Have you ever wished you had some blue blood? Maybe you'd like to walk in royal footsteps, or make believe you're royal...just for a day? Here's how you can!

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Let's start with Wales - the world's castle capital. 

Wales has more castles than any other country in Europe! The landscape is scattered with Iron Age hill forts, Roman ruins and over 500 castles from medieval Welsh princes and English kings.

No time to visit all of these? Here are three to start with......

Castell Coch, Cardiff

(Pic: Paula J James) 

This is a castle on top of a castle. It was originally a chieftain’s fortress in the 13th century, but was resurrected as a gothic fortress several centuries later. It is now notable for its extraordinary complex of lavish chambers, making it a repeated favourite with film and television crews.

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Rhuddlan Castle, Rhyl

(Pic: Marcher57) 


Although the defensive roots of the stomping grounds at Rhuddlan lie in the 11th century, the mighty red brick walls of this diamond-shaped castle were originally completed by Edward I in 1277. Full of craggy character and cornered by gatehouses, it boasts beautiful views of the River Clwyd.

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Wiston Castle, Pembrokeshire

Thought to have been named after the 13th century Flemish Knight Wizo, who designed it, Wiston is one of the finest examples of an 11th century motte and bailey you’ll see. It was eventually abandoned more than 700 years ago – stomp up its steps to discover some amazing Norman stonework.

Find out more about Welsh castles.....

Austria's palaces

If you think visiting a palace means plugging in to an audio-tour, then you haven’t been to Austria. At this country's stately homes and former imperial lodgings, you can learn about falconing, listen to concerts, admire art and encounter orang-utans. If even that is too much effort, why not just retire to a palace for a glass of wine or a good night’s sleep?  

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Hotel Erzherzog Johann

Right in the heart of Graz, Austria’s second largest city, you can stay in one of the popular Imperial Rooms of this former palace. The very traditional Hotel Erzherzog Johann is located in a former Baroque Palais only a stone’s throw away from the city’s main square. 

Back in the 16th century, this establishment was already the largest inn within the city walls of Graz. 
In the Baroque era of the 18th century, it developed into a grandiose city palace with spacious apartments, state rooms, and a chapel. From that era came the magnificent wrought-iron metalwork of the inner courtyard, which has remained unchanged to this day.

This glass-roofed inner courtyard is unique in its own way, the heart of the hotel, both physically and gastronomically: The cafe-restaurant "Wintergarten" offers modern cuisine with strong local influences, as well as delicious homemade pastries.  

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Coburg Palace

The Palais Coburg in the heart of Vienna has been restored to its original splendor and now houses a most luxurious all-suite hotel, a gourmet restaurant and a collection of rare wines that seeks international comparison. On your tour of the six unique and stunningly designed wine cellars, you will discover more than 60,000 bottles of valuable wine spanning four centuries.

Numerous rare wines from which only a few bottles exist, or perhaps even only found in Palais Coburg, rest here. Among the treasures of the collection of Palais Coburg is a bottle of what is probably the world’s oldest and still drinkable bottle of wine and a collection of 100 vintages of Château d’Yquem. The New World cellar resembles the bulk of a wooden ship while the Champagne cellar is housed in the deepest coldest part of the Palace where the ice blocks were once stored. Your tour concludes with an educational tasting of seven exquisite Austrian wine specialties with the sommelier of the house.

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Schönbrun Palace

Long before the lions came, the 'lions' of the Austrian Empire inhabited this vast palace and relaxed in its grounds. Founded on July 31st, 1752, the Vienna Zoo at Schönbrunn Palace was originally reserved only for Habsburg family members.

Later on, this exotic animal menagerie opened its doors to the public, granted they were “dressed properly”.
 
Today, the longest standing zoo to date is one of the highest ranking and most modern in the world. In 2009 and 2010, it was voted Europe’s best zoo.

More than 500 animal species live on Schönbrunn’s grounds: Siberian tigers, hippos, one-horned rhinoceroses, and pandas, just to name a few. Experience the tropical wildlife, foliage, and thunderstorms that simulate a real Southeast Asian rainforest in the Rainforest House. The South American section is landscaped just like the continent’s pampas, with anteaters and capybaras roaming and enjoying their habitat. In the ORANG.erie, learn about this endangered species and watch fun-loving orangutans swing and play.
 

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Buckingham Palace, London

The Queen's official London residence has a whopping 775 rooms. It is one of the few working royal palaces remaining in the world today. The lavishly decorated State Rooms of the Palace are open to visitors during the summer months, and you can visit all year round to see the famous Changing The Guard.

Worth seeing are:

Queen's Gallery

Dedicated to works of art from the Royal Collection, The Queen's Gallery was constructed 40 years ago at Buckingham Palace, out of the bomb-damaged ruins of a chapel. In addition to gems from the Royal Collection (which is held in trust by the Queen for the nation), there's a changing programme of temporary exhibitions.

