Top 10 palaces facts

Berlin. The largest palace in Berlin was built in the late 17th century and was greatly expanded during the 18th century. It includes much lavish internal decoration in baroque and rococo styles. A large formal garden surrounded by woodland includes a belvedere, a mausoleum, a theatre and a pavilion. The palace with its gardens are a major tourist attraction.

In Potsdam. Sanssouci is the summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, built between 1745 and 1747 in Potsdam. Its name, French phrase sans souci, translates as "without concerns".

Winter Palace. The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg was the official residence of Russian monarchs from 1732 to 1917. It is currently a part of the much larger Hermitage Museum.

In Mysore. Mysore is commonly described as the "City of Palaces", and there are seven palaces including this one. The current structure was constructed between 1897 and 1912, after the Old Palace was burnt ablaze. Ambavilas Palace is one of the most famous tourist attractions in India, after the Taj Mahal, with more than 6 million annual visitors.

Mandalay. The Mandalay Palace is the last royal palace of the last Burmese monarchy. The palace was constructed, between 1857 and 1859 as part of King Mindon's founding of the new royal capital city of Mandalay. The plan of Mandalay Palace largely follows the traditional Burmese palace design, inside a walled fort surrounded by a moat.

El Escorial. The Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, commonly known as El Escorial, is one of the Spanish royal sites and has functioned as a monastery, basilica, royal palace, pantheon, library, museum, university, school and hospital. It was declared the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

Prague. Troja Palace (Czech: Trojský zámek) is a Baroque palace located in Troja, Prague's north-west borough (Czech Republic), of which name derives from Homeric Troy. It's near to Prague's Vltava River and Saint Clare's and Salabka vineyards. It was built for the Counts of Sternberg from 1679 to 1691. The palace is owned by the city of Prague and hosts the 19th century Czech art collections of the City Gallery.

Palacio Real (Madrid). Whit 162,000 sq meters of floor area, the Palacio Real is more than twice as large as Versailles, Buckingham Palace or Royal Palace in Stockholm. It is the largest functioning palace in Europe (however, king of Spain doesn't live here any more).

Palace of Beaulieu. In1516, New Hall was sold by Thomas Boleyn to King Henry VIII. King Henry gave his new palace the name Beaulieu, meaning "beautiful place" in French. The name expressed Henry's desire for fine things, though the name change did not outlast the century. On July 23, 1527, Henry's court arrived at Beaulieu on his summer progress, staying, unusually, for over a month in the company of a large number of nobles.

Istana Nurul Iman Brunei. The Istana Nurul Iman is the official residence of the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, and the seat of the Brunei government. Upon completion, Istana Nurul Iman became the largest residential palace in the world and the largest single-family residence ever built. The palace contains 1,788 rooms, which includes 257 bathrooms, a banquet hall that can be expanded to accommodate up to 5,000 guests, a mosque accommodating 1,500 people. Istana Nurul Iman contains 2,152,782 square feet (200,000 m²) of floorspace.