Live Out Your Royal Fantasies in This Massive, European-style Castle in Texas

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful castle in Texas.

Yes, Texas — and you can actually stay there.

VRBO, an online platform for vacation rentals, has a number of luxurious stays all over the world. But in the U.S., none are quite as fancy as this European-style castle that's right in the middle of Texas.

Befittingly located in Kingsland, a little over one hour northwest of Austin, this beautiful, 14,000-square-foot palace sleeps 12 people in six bedrooms for an average of $2,199 per night (about $184 per night if you bring 11 friends).

The listing on VRBO notes that this is the perfect place to "be a king or a queen for the night." The master bedroom has a gorgeous view from the balcony where you can see "three counties, two lakes and 50 plus miles on a clear day," as well as a heated jacuzzi in the bathroom so you can truly relax like royalty.

The two guest bathrooms also feature slightly smaller jacuzzi tubs, and the castle is equipped with a game room (including a pool table and darts), family board games, a DVD collection with over 1,000 titles, an Oculus Quest VR system, over 100 pieces of artwork and paintings throughout, and modern amenities like Wi-Fi, coffee, bedding, shampoo, a washer and dryer, heat, air conditioning, and so on. This is a far cry from the drafty, dark castles from Medieval Europe for sure.

The 133 acres of castle grounds are just as impressive as the interiors. Outdoors, guests can enjoy a "themed gazebo" with a charcoal grill, a 40,000-gallon koi pond with a waterfall, a 9,000-gallon-per-hour stream that is apparently filled with "hidden gems and crystals from across the world," and plenty of opportunities to see native wildlife like birds, deer, roadrunners, and ring-tailed cats –– which are not cats, but an animal that are a cuter version of a raccoon.

Nearby, guests can visit Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake State Park, Lake LBJ, Longhorn Cavern State park, or nearby wineries. And since it's only a one-hour drive from Austin, there are still opportunities to enjoy nightlife and delicious food.

Availability is relatively open for 2021, so bringing your entire court to the castle is easy to plan. For more information or to make a booking, visit the castle's listing on VRBO.

Andrea Romano is a freelance writer in New York City. Follow her on Twitter @theandrearomano.