Ranked by strength
The 10 strongest castles in Greece
Greece’s mightiest fortresses — the strongholds built to hold against siege, ranked by military strength rather than fame. Each links through to its full history, and you can rebuild any of them to explore with AI.
- 1
Greece · Partial ruin · prime 1700
Acrocorinth
Acrocorinth is the fortified acropolis that crowns the monolithic rock overlooking the ancient city of Corinth in Greece. The site was continuously occupied from archaic times through the early 19th century and contains multiple concentric circuit walls, towers and reused religious buildings reflecting Greek, Byzantine, Frankish, Venetian and Ottoman phases.
- 2
Greece · Restored · prime 1480
Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes
The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes is a medieval castle in the city of Rhodes that served as the citadel and administrative headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller. It is one of the few examples of Gothic architecture in Greece and occupies a prominent position within Rhodes' fortified old town. The building today has been restored and operates as a museum.
- 3
Greece · Partial ruin · prime 1500
Methoni Castle
Methoni Castle is a medieval coastal fortress occupying a headland and a small fortified islet (the Bourtzi) at the port of Methoni in Messenia, Greece. The complex combines long sea-facing curtain walls, a landward acropolis, multiple towers and a fortified gate sequence developed by Venetians and modified after 1500 by the Ottomans.
- 4
Greece · Restored · prime 1700
Fortezza of Rethymno
The Fortezza is the Venetian-built citadel on the Paleokastro hill overlooking Rethymno harbour in Crete. Constructed in the 16th century with bastioned walls, it later passed to Ottoman control and remained a fortified administrative centre until modern times. Today its fortified outline and many internal buildings survive and the site is open to the public.
- 5
Greece · Restored · prime 1230
Chlemoutsi
Chlemoutsi (Clermont) is a 13th-century Frankish hilltop castle in northwest Elis on a small plateau above the coastal plain. It centres on a large irregular hexagonal keep surrounded on the west by an outer curtain wall and outer ward; the fortress retains much of its original 13th-century fabric and is preserved as a monument today.
- 6
Greece · Partial ruin · prime 1537
Angelokastro
Angelokastro is a Byzantine hilltop castle on the northwest coast of Corfu, built on a steep rocky promontory overlooking the sea and the City of Corfu. It served as a fortified acropolis and administrative center through Byzantine, Angevin and Venetian rule, and played a key defensive role during Ottoman sieges. The site today is preserved as prominent architectural remains on a coastal ridge.
- 7
Greece · Restored · prime 1222
Platamon Castle
Platamon Castle is a Crusader-era hilltop fortress on the southeast slopes of Mount Olympus in Pieria, Greece, built in the early 13th century to control the Tempe valley approach. The complex is a polygonal enceinte with an isolated round donjon, multiple rectangular towers and a small church within the walls. Today the site is preserved and used for cultural events.
- 8
Greece · Partial ruin · prime 1815
Ioannina Castle
Ioannina Castle is the fortified old town of Ioannina on a rocky promontory projecting into Lake Pamvotis. Its visible fabric combines medieval Byzantine walls and towers with large-scale early 19th-century Ottoman rebuilding under Ali Pasha; parts now house museums and cultural buildings. The site is organised around two citadels — the smaller northeastern citadel with the Aslan Pasha Mosque and the larger southeastern Its Kale with palace and tower remains.
- 9
Greece · Restored · prime 1430
Patras Castle
Patras Castle is a medieval fortress built atop the ancient acropolis of Patras on a low hill near the sea. The site comprises a large triangular outer curtain wall with towers and an inner compound on the northeastern corner; it remains a visible, visitable fortification used for cultural events today.
- 10
Greece · Ruin · prime 1500
Old Navarino Castle
Old Navarino Castle is a 13th-century Frankish fortress perched on a high rock overlooking the bay of Pylos in the Peloponnese. It commands the northern edge of the harbour and stood alongside a later Ottoman-built New Navarino; by the 19th century the old castle was described as essentially a ruin.