France: Fontainebleau Palace

Palace de Fontainebleau is 55km south of Paris and is a sprawling royal complex of buildings with 1500 rooms and seemingly endless gardens. It began in the 12th century as a medieval hunting lodge for kings like Louis VII. By the 16th century, Francis I transformed it into a grand Renaissance masterpiece, blending Italian and French influences. It became a favorite of monarchs from Henry II to Napoleon III, Napoleon I even turned it into his imperial seat, famously signing his abdication there in 1814. The palace is a total overload showcase of rich art and architecture – endless galleries with frescoes and stucco work, the opulent Throne Room, and the intimate Marie Antoinette boudoirs, and so on and so forth. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site and you can spend hours, if not days, exploring it all.