From Rick Steves’ Europe.

The granddaddy of European palaces is Versailles — King Louis XIV’s 17th-century escape from Paris. Louis was the embodiment of the notion that some people were born to be rulers — and everyone else just needed to follow the rules. As a "divine monarch," he had to impress upon his people that God had really ordained him to rule without question. And in order to do that, he needed an ultra-fancy house.

Louis spent freely from the public treasury to turn his dad’s hunting lodge into a palace fit for the gods (among whom he counted himself). The main palace boasts rooms lavishly decorated with painted ceilings, heavily ornamented furniture, and impressive art (even the "Mona Lisa" once hung here).

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Rick Steves, America’s most respected authority on European travel, writes European travel guidebooks, and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio.