The world’s magical palaces

Once the homes of kings and emperors, these breathtaking, beautiful palaces are cultural monuments that have now become popular places for tourist attractions. Here is the list you can add in your bucket list.

Found in Portugal, the Pena National Palace is a Romanticist palace built in 1842 by King Ferdinand II. It was constructed on the ruins of a monastery severely damaged in the Great Lisbon Earthquake. Today, with its original colours of red and yellow restored, the Pena National Palace is one of Portugal’s most visited monuments.

 Schönbrunn Palace is considered to be one of the most important cultural monuments in Vienna as well one of the major tourist attractions. The palace was built between 1696 and 1712 at the request of Emperor Leopold I. The Palace Park offers a lot of attractions, such as the Privy Garden, the oldest zoo in the world, a maze and labyrinth, and the Gloriette (a marble summerhouse) situated on top of a 60 meter high hill.

 The Palace of Versailles is a royal palace in Versailles, France. Versailles was originally a hunting lodge, built in 1624 by Louis XIII. When the château was built, Versailles was a country village; today, however, it is a wealthy suburb of Paris, some 20 kilometres southwest of the French capital.

 Located in southern India, Mysore Palace is also referred to as Amba Vilas Palace. It is the official residence of the Wodeyars. It is now one of the most famous tourist attractions in India after Taj Mahal with more than 2.7 million visitors.

 The Summer Palace is a palace in Beijing, China. The Summer Palace is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometres, three quarters of which is water. The gardens were substantially extended in 1750, reproducing the styles of various palaces and gardens from around China. Kunming Lake was extended to imitate the West Lake in HangZhou.

 Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex located in Spain. It was originally constructed as a fortress in 889, and was converted into a royal palace in 1333. The Alhambra is now one of Spain’s major tourist attractions and many visitors come to Granada just to see the Alhambra.

 The Potala Palace is located in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Situated on Marpo Ri hill, 130 meters above the Lhasa valley, the Potala Palace rises a further 170 meters and is the greatest monumental structure in all of Tibet.