For Sale: Sherwood Forest, and Other Iconic Properties

Want to live in legendary Sherwood Forest, where Robin Hood faced off with the sheriff of Nottingham? Soon you might be able to—the British government wants to sell off large chunks of the woods, in order to balance the budget. Locals are furious at the thought that developers or corporations might swoop in and turn the forest into, say, condos, the Los Angeles Times reports. But as countries across Europe struggle with huge budget deficits, other iconic, government-owned properties are also facing the auction block:

• Hotel de Seignelay: This 18th-century French hotel has a tombstone for Marie Antoinette’s dog in its garden.
• Certosa: Monks lived on this Venice lagoon island until 1810; now it’s for sale for $40 million.
• Hotel de la Marine: France’s navy has been headquartered in this Paris building since the revolutionary era, but is moving out in 2014. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were also executed in the square that fronts it.
• Palazzo di Badia: This former Benedictine monastery in Tuscany boasts surviving 15th-century Renaissance cloisters.

(More Sherwood Forest stories.)