Not actually a castle in the classical European sense, but still a grand 20th-century home. Casa Loma in Toronto is the only true castle remaining in North America.
The museum in the ornate Beaux-Arts home in Montreal records the life of the wealthy Dufresne family and how the rich lived during their time. It was sold to the church in 1957 and then abandoned in the 1960s after several members of the Dufresne family died in the 1940s. It was restored by a private foundation in the 1970s to host receptions for the Montreal Olympics and then again in the 2000s to become a museum.
The walls on the second floor used to be adorned with artwork, but all that is left are the frescoes on the ceiling and banister in Louis XVI style. Most of the audio-guided tour takes place on the main level where no surface is left undecorated, even the floorboards are arranged in a pattern that would make carpeting redundant. The dinnerware was fine, the furniture was carved, the wallpaper was embroidered.
My only complaint is that they don’t build them like this anymore. If I ever buy a mansion, I’d want everything Rococo.
