Nymphenburg Palace

This guide to Nymphenburg Palace in Munich centers on King Ludwig the First's Gallery of Beauties, thirty-eight portraits of women he found beautiful, from duchesses to a shoemaker's daughter. It focuses on one face: dancer Lola Montez, whose barely-there costume made the court painter cover her shoulders in black velvet before the portrait could hang. You'll hear how quickly she rose from stranger to mistress and political adviser within months of meeting the king in 1846. Look for her portrait, still half covered exactly as he demanded.