Royal Mews

The Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace is a working stable, and home to the royal collection of historic coaches and carriages, as well as the cars used for state occasions. The most dazzling of all the coaches on display is the Gold State Coach, used as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2002. 

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If you want your photograph taken with a royal, head to Madame Tussauds!

Get close to the royal couple at Madame Tussauds, where you can see life-like wax figures of Will and Kate. The Duchess is dressed in a replica of her blue Issa engagement dress as well as her famous engagement ring. The couple are situated in the royal zone alongside other wax versions of the royal family.

The Australian connection

There are no royal palaces in  Australia, but for a short while there was a royal coach.

This stunning coach built to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 is now on permanent display within the Royal Mews at London's Buckingham Palace. It was conceived and designed by Mr J. Frecklington, who was also responsible for the construction of the Australian State Coach, and its construction brought together a team of artists, artisans and master craftsmen from Australia and other parts of the world. The Diamond Jubilee State Coach was unveiled during the State Opening of Parliament in 2014 and is only the second coach to be built for the Royal Household in more than a century.

Combining traditional craftsmanship with modern technology, the State Coach measures five-and-a-half metres long, over three metres high and weighs over three tonnes. One of the main design features of this coach is that it was built as a traditional postilion vehicle where the horses have riders as opposed to being driven by a coachman from the box.

Contained within the coach is a 'Thousand Years of British History' with artefacts from The Mary Rose and the gun metal used for Victoria Crosses. More than 100 items have been incorporated into the final design.

On the roof of The Diamond Jubilee State Coach is a carved Imperial Crown (above) created from specially selected oak from Admiral Lord Nelson's ship HMS Victory. Another unique quality is that the crown was hollowed allowing for the installation of a small camera to film the crowds lining the route. Other modern conveniences such as electric windows, interior lighting and heating can all be controlled via an interior hand panel concealed in the teak armrests.

Around 'the gallery' or gold roof decoration at the top of the coach are the English Rose, the Scottish Thistle, the Irish Flax, and the Welsh Leek. These national emblems represent the four territories that comprise the United Kingdom.

The Diamond Jubilee State Coach can be viewed as part of any visit to Buckingham Palace.

Venice, Italy

The Grand Canal in Venice was once like a royal thoroughfare, lined with dozens of gracious palazzi, palaces and stately homes of the great Venetian families. Who knows how many of these buildings still remain in the city.

This palace, now hotel Ca'Sagredo, was originally owned by the Morosini family and was purchased at the start of the 18th century by the Sagredos, a noble family who had lived in the Santa Sofia district for centuries.

The façade onto the Grand Canal is proof of the Byzantine origin of the building, which was altered several times in subsequent centuries.

The original ground floor with the doors leading onto the water and the first floor with its tall arch windows topped on slim pillars, were completed in the 15th century by the addition of second floor, which has tracery frieze around the middle mullioned windows of the Portego or central hall.

From the outside it is breathtaking, with its lavish pink façade and view over Venice, over the Grand Canal.

Leaning majestically on the banks of the Grand Canal and dating back to the 15th century, the Palazzo has been declared a National Monument.
Amazingly, even after five centuries, it preserves the untouched beauty of an ancient noble residence.
The ballrooms and the rooms are home to important artworks, including paintings by the most representative Venetian painters of the 17th and 18th centuries, such as of Sebastiano Ricci, Giambattista Tiepolo, Niccolò Bambini and Pietro Longhi.

Gondolas still glide by and water laps the walls, but today, at water level, the discreet restaurant offers a glimpse of what it may have been like to live and dine here as members of European aristocratic families. The food makes use of Venice’s superb seafood, and the formal and attentive service might just fool you into believing you have slipped back in time. Or that you actually do have royal blood!

Hampton Court Palace, London

Discover the magnificence of King Henry VIII's favourite royal residence. Here it is possible to immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of the bustling Base Court and marvel at the breath-taking grandeur of Henry's State Rooms. Tickle your taste buds in the vast Tudor kitchens, stroll through over 60 acres of enchanting gardens, lose yourself in the famous maze and appreciate the beauty of one of the greatest palaces on earth.

If you take a deep breath and creep along the Haunted Gallery you'll discover another palace, the Baroque Palace, full of intrigue and gossip from the Stuart and Georgian era. Costumed tours and talks happen daily, whilst many more seasonal events are worth noting.

The most famous resident of Hampton Court Palace was King Henry VIII. Each of his six wives stayed here; indeed, this is where he proposed to Jane Seymour (wife No 3). Inside, costumed guides bring the palace's 500 years of Royal history to life. Outside in the formal gardens, you can have fun getting lost in the magnificent maze.

More information....

Did you know this? You can book to stay at Hampton Court Palace!

More details.....

