Palais des Nations

Set in a large park above Geneva, the Palais des Nations is the European headquarters of the United Nations and was built in the 1930s for its predecessor, the League of Nations. Its long neoclassical wings enclose ceremonial halls decorated by member states, including a gilded council chamber with allegorical murals. Guided tours pass through the assembly and conference rooms where much of the world's diplomacy takes place. The Ariana park around it holds peacocks, ancient trees and a monumental armillary sphere.