BLENHEIM PALACE. The largest private home in England, Blenheim Palace (BLEN-em) was built in honor of the duke of Marlborough’s victory over Louis XIV at the 1704 Battle of Blenheim. The 11th duke of Marlborough now calls the palace home. His rent is a flag from the estate, payable each year to the Crown—not a bad deal for 187 furnished rooms. Archways and marble floors accentuate the artwork inside, including wall-size tapestries of 17th- and 18th-century battle scenes. Winston Churchill, a member of the Marlborough family, spent some years here before he was shipped off to boarding school (the palace still houses his baby clothes). He proposed to his wife here and now rests with her in a nearby churchyard. The vast grounds consist of 2100 acres, all designed by that most reliable of landscape architects, Lancelot “Capability” Brown. (In the town of Woodstock, 8 mi. north of Oxford. Stagecoach (☎01865 772 250) bus #20 runs to Blenheim Palace from Gloucester Green bus station (30-40min., every hr. 8am-5pm, round-trip £4.50). ☎01993 811 091 or 08700 602 080; www.blenheimpalace.com. House open daily from mid-Feb. to mid-Dec. 10:30am-5:30pm. Last entry 4:45pm. Grounds open daily 9am-5:30pm. Tours every 20min. £16.50, concessions £13.50, children £10, families £44. Grounds without house £9.50/7.30/4.80/24. Tours free.)
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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