Every summer, the Mediterranean becomes one of the most searched travel destinations in the world. Hilltop towns, ancient ruins, sun-bleached coastlines. But few travelers know California has had its own Mediterranean escape all along, no flight required. It’s called Hearst Castle, and its towers, statues, and Old World detail pull directly from multiple different architectures.
🏛️The history, a castle 28 years in the making
Hearst Castle’s story starts in 1919. Newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst asked architect Julia Morgan to design “something a little more comfortable” on his family’s old campsite above San Simeon Bay. Hearst had spent years touring Europe, and he’d fallen for the Renaissance architecture of southern Spain. That vision became La Cuesta Encantada, Spanish for “The Enchanted Hill.” Morgan spent the next 28 years working on it, from 1919 until 1947.
A Mediterranean mashup: Spain, Rome, and Greece
Hearst Castle doesn’t stick to just one country. The estate borrows pieces from many countries.
- 🏰 Casa Grande: Modeled after a Renaissance-era church called Santa María la Mayor in Ronda, Spain.
- 🏛️ The Neptune Pool: Styled after an ancient Roman bath, with statues that are rough copies of ancient Greek and Roman originals
- 🌊 The Roman Pool: An indoor pool tiled in Venetian glass mosaic, decorated with statues of Roman and Greek gods, goddesses, and heroes.
- 🎨 Antique windows: A mix of Italian Gothic and Venetian styles line the south wing.
- 🍽️ The Refectory: A dining hall modeled after a medieval European hall, complete with tapestries and choir stalls.
🖼️ What you can see today
Hearst Castle is now a California State Historical Monument, open to the public since 1958. The main house, Casa Grande, spans nearly 70,000 square feet and holds Hearst’s massive personal art collection, alongside multiple guest houses. Different tour options are available. Choices include the Grand Rooms Tour, the Upstairs Suites Tour, and the Julia Morgan Tour, which focuses specifically on the architect’s design process.
Hearst Castle sits in San Simeon, roughly a four-hour drive north of Los Angeles. You can park at the Hearst Castle Visitor Center, where all tours begin. From there, a shuttle bus takes guests up the hill to the estate itself.
🌐 For more information, you can visit Hearst Castle’s official website!
