Castletown: the ancient capital of the Isle of Man

Capital of the Isle of Man until 1869, Castletown preserves one of the Irish Sea's best-preserved castles and a parliament among the world's oldest.

The center, ancient capital of the Isle of Man, is comfortably explored on foot.

The Castle Rushen, a medieval fortress almost perfectly preserved, remains one of Europe's best-preserved castles thanks to an uninterrupted use lasting nearly eight hundred years.

Just nearby, the Nautical Museum displays an armed yacht from the eighteenth century, discovered intact after being hidden for decades in a private shed.

Continuing, you visit Old House of Keys, the historic seat of the Manx parliament, among the world's oldest legislative assemblies still in existence, though no longer in use.

As evening falls, the historic port of Castletown, with its colorful houses, offers a tranquil walk away from the island's mass tourism.

The Tynwald, the Isle of Man's parliament originally seated in Castletown, claims the title of the world's oldest continuously functioning legislative body, with roots tracing back to the Viking era.

The yacht on display at the Nautical Museum, the Peggy, was built in 1791 and rediscovered intact only in 1935, having been sealed inside a boathouse where it remained hidden for over a century.