Some places hold both the glory and the tragedy of a nation within their walls, and the Imperial City of Hue is one of them. Spread along the banks of

Walk across the wide stone bridge toward the Meridian Gate of Hue, and you feel the temperature of history drop a little. The moat is still, the citadel walls stretch

In a great park in the city of Rio de Janeiro stands a palace with a history unlike any other in the Americas. The Imperial Palace of Sao Cristovao, set

For almost the whole of human history, the vast majority of people lived much as their great-grandparents had. They worked the land or worked with their hands, they travelled no

The Istana Besar in Johor Bahru is the grand palace of the Johor sultanate, a graceful blend of Malay and Victorian style built by a modernizing sultan. Explore its state rooms, royal treasures and seaside gardens.

The Istana Siak in Riau is the gleaming white-and-blue palace of a Malay maritime sultanate, blending European and Islamic style. Explore its architecture, its legendary music box and its royal treasures.

The Kedaton of Ternate is the palace of one of Indonesia’s oldest sultanates, a spice kingdom that once shaped world trade. Explore its regalia, its volcanic setting and its living traditions in the Maluku islands.

Discover the Konstantinovsky Palace at Strelna near Saint Petersburg, Peter the Great’s dream of a Russian Versailles, ruined over the centuries and spectacularly restored as a modern palace of state.

In the Javanese city of Solo, formally known as Surakarta, behind high walls washed a distinctive pale blue, lies one of the two great royal courts of central Java. The

In the heart of the Javanese city of Yogyakarta, behind walls that enclose a whole royal quarter, lies one of the last living palaces of a reigning monarch in the