From opulent palaces to abandoned mansions, the world's largest homes showcase extraordinary architecture and immense wealth. Whether still inhabited or preserved as landmarks, these colossal residences offer a window into the lives of royalty, billionaires and luminaries spanning centuries and continents.
Click or scroll on to step inside some gigantic residential estates and discover their incredible histories and breathtaking interiors...
Canadian multimillionaire Peter Grant purchased a 43-acre (17.4ha) lot on the shore of Ontario's Lake Temiskaming in 2004 with one goal in mind: building his dream home combined with a corporate office. The land cost him CAD$110,000, which equates to CAD$173,000 (£125k/$94k) in today's money.
In 2005, work began on the project, which was projected to be the largest mansion in Canada. However, as Grant's dream home neared completion, the tycoon's financial situation began to flounder. Sadly, construction halted in 2008.
The building was on track to boast stunning interiors, luxury furnishings, breathtaking lake views and two indoor swimming pools, one of which is pictured here.
In 2009, the global economic recession caused the collapse of Grant’s business and all of the company's assets, including the mansion, were put up for sale. The property was listed in 2010 for CAD$25 million – around CAD$35.3 million ($26m/£19m) when adjusted for today's inflation.
Now, a Texas entrepreneur has taken on the renovation of this mammoth home.
Often misreported as the world's largest residential estate, Lakshmi Vilas Palace in Vadodara, India sits on a sprawling site said to be four times the size of Buckingham Palace but the house itself doesn't compare to the British royal residence in terms of the building's floor plan.
Covering an estimated 100,000 square feet (9,290 sqm), the palace was built in 1890 by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III and is still home to Vadodara’s royal family, the Gaekwad dynasty, to this day. However, the royals only occupy the top floor, allowing the public access to the palace's lower floors on guided tours.
Stepping inside, the gorgeous interiors are decorated with artistic styles and precious materials from around the world, including Rajasthani marble, mosaic flooring from Venice and stained-glass windows from Belgium.
With 170 rooms, the palace complex stretches across 500 acres (202ha) and has an impressive collection of artwork, antiques and decorative chandeliers. Pictured here is the ornate Darbar Hall, where everything from traditional dance shows to political meetings is held.
While there's some uncertainty around the identity of Australia’s largest private residence, there has been speculation that it could be Fairwater. The property became Australia’s most expensive residential estate at the time when it sold for AU$100 million in 2008. That's the equivalent of AU$151 million (£72m/$97m) today.
With its distinctive yellow brick façade, slate roof and Tudor-style gables, the 1881 home is the largest private holding on Sydney Harbour and is classed among the finest historic residences in Australia.
The elegant Queen Anne-inspired home had been the residence of the Fairfax family since 1901 and was the longtime home of Australian businesswoman Lady Mary Fairfax.
The property includes two additional houses, a swimming pool, manicured gardens and a rolling lawn down to the oceanfront. Under the family's ownership, it was the site of countless glamorous parties, political functions and fundraising events.
Easily the largest and grandest private home in America, this lavish country estate in Asheville, North Carolina was commissioned by George Washington Vanderbilt II.
Having inherited millions from his father William Henry, who died in 1885, George had ample resources to put towards the 250-room mansion, which comprised 175,000 square feet (16,300sqm) or more than four acres (1.6ha) of floor space.
According to contemporaneous news reports, Biltmore was forecast to cost some $6 million – roughly $209 million (£157m) today.
A Vanderbilt family favourite, architect Richard Morris Hunt was placed in charge of the project, designing the estate in the Châteauesque style to impress and entertain the upper echelons of society.
Construction on the home began in 1889. Following its completion six years later, George, who was an avid collector of art and antiques, packed the enormous mansion with extravagant furniture and paintings dating from the 15th to the 19th centuries.
While Britain’s largest mansion is technically Buckingham Palace, the second biggest is far less well known. Wentworth Woodhouse is a Grade I-listed country house in South Yorkshire.
With over 300 rooms, the house dates to 1725 and was built for the 1st Marquess of Rockingham. However, work was carried out across four generations as the house passed from father to son. Consequently, it spans many architectural styles, though its design is predominantly inspired by the English Baroque.
Given how long it took for the home to be built, the English Baroque style soon fell out of vogue. This led to the creation of the East Front extension, a 600-foot (183m) addition at the front of the property featuring more modern decorative styles.
The sprawling property spans 250,000 square feet (23,226sqm) and sits on 87 private acres (35ha) of grounds, including gardens, lakes and a deer park.
This sprawling estate with its quaint, clapboard buildings sits on the shore of Lake Zürich in the shadow of the snowcapped Swiss Alps.
The property was the longtime home of singer Tina Turner. It's where the late star moved to with her husband, German music exec Erwin Bach, in the wake of the pandemic in 2021 and the place where she spent her final years.
The couple's beloved waterfront estate cost them $76 million (£57m) and consists of 10 charming buildings.
The impressive compound spans 260,000 square feet (24,155sqm) and includes a private pond, stream, swimming pool and boat deck. Despite the property’s size and luxurious accommodation, it was originally only purchased as a weekend retreat for the high-flying couple.
The compound is centuries old and features steeply-pitched, curving rooflines, simple white façades and endearing shutters characteristic of Swiss architecture.
