Rathaus-Glockenspiel (town hall), Munich

Three times a day, the clock tower chimes, and in the middle section, life-size knights and dancers spin around a large platform re-enacting two stories from the 16th century for several minutes. This is in the heart of the town square at Marienplatz.

Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna

Schönbrunn Palace, the former summer residence of the imperial family, is one of Europe's most impressive Baroque palace complexes decorated mainly in the Rococo style. The land had been in the possession of the Habsburgs since 1569. The palace and garden complex built here from 1696, after the Turkish occupation, was redesigned by Maria Theresa after 1743. In 1772, six-year-old child prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart gave a concert in the Hall of Mirrors.

Arranged by his mother, granddaughter of Maria Theresa, Emperor Franz Joseph married his first cousin, the enchanting (and later anorexic) Sisi. Dedicated to an expanding Austro-Hungarian empire, he reigned from 1848 to 1916. The monarch spent his last years entirely in the palace, which became the property of the new Republic of Austria only two years after his death. Emperor Charles I signed his abdication of the crown in 1918, marking the end of 640 years of Habsburg dominion in Austria and the demise of the monarchy.