There Are Lots of Castles—Yes, Castles—on the Market. So We Judged 16 of Them.

Once upon a time, somewhere in Europe somewhere on the North Texas plains, some very rich palatine decided to build a castle. Then another. And another. And soon the region was dotted with enough palazzos, alcazars, manors, and chateaus to rival a square mile in Europe. 

Whether you’re in Highland Park or Southlake, it’s not hard to spot gigantic houses cosplaying as fairytale palaces. You might be wondering, though, “how could I finagle my way into living in one of these estates?” Surprisingly, it’s not that hard, providing you have at least a few million dollars in the bank. In just a few hours of doom-scrolling through Zillow and Realtor.com, you’ll find dozens of castles on the market across the region.

But we at D wondered, are these houses really castles? Could royalty actually live here?

Being the very professional journalists that we are, we created a list of 15 castle criteria points, like moats, fancy fireplaces, and castellated towers. If we saw it once in a Disney movie, we included it. 

Then we rounded up 16 palatial homes across North Texas. Our minimum requirement is that each mansion had to be at least 5,000 square feet (whoever says “size doesn’t matter” is a liar). After that, the homes had to meet at least eight of our criteria to be categorized as “castle.” 

Scroll on to see which homes reign supreme. 

Our Criteria

1. Turrets. If Rapunzel can’t let down her hair, we don’t care.  
2. Some sort of water feature. A moat or lake, preferably. Sometimes a pool, but only if we feel like it. 
3. A dungeon. We will also accept wine cellar or movie theater, but only if the cellar or theater feels dungeony.  
4.  An imposing façade. Bonus points for battlements, but fancy stone or brickwork will suffice.  
5. An ornate stone fireplace. This is where deals are made while sipping cognac. Or where you warm yourself after a treacherous wintertime journey. Either way, it’s a vibe.  
6. A grand staircase, for ladies in hoop skirts to float down.  
7. A ballroom, or a space to host lavish parties. Jay Gatsby must be jealous. 
8. Well-manicured and extensive grounds, ideally to get lost in while courting. 
9. A wood-paneled library or study, á la Beauty and the Beast. 
10. Cloisters and/or cathedral ceilings. We must compete with the church, after all. 
11.  An intricate wrought-iron or stone gate or front door. Again, moat or a portcullis is preferable.  
12. Columns and/or ornate inlays. How else can we flaunt our fabulous attention to detail?  
13. Stables. Neigh!  
14.  A gate or guest house. Sure, your main house has 13 bedrooms, but there is no way your guests will actually sleep in them. Shoo!
15. Feels like a castle. Yes, this is subjective, but we want to live in an early-career Taylor Swift music video. 

The Houses 

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There Are Lots of Castles—Yes, Castles—on the Market. So We Judged 16 of Them.

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9727 Audubon Pl., Dallas 

“Today was a fairytale” … in this castle.

• Price: $18.9 million
• Listed by: Karen Keegan with Ebby Halliday
• Criteria met: 10 total. (1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 15)

Crowning Glory: This 18,769-square-foot Preston Hollow mansion is everything a proper Grimm’s Brothers castle should be. We can easily envision a hero racing through this entryway and up the stairs to slay the dragon in the front turret. Also, the sitting rooms are beautiful. 

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There Are Lots of Castles—Yes, Castles—on the Market. So We Judged 16 of Them.

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4531 Park Ln., Dallas

Nice pond, but it’s not a castle.

• Price: $3.5 million
• Listed by: Kevin Curran with Redfin Corporation
• Criteria met: Six total. (2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)

Crowning Glory: There are many things we like about this eight-bed, 5.5-bath home: dramatic tray ceilings, quaint grounds, and a serene pond we’re sure turtles love. But there’s just not enough opulence to be categorized as a castle—and at only one story, there’s no possibility for a “float down the grand staircase” moment.

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There Are Lots of Castles—Yes, Castles—on the Market. So We Judged 16 of Them.