Hotel de Crillon, Paris, France

The building that is now the Hotel de Crillon was constructed in 1758 after King Louis XV commissioned the architect Jaques-Ange Gabriel to build two palaces in what would become the Place de Concorde.

The two identical buildings, separated by the rue Royale, were initially designed to be government offices of the French state. 

Paris offers an endless number of places ideally suited to the tastes and expectations of the rich and famous. Hotel de Crillon, overlooking the Place de la Concorde, was once a palace, a real one, first occupied by Louis Marie Augustin, Duke of Aurmont, a famous patron of the French Arts

Until its recent closure for refurbishment, it still felt as if you could bump into a duchess in the corridor. As indeed you might.  And of course the staff really dis treat all their guests like royalty. There is also one of the finest views in Paris from here, looking across the Place and towards the Champs Elysees.

But we have to wait: The hotel is renovating and will reopen in 2015. 

Taj Falaknuma Palace, Hyderabad, India

The interiors of the Taj Falaknuma Palace brim with antiques sourced from around the world. Dating from 1884, the Taj Falaknuma Palace was once the private residence of the Nizams family, who welcomed such illustrious guests as King George V and Tsar Nicholas II to their hilltop palace overlooking Hyderabad.

Today, following a meticulous ten-year renovation by Taj Hotels, the palace is open to visitors, and the regalia of its stately past is on sparkling display. Built from Italian marble with unique Tudor-meets Italian architecture, the palace resembles a scorpion when seen from above, its two stings housing the Historic Suites. The interiors brim with museum-quality antiques from around the world: French tapestries adorn the walls and hallways of the public spaces, original frescoes provide Baroque flourishes, and forty Belgian-cut Osler chandeliers are suspended from the ceilings. It is a palatial enclave fit for royalty.

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Çirağan Palace Kempinski, Istanbul, Turkey

In a previous life, the grandiose Çırağan, which overlooks the Bosphorus, was a residence for Ottoman sultans.

The numerous royals and heads of state staying at the Çırağan Palace are continuing a long tradition: in a previous life, this grandiose property on the European side of the Bosphorus was a residence for sultans.

The regal feeling is most pronounced in the Palace suites, whose vaulted ceilings, elegant antiques and textiles evoke the opulence of the Ottoman Era. Guest rooms overlook either the Bosphorus or Yıldız Park, formerly a hunting forest for the sultans. On-site dining options include Tug˘ra, whose classic Turkish cuisine is considered among Istanbul’s finest (the terrace is a favorite spot for romantic meals). All restaurants and many rooms have sweeping views of the Turkish metropolis and stretch out across the Straits toward Asia.

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Grand Hotel Continental, Siena, Italy

A haven with priceless artifacts that offer an ideal base in Siena, this hotel earned the appellation grand in 1904, when the queen of Italy, Margherita of Savoia, chose it as her residence in Siena.

Today the 17th-century palazzo continues to attract elite visitors with its Renaissance architecture adorned with original frescoes and priceless antiques. Located in Siena’s center, the fifty one-room Grand Hotel is an ideal base from which to explore the pedestrian-only city’s cultural and culinary delights, including the hotel’s 3,000-bottle wine cellar, discovered in the base of a medieval tower during a renovation. The guest rooms have Carrara-marble bathrooms and Chinese porcelain lamps, while the interior courtyard and bar area are covered with glass dome that lets in natural light.

More details and bookings....

Changdeokgung Palace, Korea

(pic Jordan Wooley)

During summer in Seoul you can take a moonlight stroll through one of four enchanting royal palaces.  Seoul’s royal palaces offer peaceful escape from the busy city streets as well as offering many activities for foreign visitors to enjoy.

Moonlight tours are available through July & August at Gyeongbokgung and Changyeongung and continue through till November at the Changdeokgung Palace.  Foreign visitors can not only enjoy the visual splendor of these palaces under moonlight, but can also enjoy the many activities that are held throughout the year.

From special lectures on royal cuisine to traditional tea ceremonies to traditional music performances under moonlight this offers a great way for visitors to enjoy the beauty of the palaces and a special event. 

Every Saturday during June visitors can experience traditional Korean court music at Gyeongbokgung.  There are regular performances by master musicians at Deoksugung Palace from June – September mostly on Thursday evenings. 

Have a true royal palace experience and try on a royal costume to take some great photos to send back home with the Costume Experience program at Gyeongbokgung Palace.  At Changdeokgung Palace (above) early in summer there is traditional Korean chamber music. You can also take a guided tour of the Secret Garden and Nakseonjae Hall which are great photographic subjects.

Aside from the royal palaces there is the royal shrine of Jongmyo Jeryeak where ancestral music is performed, along with a commentary every Saturday in June.

Visiting one of Seoul’s royal palaces is a must while in Seoul, there are minimal entrance fee costs, depending on the palace and most activities are free. Two or three of the free guided tours are conducted in English each day.  

Check out the complete schedule online..........