One of the largest historic residences in Europe, Mannheim Palace boasts a vast courtyard, a façade more than 1,312 feet (400m) long and 645,835 square feet (60,000sqm) of interior space.
The palace was intended to be the second-largest Baroque palace complex in Europe after Versailles, designed to emphasise the important role of the Electoral Palatinate – a former state within the Holy Roman Empire, which was later merged with the Kingdom of Bavaria.
In 1720, the palace became not only an official seat of power but also a bastion of scientific and artistic luminaries, including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
The interiors of the building’s five wings were once considered wonders of European architecture, expertly and lavishly decorated with spectacular frescoes, crystal chandeliers and ornate tapestries.
However, the palace was severely damaged during the Second World War, and large parts of it have since had to be rebuilt.
Arguably the world’s most famous palace, France’s Versailles has a storied reputation for its opulence, luxury and scale. In fact, so outlandishly lavish was the château that it played a substantial role in inspiring the insurrection that became the French Revolution in 1789.
Construction on the palace began in 1631 under King Louis XIII, though it would take many decades to complete. The residence's history is more closely linked in cultural memory with the reign of King Louis XIV, who shaped the building to his vision.
Having fallen in love with Versailles as a boy, Louis XIV transformed it from a humble hunting lodge to a palace of leisure. It was an escape from court life in Paris and a hosting venue for state occasions and entertaining on a massive scale.
A lover of the outdoors, Louis put particular efforts into the estate’s spectacular gardens, which stretch out across nearly 2,000 acres (800ha). Over the course of his reign, Louis spent 50 years perfecting the property's design.
Before it was Buckingham Palace, this iconic building was known as Buckingham House, a much smaller residence which was purchased by King George III for his wife Charlotte to use as a more private family home close to the official royal residence, St James’s Palace.
However, in 1820, the King hired the famed architect John Nash to set about turning the home into a larger pied-à-terre, and by 1826 had decided instead to make it a palace in the French neo-classical style.
With 775 rooms including 19 state rooms, 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms, the palace has served as a unique combination of both a working building and a family home since Queen Victoria made it her official London residence in 1837.
Today, it functions as the administrative headquarters of the British monarchy. King Charles III and Queen Camilla don't currently live there day-to-day, as the palace has been undergoing a 10-year refurbishment project estimated to cost £369m, but still use it for official functions and public appearances on the famous balcony.
Formerly home to popes and kings of Italy, Palazzo del Quirinale sits perched high above the city of Rome on the tallest of the seven hills. The palace is the sixth-largest in the world, 20 times larger than the White House, and was designed by architects Domenico Fontana, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
The palace is flanked by around 10 acres (4ha) of beautifully manicured gardens that date back to the 16th century.
Inside, Quirinale is packed with spectacular artwork, tapestries and antiquities collected over the centuries, including a prestigious porcelain collection of about 38,000 pieces.
While once a venue for state occasions and royal relaxation, the palace today encompasses an art gallery and museum and is home to a vast collection of paintings, sculptures and installations by celebrated 20th-century Italian artists.
Italy’s spectacular Royal Palace of Caserta is famous for its size, grandeur and the spectacular manicured gardens, which stretch out for 304 acres (123ha) behind it.
Construction of the palace began in 1752 at the behest of King Charles of Bourbon, and the first stone was laid on the king’s birthday. However, the palace would take more than 50 years to complete, and ultimately became the largest building completed in the 18th century anywhere in the world.
The original plans for the palace by architect Luigi Vanvitelli used a distinctive layout of four courtyards and three atriums built around a central, unifying axis.
Its interior boasts 1,200 rooms for both private and administrative purposes, a spectacular marble grand staircase and a chapel. In the 19th century, some of Europe’s finest artists were brought in to help decorate the palace, adding frescos, stucco bas-reliefs, marble and gilding to further accentuate the grandeur of the design.
The largest palace in Western Europe and one of the largest in the world, the Royal Palace of Madrid was built between 1738 and 1764. It has 3,418 rooms and has borne witness to centuries of Spanish history.
The palace measures around 1.5 million square feet (135,000sqm) and is still the official residence of the Spanish royal family. However, it's open to the public and home to prestigious displays of art and collections from around the world.
The palace’s state rooms are as lavishly appointed today as they were when they were designed in the 18th century. These include the throne room, which is clad in red velvet and gold leaf, and the spectacular Salón de Columnas, or hall of columns, pictured here.
This magnificent space lay at the heart of architect Giovanni Battista Sacchetti's original design for the building and was used for grand functions, balls and even religious ceremonies.
At 3.2 million square feet (300,000sqm), the Imperial Palace of Vienna is one of the largest interconnected building complexes in the world, spanning roughly 42 football pitches.
Also known as Hofburg Palace, it was formerly the residence of the imperial Habsburg dynasty and is conveniently located in the centre of Vienna. The palace was originally built in the 13th century as a fortified medieval castle, but it underwent several expansions over the following centuries that elevated its grandeur.
The sprawling palace was decorated with all the opulence and grandeur associated with the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg regime, whose emperors and kings it was designed to house.
As the Habsburgs gained power and territory, the palace expanded proportionately around them with lavish state rooms, decadent private apartments and a fabulous collection of art and antiquities. The imperial family resided here until 1918 when the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed.
These days, Hofburg Palace is the official residence and workplace of the Austrian president.
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