Cardinal Wolsey's 16th-century palace can teach us a lesson: Don't try to outdo your boss -- particularly if he happens to be Henry VIII. The rich cardinal did just that, and he eventually lost his fortune, power, and prestige, and ended up giving his lavish palace to the Tudor monarch.

Today you can parade through the apartments, filled with porcelain, furniture, paintings, and tapestries. You'll see that Henry outdid Wolsey when he took over the palace. Tudor additions include the Anne Boleyn Gateway, with its astronomical clock that indicated the hour, month, date, sign of the zodiac, year, and phase of the moon when it was made for Henry VIII in 1540. From Clock Court, you can see one of Henry's major contributions, the aptly named Great Hall, with its hammerbeam ceiling. The Clock Court is the starting point for costumed guided tours. Henry cavorted through the various apartments with his wife of the moment, from Anne Boleyn to Catherine Parr (who turned the tables on Henry by outliving him). Later, Charles I was imprisoned here, and temporarily managed to escape his jailers.

Although the palace enjoyed prestige and pomp in Elizabethan days, it owes much of its present look to William and Mary -- or rather, to their architect, Sir Christopher Wren, who designed and had built the northern or Lion Gates, intended to be the main entrance to the new parts of the palace. The King's Dressing Room is graced with some of the best art, mainly paintings by old masters on loan from Queen Elizabeth II. Be sure to inspect the royal chapel -- Wolsey wouldn't recognize it. To confound yourself totally, get lost in the serpentine shrubbery maze in the garden, also the work of Wren. Also in the garden is the Great Vine. Thought to be the oldest living vine, it still produces 500 to 700 pounds of grapes every year. Around 1694, Jean Tijou made the fine wrought-iron screen at the south end of the south gardens for William and Mary. There's a cafe and restaurant in the Tiltyard Gardens.