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1312 Tinker Rd., Colleyville

A forest and stables? Even *neigh-sayers* admit this is a castle.

• Price: $5.5 million 
• Listed by: Carrie Smith with Allie Beth Allman & Associates
• Criteria met: 11 total. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15)

Crowning Glory: You must always be ready to ride into battle, and this Colleyville estate is one of just a few on our list with stables, plus a pond and a small forest of 100 trees. Inside, the 12,223-square-foot house leans more rustic, but its study and high ceilings give all the pomp we want to see. 

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6915 Baltimore Dr., Dallas

You could be the first inhabitants of this University Park castle. 

• Price: $43 million 
• Listed by: Diana Stewart and Allie Beth Allman with Allie Beth Allman & Associates
• Criteria met: Eight total. (1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 15)

Crowning Glory: This 2018 build, which is scheduled to be completed this fall, is more modern than other homes on our list, but it boasts many of our required trappings of a traditional castle. The turret game is a little subtle, but we’ll let it slide—especially as Julie Andrews would for sure mattress surf down this grand staircase.

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10333 Woodford Dr., Dallas 

We can’t decide if it’s a castle. 

• Price: $10 million
• Listed by: Steven Beard and Megan Stern with Dave Perry Miller Real Estate
• Criteria met: Seven total. (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 15)

Crowning Glory: The jury is out on whether this 12,379-square-foot house is a castle. It has the turret and a (beautiful) dungeon-esque wine room, but the modern features inside don’t lend themselves to a medieval masquerade ball. Still, we would happily wile away an afternoon in the poolside cabana. 

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1208 Perdenalas Trl., Westlake

Not a castle, but can we live in the dungeon?

• Price: $9 million
• Listed by: Jeff Watson and Cheryl Staley with Compass 
• Criteria met: Four total. (2, 3, 10, 11)

Crowning Glory: This 9,929-square-foot Westlake mansion, while not a castle, has the best dungeon we’ve ever seen. Descend into the basement, and enjoy a movie in the spacious media room or a glass of vino in the 950-bottle wine cellar. The underground floor also has a reinforced safe room. 

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5112 Palomar Ln., Dallas

Some of the best grounds—definitely a castle. 

• Price: $8 million 
• Listed by: Elissa Sabel with Ebby Halliday
• Criteria met: 12 total. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15)

Crowning Glory: We’d like to shake the hand of the gardener maintaining the extremely well-manicured grounds of this 12,731-square-foot Preston Hollow estate. The house meets almost all of our castle requirements—although we are subbing in the barrel vaults and double-height walls for cathedral ceilings. 

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6916 Hill Forest Dr., Dallas

It’s a castle, but sharing is caring.

• Price: $2 million 
• Listed by: Pogir Pogir with Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s Int’l
• Criteria met: Nine total. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 12, 15)

Crowning Glory: We’re loving the Spanish vibes of this 5,202-square-foot Mediterranean home, from its palm-treed entry to its intricate ironwork to its terracotta-tiled roof. The Lake Forest Community property features views of the shared neighborhood lakes. It also has access to local walking trails, dog parks, sport courts, and more. 

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4223 Valley Ridge Rd., Dallas

We could meet our Prince(ss) Charming in this ballroom, but it’s just a mansion.

• Price: $2.9 million
• Listed by: Jason Bates with Dave Perry Miller Real Estate
• Criteria met: Five total. (2, 5, 7, 8, 10)

Crowning Glory: For the most part, this 6,441-square-foot home is what it is: a pretty Preston Hollow mansion. There’s an appealing facade and an enviable pool. But it also has perhaps the grandest ballroom on our list with impressively tall, double height and vaulted ceilings in the living room, with intricate chandeliers and a cast-stone fireplace. 

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9720 Audubon Pl., Dallas

We’ll marry our Valley Ridge Road Prince(ss) Charming on this castle’s patio.

