Scrolling through the BBC’s recent travel articles, my eye was caught by a Lonely Planet guest post entitled “Five European castles to stay in.” The list included a frothy Loire Valley château, a sober Scottish tower house, and a sun-soaked sprawl of a monastery in Tuscany, and the question, of course, was whether any of them welcomes pet dogs. E-mails shot out, sites were searched, and here’s what I’ve learned:

Hellifield Peel Castle (Yorkshire, U.K.) — Not pet-friendly, so I decline to provide a link to its home page. Looks terrible anyway (and that’s the first time I’ve ever lied to you).

Château de Chissay (Chissay-en-Touraine, France) — No answer to e-mails, so I called the hotel. The kind (and English-speaking) lady who answered told me that pet dogs are indeed welcome, for a fee of € 15 per day. They may not join their owners in the restaurant.

Castle of Park (Glenluce, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland) — Dogs are allowed; since there are no apparent exemptions, up to 2 dogs are allowed

Affordable castle living in Galloway (photo by Landmark Trust)

Castel Monastero (Tuscany, Italy) — The reservations office told me in an e-mail message that “We are happy to confirm that pets are welcome to our Resort. The additional supplement is € 30 per day; of course they cannot enter the Spa and restaurants.”

El Castillo de Buen Amor (Salamanca, Spain) — The reply I got from the hotel was a little garbled (“The dog rooms surround the Castle. Inside cannot have pets.”), but close attention to TripAdvisor reviews indicates that rooms where dogs can stay are on the outer edge of the castle, still inside its walls but with good access to the out-of-doors. In any event, dogs are allowed, and appear to be welcome (“We were travelling with our dog and arrived at this very beautiful restored 15th century castle and found a dog bed and bowl waiting for us in our suite”). Fee is “10% + VAT.” Please let them know when you’re making your reservation that you’ll be arriving with your dog.