
Vinicius Costa
Vini, our senior lead writer at Travel Off Path, has over 60+ countries under his belt (and currently weaving tales from Paris!), and a knack for turning off-the-beaten-path experiences into informative stories that will have you packing your bags.
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