Straight from the pages of a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale, this beautiful turreted castle is ready for a new owner to breathe new life into its walls. Positioned on almost 15 acres of land in France's central Corrèze region, the estate dates back to the 15th century and has plenty to offer an ambitious buyer, from enchanting time-warp interiors to more than a few secret features. Click or scroll on to take a look around...

Soaring up four floors, the idyllic castle boasts round towers with pepper pot turrets covered in chestnut shingles, lovely mullioned windows with transoms and a studded wooden front door topped by a triangular pediment featuring the carved coat of arms of the former Earl's family. The castle’s interior doesn’t disappoint either. The ground floor features a hallway, a dining room, a library and a cloakroom, all decorated in a neo-Gothic style.

Other rooms include a vast kitchen with a granite inglenook fireplace and 10 bedrooms – four were originally servants' quarters and two of which are linked by a secret passageway! As for period features, there are almost too many to name. From napkin-pleat wood panelling to herringbone parquet flooring, stained-glass windows, red hexagonal terracotta tiles, French-style painted ceilings and rustic exposed beams, this castle was truly designed to dazzle.

Yet the castle isn’t the only building included in the sale price of £589,000 ($751k), or €690,000. The buyer will also gain numerous outbuildings. These include a tall farm building, complete with a garage, stables and cowshed. There's a hayloft, supported by elegant stone columns, that could be turned into a cool barn conversion. There are also endless English-style landscaped grounds waiting to be explored.

Read on to discover more beautiful abandoned mansions for sale 

Designed to impress and delight, mansions come in all shapes and sizes, but while some are occupied and loved for centuries, others are forgotten and left to the sands of time. From sprawling historic homes to impressive new estates that were never quite finished, these abandoned mansions for sale are the ultimate fixer-uppers. Click or scroll on to take a look inside the grandest neglected homes on the market right now...

Over in the iconic Dordogne region of France, you'll find this spectacular 17th-century country house. Marketed with Patrice Besse for £375,500 ($479k), or €440,000 locally, the historic structure is surrounded by the breathtaking landscape of Périgord-Limousin regional nature park.

The U-shaped house has three floors, including a large attic and measures almost 3,700 square feet. Inside, there are countless characterful rooms, decorated with tiled floors, lime-coated walls, beamed ceilings, pretty French doors, dramatic fireplaces, carved timber doors and unusual built-ins. 

On the ground floor, there’s an indoor courtyard, a cloakroom, a vast reception room, a living room and a kitchen, while upstairs you’ll find three large, light-filled bedrooms with strip parquet floors, a bathroom and a walk-in wardrobe. The top floor is home to the attic, which extends more than 1,000 square feet and could easily be transformed into a stunning master suite.

Outside, there's a quarter-acre garden, with a garage that's prime for conversion and a covered dining terrace, so you can enjoy alfresco meals throughout the year. There's plenty of space for further expansion – but with such a dreamy landscape just beyond your front door, you'll likely want to spend all your time outside.

Sandwiched between Nantes and the ocean, this majestic French estate dates back to the 17th century and sits in the middle of more than 12 acres of parkland. With exquisite historic architecture and no end of space to play with, the abandoned castle is a seriously enticing real estate opportunity. For sale with Patrice Besse for €530,000, that's around £452,000 ($577k), it's also an affordable option, but the new owner will need to put in some hard graft to bring the colossal crib up to scratch. 

The house can be found behind a wrought iron gate, protected by high stone walls. The building itself is laid out around a vast paved courtyard with a semi-circular moat. Once inside the estate's walls, the home's impressive 4,779-square-foot stature becomes clear. The prominent property has a rich history and was once the stronghold on the border between the provinces of Poitou and Brittany, protecting locals from potential attacks.

Listed as a Historic Monument, the fairytale castle has been remodelled several times over the decades, but following years of neglect, it now requires substantial restoration work. It's unclear why the mysterious abandoned home was left vacant, but it isn't hard to see its potential. There's a bright entrance foyer, two kitchens, a living room, dining room, lounge, library, eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms, decorated with fireplaces, parquet floors, generous ceilings and exposed beams.

Other highlights include the home's three cellars, the old pavilion, the bakery with two bread ovens and the stable block paved with striated stones and equipped with a fodder loft. The 12-acre grounds also benefit from formal gardens, meadows and fields, allowing for unobstructed views. There's even a 15th-century chapel and an old farmhouse, both of which are waiting to be restored or converted into additional living spaces. Now that asking price is sounding even better, isn't it?

Over in County Kilkenny, Ireland, you'll find Rathmore House. This impressive Georgian beauty sits on 21 acres of land in the heart of the Suir Valley and dates back to 1890. While its façade is traditional and elegant, its interior is sprawling and bursting with potential. Let's take a closer look...

Listed with Purcell Properties for £499,000 ($637k), or €585,000 in the local currency, the mansion isn't the only asset included in the sale. The buyer will also gain 11 acres of agricultural land, so they could start up a business or utilise the acreage in some other way. Laid out over four floors, the traditional farmhouse comes complete with a large entrance hall, a study, a drawing room, five bedrooms and three bathrooms.

But that isn't all. There are endless rooms in this pad, including a music room, a formal dining room, a traditional farmhouse kitchen, a utility room, a pantry and a basement equipped with a wine cellar. There's even a huge attic with three further rooms, accessible via the original service staircase.

