In Vienna, visit the amazing summer palace of the Habsburgs. The palace was built with the same architecture style of the Versailles in Paris.

Schönbrunner Schlossstrasse 47
Underground: U4 Schönbrunn
www.schoenbrunn.at/en/site/publicdir
www.hotelara.com/travel/austria/accommodation/vienna.html

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The brand new Museum Quarter is getting most of the hype these days, and not without reason. But it's worth making the effort to step beyond the inner city and check out this stalwart of Vienna's cultural scene. Of course it's got Klimt's 'The Kiss' but there's lots of other great stuff too. And the view over Vienna is fantastic.

www.vienna-life.com/culture/culture_details/22-Belvedere_Gallery

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Take time away from your shopping to visit the range of museums and palaces within the Medina. We were impressed by the Musee de Marrakech, the Palais el-Badi and the Palais Bahia. Don't forget the Saadian Tombs - impressive.

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It's a "secret" garden (biwon can be translated literally as secret garden) attached to Changdeog-gung palace in central Seoul. The garden used to be strictly off limits for the non-royals, but now it is open to the public to enjoy. The scenery is breathtaking all the year round, but in the autumn, the leaves turn to spectacular colours to the delight of visitors. The place is not too crowded if you time your visit well and can be a great place for quiet thoughts and reflections in the middle of one of the most hectic cities in the world.

www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/76; Underground (Subway) line 3, Anguk Station, exit 3, 5 minutes walking

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Spectacular palace and gardens. The journey to the top of the hill is rewarded by a fine cafe. The world's oldest zoo is here too, a great place to take the kids.

U-Bahn Schönbrunn

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If you're in St. Petersburg in the summer then don't miss the chance to visit Peterhof. The fountains are spectacular but unfortunately do not operate in the winter. The easiest way to get there is by hydrofoil which leaves from behind the Hermitage. It takes 30 minutes to get there.

www.peterhof.org

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Also known as the Catherine Palace, this is the most spectacular of the former royal palaces in the environs of St Petersburg.

The first sight of it will linger always in the memory; the dominant blue, decorated with gold and white trimmings is overwhelming given the scale of the building. It contains the famous amber room, which is panelled entirely with amber taken from the Russian forests. The original is said to have been destroyed or stolen during the second world war, no one knows the truth, but they've just finished restoring it using the same original methods and materials.

Apparently Elton John played in the lavish ballroom not long ago - I'm surprised he hasn't put in an offer yet.

Pushkin, 25 km south of St Petersburg - there's plenty of organised tours; www.alexanderpalace.org/tsarskoe/

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This rather lovely old building is a former royal palace, and it positively oozes character. If you're planning to see the grand palace, do that first, as you'll then get free entry here (it doesn't work in reverse). Modest dress required and there's a mandatory guided tour, but don't let that put you off. As a bonus there are twice-daily demonstrations of traditional Thai dancing.

Rajavithi Road, Dusit; www.palaces.thai.net/night/index_vm.htm

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Sintra is awesome - even more for the views than for the fantastic architecture. Get the train from Sete Rios (Rossio was closed at the time of writing) to Sintra. Exit the station and catch a bus or turn left for a taxi to Palácio da Pena. Try going around the battlement running outside this palace. Then taxi it back to Sintra for Palácio Nacional.

www.manorhouses.com/unesco/whsintra.html

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Europe’s oldest royal palace and now a world heritage site. Built in the 14th century, it has beautiful, calm gardens and pools with towering palm trees right in the city centre. It’s next to the overbearing gothic Seville Cathedral - the third largest in the world - and its tower, La Giralda.

Plaza del Triunfo

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Vast palace, with a dull exterior but lavish interior. They don't make too much of the fact that much of the building was destroyed in 1944 and then rebuilt a few years later. So you shouldn't either.

Residenzstrasse 1

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This is the smallest of the three ‘out of town’ royal palaces and, from the outside, the least ostentatious. It was built for Catherine’s son Paul and is situated in the middle of a large, wooded park that seems very popular with the locals nowadays. Inside it’s decorated as lavishly as any of the others and includes a Grecian Hall, an Italian Hall and a Hall of War.

From St Petersburg Vitebsk station to Pavlovsk station. Then a 30 minute walk through the park or buses 370 or 383. Guided tours also available.

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Standing in the village whose name it takes, this Muslim khan’s palace is one of the highlights of the Crimea. It was built in the 16th-century and became home to a succession of Tatar Khans. A complex of buildings sits in a walled enclosure including a mosque, a harem and the living quarters. Pleasant gardens surround the buildings and today it seems an incredibly tranquil place – as long as you visit outside of peak tourist times. T

he interiors of the living quarters are beautiful and one fountain in a small courtyard hides a sad story which so moved the Russian writer Pushkin when he visited here that he wrote a whole poem to it – The Fountain of Bakhchisarai.

This was my first encounter with an Islamic domain and I have to say that I found it a very beguiling one.

The village is on the Sevastopol – Simferopol road, equidistant between the two. Guided trips are fine, but beware the tourist hordes;
www.blacksea-crimea.com/Places/KhansPalace.html

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The palace is a very beautiful insight into Venice and truly is the perfect example of a wonderful and majical Veneican Palace. It is great for art lovers, as there are a number of excellent paintings. The site also has a rich history based around the Palazzo being the residence of most of Venice's doges. The palace is fanatastic for getting an insight into the politics and culture of Venice. Be sure to allow yourself plenty of time to look around as there is a museum and plenty of rooms to see.

San Marco Square, water taxi from the main Venice port.

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