Highclere Castle stands in for Downton Abbey, the Crawley family’s stately home. Visitors can tour the state rooms, drawing rooms, library and grounds.

Highclere Castle, a masterpiece of Victorian Gothic architecture set in the rolling Hampshire countryside, has been the ancestral seat of the Earls of Carnarvon since the 17th century, with the stately house rebuilt in the 1840s by Charles Barry for the 3rd Earl. Today it is best known worldwide as the exterior and interiors of Downton Abbey, where grand salons and intimate corridors whisper of aristocratic life, duty, and drama. Behind its imposing façade lie ornate state rooms, a sweeping library, and expansive gardens that invite quiet reflection as well as grand social occasions. The atmosphere blends aristocratic gravitas with lived-in elegance, offering visitors a glimpse into a bygone era where tradition and daily life intertwine on a sprawling, sunlit estate.

Highclere Castle is a grand Jacobethan mansion set amid Hampshire’s rolling parkland and the ancestral seat of the Earls of Carnarvon. The Gallery and surrounding state rooms embody the house’s ceremonial heart, where gilded woodwork, imposing portraits, and marble floors create a timeless sense of grandeur. Famously serving as Downton Abbey on screen, the castle’s interiors and expansive grounds have hosted numerous formal occasions, garden fêtes, and cinematic moments that exude aristocratic refinement. A visit here offers a doorway into living history, where hospitality and storytelling mingle and every corridor seems to echo with memories of the past.