This Central European Road Trip Wraps Seven Fairytale Castles Into One Awe-Inspiring Route

Aside from hosting incredible natural scenery, like one of Europe's most beautiful rivers, Slovenia is full of fairytale-like castles with roots in the medieval ages. This is just one reason Rick Steves says Slovenia is an underrated charmer. If you are familiar with Slovenia, it's likely because of its gorgeous capital city, Ljubljana, or the lakefront town of Bled, but some of the country's quieter country roads are home to its best landscapes. One road trip through the Posavje region in southeastern Slovenia, known for its vineyard-covered hills, takes you to seven castles in a single day, collectively called the "Royal Seven."

The guided day trip to the seven castles is part of an initiative partially funded by Slovenia itself and the European Union. It's a road trip, with an emphasis on the royal narrative of Slovenia's history. The seven castles included on the tour are: Brežice, Kunšperk, Mokrice, Rajhenburg, Sevnica, Svibno, and the Kostanjevica na Krki monastery. Some of the castle visits include special experiences, like private tours or lunch within the fortress walls. You also get to tour a blacksmith workshop, make chocolate, and meet a countess with a flair for storytelling. The day trip lasts from around 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.

One of the great things about the Royal Seven curated road trip is that since all of its castles are within the same region, you can spend more time exploring and learning about each one. Plus, the guided tours are focused on telling some of the region's most interesting stories. You start the trip at Terme Čatež, a thermal bath complex on the Sava River, to get a digital, interactive overview of the castles you're about to see.

The tour's first castle, a former monastery, is in the island town of Kostanjevica na Krki. It's a 13th-century Cistercian monastery surrounded by oak sculptures, and within the building, there is a Slovenian expressionist art museum. Afterward, you'll head to Castle Mokrice, set among an English park. While many of the castles around the Posavje region have a medieval feel and history, Mokrice's a bit different in that it was influenced by the aristocracy of the 19th century.

At the renaissance-style Brežice Castle, you'll get a private tour, which includes the Knight's Hall, known for its beautiful baroque frescoes. By around 5 p.m., you'll arrive at one of the road trip's most unique experiences: visiting the Rajhenburg Castle, where you can also take a chocolate workshop. This is one of the oldest castles on the route, with parts of it still preserved from the 12th century. Its history is fascinating, having cycled through the roles of noble estate, monastery, and deportation camp during World War II. Finally, the road trip ends with a visit to Sevnica Castle around 9 p.m. As night falls over the castle, Countess Mathilde (who was its last owner) tells stories about its past.

The road trip through Posavje's castles includes two stellar meals made by local chefs and sourced from local ingredients. The first is a lunch served at the A3 restaurant in Rajhenburg Castle. The Michelin-recommended restaurant serves modern fare paired with Slovenian wines. Later, dinner is at Gostilna Jež, where you'll get to try more traditional Slovenian food. One Google reviewer highlights the "creative dishes that are often based on older or forgotten Slovene recipes."

Like the chocolate workshop in Rajhenburg Castle, the road trip includes a couple of other fun, hands-on experiences. One is a stop at a blacksmith's workshop in Bistrica ob Sotli. You'll get to see a blacksmith at work and even try your hand at forging a horseshoe. At the Kostanjevica na Krki monastery, you also get to make your own graphics in its printing house.

While the guided Royal Seven road trip is a convenient and more immersive way to explore the incredible castles in Posavje, you don't necessarily need to book the whole tour (which starts at around $940). You can easily just make your own road trip and stop at the sites during standard visiting hours. For example, the Brežice Castle offers admission tickets for its museum and water tower throughout the year, with some free admission days on certain holidays. 

The starting point for your road trip at Terme Čatež is just over an hour's drive from Ljubljana, Slovenia's capital and an undiscovered delight, according to Rick Steves. Or you can fly into Zagreb, Croatia, which is about a 35-minute drive from Terme Čatež.