In the Franconian city of Würzburg, on the northern edge of Bavaria, stands a palace that many consider the single most perfect expression of the Baroque age in Germany. The

Explore the Zwinger in Dresden, the dazzling baroque palace of Augustus the Strong, famous for its galleries, pavilions, porcelain carillon, and world-class museums.

In Madurai stands the Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal, a seventeenth-century palace of colossal pillars and rafterless domes, the surviving heart of a far greater wonder built by a Nayak king.

Mirrored in two lakes at the heart of Agartala, Ujjayanta Palace was built by Tripura’s ancient Manikya dynasty, named by the poet Tagore, and lives on as a museum of the northeast.

Above Jodhpur rises Umaid Bhawan, a golden Art Deco palace and one of the largest private homes on earth, built by a maharaja to give work to his people through years of famine.

Above the tiny capital of Liechtenstein, Vaduz Castle is the private home of one of Europe’s last truly reigning princes, a medieval fortress the ruling family only made its residence in the twentieth century.

Vijay Vilas Palace near Mandvi is the red sandstone seaside retreat of the rulers of Kutch, set amid gardens by a private beach. Explore its architecture, terraces, gardens and film-star fame.

On the edge of Warsaw, Wilanow is the golden Baroque palace of King Jan III Sobieski, victor of Vienna, a Versailles of Poland that survived the destruction of the war.

On a chalk bluff above the River Thames west of London rises a fortress that has been a home to the kings and queens of England for almost a thousand