Of course, every room is in need of a full overhaul, but there are plenty of lovely features that the new owner will want to retain. These include vaulted ceilings, large sash windows, hardwood floors, vintage chandeliers, elegant mouldings and marble fireplaces. While it will be a big job to bring the house back from the brink, we're sure the effort would be well worthwhile. Are you up to the task?

Why buy a mansion, when you could buy a beautiful château? This majestic property is located in the Bresse region of Burgundy, France, and is for sale through Patrice Besse for a cool £554,800 ($708k), which is €650,000 in the local currency. 

Although probably originally constructed much earlier, the abandoned palace was likely rebuilt during the second half of the 18th century. Formed entirely from bricks, the symmetrical stately home has two slightly projecting wings topped with small turrets. According to the listing, the house was probably abandoned after the French Revolution, but it was used as a farmhouse until the end of the 20th century. 

Rather frustratingly for the future owner, the doors and windows have all been filled in with bricks, or reduced in size. That’s because up until 1926, homeowners had to pay taxes on doors and windows. However, we’re sure that the buyer could restore these openings and create a light-filled home. Inside, there’s almost 5,400 square feet of living space, including various reception rooms and five bedrooms.

From oak staircases to brick floors, beamed ceilings and painted friezes, there are plenty of lovely elements that add character. Outside, the 10-acre garden is home to numerous outbuildings, including this large barn. Ripe for renovation, it could easily be turned into a second home or holiday let.

If you'd rather buy in France, then how about this mesmerising 19th-century château? Positioned in Saintonge, the property is located between Saint-Jean-d'Angély and Cognac, a region rich in both vineyards and history, making it the ideal place to create an enticing bed and breakfast. 

Up close, you can really take in the grandeur of this historic home, which can be accessed via a long, tree-lined driveway. The château is sited on almost 72 acres of land and the main residence covers 3,767 square feet. With its impressive exterior, decorated with a hipped slate roof, freestone limestone blocks and oversized French windows, the manor was clearly designed to wow.

Inside, there’s an entrance hall with a stone floor, a living room with a veined marble fireplace and intricate moulded ceiling, an oak-panelled library and a kitchen. A stone staircase with wrought iron bannisters leads up to five bedrooms, one of which has an ensuite and another, an elevator. There’s also an attic and a secret room known as 'The Caves', which was once the old boiler room. The space is said to have a concealed entrance that only the new owner will know about...

There's also 8,072 square feet of outbuildings, including a small, three-bedroom house that was once the old laundry room, a farmhouse that's been divided into a dwelling, barn and garage, as well as two adjoining buildings and a former barn, so there's endless space to play with. If you've got €1.5 million, or £1.3 million ($1.6m), then this remote luxury home could soon be yours. If you're keen to snap it up, then Patrice Besse has all the information you need.

Nestled amongst the undergrowth in the quaint town of Lecce, in Italy's Puglia region, lies something of a hidden treasure. The ornate stained-glass windows and arched doorway peeking out from the trees are the first understated glimpse of the grandeur of this 18th-century palace, which is on the market for just under £1.5 million ($1.9m), or €1.7 million, with Patrice Besse.

From one of the terraces, you can glean the scale of the overgrown estate. There's over 7,500 square feet of land surrounding the palazzo, though the grounds have largely been reclaimed by Mother Nature. However, the interior spaces have been impressively preserved, frozen in time from when they were last occupied.

The palace offers a total of 15 bedrooms, plus an array of incredible living spaces steeped in history. Stepping through the front door is like entering a time capsule: this remarkable kitchen with its bold black and white motifs looks like it's been virtually untouched, with old-fashioned metal saucepans still poised on the stove.

One of 30 rooms across the palazzo, this sitting room is one of the residence's most exceptional spaces. From the decorative vaulted ceiling to the damask-print walls and gilded mirrors, the historic features have been impeccably preserved over the decades. We can't wait to see new life breathed into this remarkable estate.

Up for a challenge? If you're house-hunting in New South Wales, Australia, and have AUD$5 million, or £2.5 million ($3.2m), going spare, then you could bag yourself this huge, neglected property. For sale with Stone Real Estate, the mansion lies in the rural Shellharbour City suburb of Dunmore and occupies 96 acres of land. In August 2023, the price was slashed by a staggering AUD$1 million (£504k/$643k).

Known as Minnamurra Mansion, the unfinished property has become somewhat of a local landmark and, thanks to trespassers, is now covered in graffiti. According to local sources, it was designed to be a sprawling equestrian homestead but work came to a halt in 2009, after the owner went into receivership. It sat empty and untouched for years, with ongoing court orders to restore the environmentally sensitive wetlands that were damaged during the construction process.

Since then, the house and grounds have been used as a street art canvas and an illegal skate park, so plenty of work will be needed to rescue the structure and render it liveable. Sadly, we don't know the exact dimensions of the mansion, but we do know it soars up three floors and boasts an imposing entrance foyer with a Cinderella staircase, six bedrooms, nine bathrooms and a basement level. There's even an amazing indoor pool that's currently riddled with algae.

On the plus side, Shellharbour Council has already granted permission for the estate to be transformed into a 33-room eco-resort, complete with a pool, spa, restaurant, bar, gym, rooftop terrace and 20 hilltop lodges for guests. If the buyer decides to go this route, then any lucky tourists will be able to soak up incredible views of the nearby Minnamurra River from almost every vantage point. Do you have the imagination and budget to complete this amazing abandoned mansion?

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