• Price: $8.3 million
• Listed by: Megan Stern and Sharon Redd with Dave Perry Miller Real Estate
• Criteria met:  Nine total. (2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)

Crowning Glory: We can’t decide if the wet bar is dungeon-y enough, but we love so many elements of this Sunnybrook Estates home. There is more than 10,000 square feet of living space, with a large gym, dreamy primary bathroom, a stunning pool, and a back patio perfect just begging to host a wedding reception. 

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5297 S. FM 549, Rockwall

This castle takes country living to the next level. Look out, Downton Abbey.

• Price: $3.8 million
• Listed by: Aaron Stokes with Keller Williams Rockwall
• Criteria met: Eight total. (1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 11, 13, 15)

Crowning Glory: This sprawling Rockwall estate is the very definition of “extensive grounds.” Besides the 7,150-square-foot mansion, its 12.5 acres include a barn; massive pond; putting green; workshop; playground; multiple garages and a carport; in-ground trampoline; and a waterfall and waterslide(!) by the pool. 

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4209 Arcady Ave., Highland Park

While not a castle, this house could *Tudor* you.

• Price: $8 million
• Listed by: Missy Kennedy Robinson with Allie Beth Allman & Associates
• Criteria met: Three total. (2, 3, 4)

Crowning Glory: The only Tudor on this list, 4209 Arcady has enchanting and gothic exteriors. Besides the diamond-and-cross banisters on the stairwell, the interiors are bright, white, and decidedly modern. Everything inside is light and airy. The wine cellar might be a touch too plush to be a dungeon, but we’ll allow it.

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3716 N. White Chapel Blvd., Southlake

Welcome to MTV Cribs, Cinderella’s Castle edition. 

• Price: $5.8 million
• Listed by: Roxann Taylor with Engel & Voelkers 
• Criteria met: 11 total. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15)

Crowning Glory: Technically, a palace must have at least battlements to be considered a castle. Luckily this 19,673-square-foot home has a parapeted tower and enough turrets to make any royal couple jealous. Everything about this house is lavish. Additionally, the listing teases “secret rooms,” making this the ultimate fantasy novel abode. 

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6718 Spring Valley Rd., Dallas

Not a castle, but we’d wander these grounds … as long as we don’t meet any wolves disguised as grandmothers.

• Price: $4.9 million 
• Listed by: Aaron Shockey with Rogers Healy and Associates
• Criteria met: Four total. (2, 4, 8, 12)

Crowning Glory: From the front, this Georgian-inspired manor has all the trimmings of a country manor. The real showstopper of this property, however, is the pool and the stunning, extensive and nearly forested grounds, which back up to White Rock Creek and Northwood Country Club. But alas, its interiors don’t meet enough of our castle criteria.

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1469 Sunshine Ln., Southlake

“A Little Party Never Killed Nobody” in this castle, but Jay Gatsby should be worried by the pool. 

• Price: $24.5 million 
• Listed by: Michael Hershenberg and Ricardo Valderrama with the Hershenberg Group
• Criteria met: 10 total. (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 15)

Crowning Glory: From the larger-than-life courtyard and the decadent salt-water pool to the abundance of living spaces, this colossal estate is just begging for a blowout party with 1,000 of your closest friends. Plus, the 31,234-square-foot resort-style home includes a bowling alley, batting cage, large game room, and indoor basketball court. 

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9851 Rockbrook Dr., Dallas

This house really embraces the “castle in Spain” aesthetic.

• Price: $6.9 million
• Listed by: LeeLee Gioia and Anne Goyer with  Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s Int’l
• Criteria met: Nine total. (2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14)

Crowning Glory: This Preston Hollow home isn’t your typical castle; its attention to detail is certainly palatial. The intricate inlays and carvings transport the home to Andalusia, not to mention the vaulted ceilings in the primary bath and lion fountain. Plus, we’re sure you could host a small ball in the living room.  

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Catherine Wendlandt

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Catherine Wendlandt is the online associate editor for D Magazine’s Living and Home and Garden blogs, where she covers all…