The 7 Wonderful Palaces

Cool Maps: 7 Wonders

Pena National Palace

"The Palace, itself, has a profusion of styles and the volume movement has an unusual architecture. The mixture of eclectic styles that exhibits (neo-Gothic, neo-Manueline, neo-Islamic, neo-Renaissance, among other styles) and the references to prominent Portuguese buildings (such as the Belem Tower) are all intentional (in the 19th century people used to like the exotic and romantic)."

Buckingham Palace

"Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch. The Palace is a setting for state occasions and royal entertaining and a major tourist attraction. It has been a rallying point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and crisis."

Palace of Versailles

"In English it is often referred to as the Palace of Versailles. When the chateau was built, Versailles was a country village, but it is now a suburb of Paris. From 1682, when King Louis XIV moved from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in 1789, the Court of Versailles was the center of power in Ancien Regime France."

Potala Palace

"The central part of this group of buildings rises in a vast quadrangular mass above its satellites to a great height, terminating in gilt canopies similar to those on the Jokhang. This central member of Potala is called the "red palace" from its crimson colour, which distinguishes it from the rest. It contains the principal halls and chapels and shrines of past Dalai Lamas. There is in these much rich decorative painting, with jewelled work, carving and other ornament."

Sigiriya

"Sigiriya, considered by some as the eighth wonder of the world, consists of an ancient castle built by King Kasyapa during the 5th century AD. The Sigiriya site has the remains of an upper palace sited on the flat top of the rock, a mid-level terrace that includes the Lion Gate and the mirror wall with its frescoes, the lower palace that clings to the slopes below the rock, and the moats, walls and gardens that extend for some hundreds of metres out from the base of the rock."

Royal Palace of Madrid

"The palace is the largest in Western Europe.. It is richly decorated by artists such as Velzquez, Tiepolo, Mengs, Gasparini, Juan de Flandes, Caravaggio, and Goya. Several royal collections of great historical importance are kept at the palace, including the Royal Armoury and its weapons dating back to the 13th century, and the world's only complete Stradivarius string quintet, as well as collections of tapestry, porcelain, furniture, and other objets d'art of great historical importance."

Residenz

"The Residenz (German word for residence) in the city center of Munich, Bavaria was the former royal residence of the Bavarian Dukes, Electors and Kings. The Residenz is the largest downtown palace in Germany and serves today as one of the finest room decoration museums in Europe."