Skip the standard hotel room. A new ranking of quirky accommodation counts Airbnb listings across eight categories — caves, castles, treehouses, houseboats, windmills, lighthouses, earth homes and domes — and one country stands well clear of the pack.
France takes first place with 2,947 unusual listings, and it dominates individual categories too: more than 1,000 bookable castles, around 400 houseboats and roughly 30 windmills. If you have ever fancied waking up under a medieval roof or moored on a canal, this is where the options are deepest.
The United States comes second with 2,533 listings, but the European picks are arguably more atmospheric. Italy, third overall with 1,050, offers Tuscan castles, the cone-roofed trulli of Puglia and the famous cave dwellings of Matera — a city where people have lived in rock-cut homes for millennia. The UK places sixth with 696 listings: nearly 250 castles, almost 150 domes, over 100 houseboats, 23 lighthouses and a dozen windmills. Greece rounds out the European contingent in ninth, and it leads the world for cave stays with 279, plus 27 windmill options.
Further afield, the rest of the top ten is a mix of the Americas and Asia: Brazil (873), Colombia (762), Mexico (675), India (604) and Chile (548).
Why does this matter for travellers? Because unusual stays have moved from gimmick to genuinely good value and variety. A cave room in Matera or a lighthouse on a British coast often costs less than a chain hotel in the same area, and the sheer volume of listings means you can filter for the experience — rooftop terrace, rustic stone walls, a tower all to yourself — rather than settling for one novelty option in each region. It also works as a trip-planning shortcut: if a castle sleep is the point of the holiday, France should be first on the list; if cave living appeals, Greece or Italy are the practical picks.
Book early for summer in the popular spots — trulli in Puglia and cave hotels in Santorini or Matera sell out months ahead — and check whether the 'unusual' part affects comfort. Stone walls mean cool rooms even in August; towers and windmills sometimes mean narrow spiral stairs and no lift. Pack accordingly, and read reviews for heating if you are travelling off-season.
