Castles, turrets and towers are super romantic. Sweep your princess off her feet, or your prince off his, in a fairy-tale setting with a splendid view to remind you of how gorgeous your future looks.
The world's most romantic castle is Neuschwanstein, built by Ludwig II, king of Bavaria, in the late 19th century. Designed to emulate a knight's castle, the Gothic-style confection inspired Walt Disney's castle for Sleeping Beauty . Just don't mention that poor Ludo died mysteriously before he could move in – why let reality get in the way of your happy ever after?
In Ireland: Kylemore Abbey, a fairy-tale castle in Connemara.
Mountain-tops make a great setting for a proposal. All that fresh air and exertion does wonders for your complexion, and the endorphins will amplify the lurve nicely. Push the boat out and pick a good one like Heart Mountain, a 2,500m peak in Wyoming. Who could resist a proposal made on the top of a mountain called Heart?
While you're up there pondering the mysteries of love, you can help geologists with a conundrum that's been puzzling them for decades: why the rock at the summit is 250 million years older than the rock underneath. From there you can segue nicely into talk of a rock of your own.
In Ireland: Dartry Mountains in Co Sligo, where mythical Irish lovers Diarmuid and Gráinne hid out.
You’re going to need steady hands for this one, and preferably know how to dive, but the Red Sea Water World resort in Egypt has a lovely story on its website about a couple who got engaged there. He knelt down on the ocean floor and, pulling a small box from his buoyancy control device, presented her with the ring. After a short pause – shock no doubt – she extended her hand, he placed the ring on her finger and they kissed and gave the rest of the dive group the universal dive sign for okay. Presumably there is no universal dive sign for amazing.
In Ireland:
Head for Clew Bay in Co Mayo for some of the clearest waters in Europe. Less chance of losing the ring.
Forests play a central part in fairy tales and therefore can make the perfect backdrop for your own. Sherwood Forest in Nottingham is a 450-acre nature reserve with some of the oldest trees in Europe, including the Major Oak, still producing acorns after 800 years. If that’s not a fitting symbol for your enduring love, what is? You also have the Robin Hood and Maid Marian story to fall back on, with the in-laws playing the Sheriff of Nottingham, if you like.
In Ireland:
Take a turn around the Commons of Duleek, Co Meath, where Collier the Highwayman, the Irish Robin Hood, hid out in the early 19th century.
Align your stars with a magical night-sky proposal at Mauna Kea, 4,200m above sea level on Hawaii’s Big Island. It’s one of the world’s most important star-gazing spots. Telescopes from 11 countries are kept at the Onizuka Centre for International Astronomy there, which is open to visitors. Or just hire a 4x4 and drive up to a quiet vantage point to make the most of the inky-black skies of a region famed for its lack of light pollution. What could be more romantic than making your first wishes as a betrothed couple to the light of shooting stars and meteor showers? Assuming it’s not cloudy when you get there, that is.
In Ireland:
Head to southwest Kerry, freshly minted as an international dark-sky gold-tier reserve.
Feel on top of the world with a proposal atop the Empire State Building. As well as giving you a bird’s eye view over the Manhattan skyline, there’s another reason you might want to get engaged there – it could help you get hitched there later on. Typically just three couples out of the more than 100 who apply are allowed to marry there each year, and only on St Valentine’s Day.
Even if you're not interested in marrying there, the observation deck of the 103-storey building will take your beloved's breath away, hopefully after they've said yes.
In Ireland: You could always ask the nice people at Google if you can head to the top of the company's 15-storey Montevetro building in Dublin.
Gather ye rosebuds, or rather your daffs, tulips and hyacinths, at Keukenhof in Amsterdam, the most beautiful spring garden in the world. Tiptoe through its more than 32 hectares, which, for eight weeks of the year, are an organised riot of colour and fragrance. Venture off the beaten path with a bike ride or a romantic boat trip for a proposal sure to enable love to blossom.
In Ireland:
Head to Kilmacurragh Arboretum in Co Wicklow when the rhododendrons are in bloom for a hot-pink tunnel of love that no event planner could match.
Ramp up the drama under African skies with a sunset proposal at Nkwichi Lodge, a luxury wilderness resort on the shores of Lake Malawi in Mozambique. Situated along the ancient Rift Valley coastline, the lodge faces west, giving an unobstructed view each evening of the sun slipping behind the water. Keep the magical moment going by opting for a Star-Bed, an outdoor bed on a private island in the lake with only the soaring fish eagles overhead to disturb you. Their sound carries for miles, but presumably they’ll quieten down after dark.
In Ireland:
Take a sunset kayak at the Lake Hotel, Killarney, and listen out for wood pigeons – much more soothing.
Add to the headache of the city of love’s local authorities by leaving a personal engagement memento on love-lock bridge, aka the Pont des Arts. Since the early noughties, naughty couples have been putting padlocks, often engraved with names and printed with photos, on the bridge, to the point that it is struggling with the weight. Cross it idly, with a view to simply inspecting the wares, before going down on one knee and asking for your beloved’s hand. Once you’ve settled the matter, you can fix your own lock to the wire and throw away the keys, together.
In Ireland:
Locks have been springing up on Dublin’s Ha’penny Bridge too, but don’t say we suggested it.
This one’s a cinch. Even if you met at A&E, or in the queue at Lidl, or anywhere bar a funeral, it’s going to be a uniquely romantic gesture. You’ll have to be the confident sort, happy to get down on one knee on the 48A, perhaps, but the good news is that this one is so thoughtful you’re guaranteed a yes. If you’re lucky, you’ll have met somewhere local and it won’t cost much to get back there. If not, well, grab their passport and make a romantic mystery tour of it.
Best of luck.
