From dramatic royal palaces to stunning châteaux, these spectacular stately homes are the best in the world, brimming with architectural wow-factor and fascinating history around every corner. We've divided them into five categories: most regal residences, most filmed, most beautiful, best gardens and most historic. Dive in to our ranking and get swept away into a bygone era...
We've based our ranking on the beauty, importance and popularity of each stately home, and the opinions of our well-travelled team. The list is unavoidably subjective.
Originally built as a hunting lodge for Crown Prince Joseph, Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace was the gleaming centre of 18th-century court life.
The palace was the summer residence of the Habsburg dynasty and was built in the Baroque architectural style. The sprawling grounds are one of the palace’s main treasures and are home to a maze, orangery and a botanical garden.
Comprised of four stately structures surrounding an octagonal courtyard, Amalienborg Palace is the seat of the Danish monarchy. The palace didn’t start out as a royal residence but was originally built in the 17th century to house four noble families.
However, when Christianborg Palace burned down in 1794, the Royal Family purchased Amalienborg and moved in. Between the centre of Copenhagen and the harbour, the palace is now revered as one of Denmark’s finest architectural gems.
Despite being the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family, the Royal Palace of Madrid is not home to today’s monarchs, who instead choose to reside in the Palacio de la Zarzuela on the fringes of the city.
Once occupied by a 9th-century Moorish fortress, this site has been home to royals for centuries and long before Madrid became the capital of Spain. The building that stands today was designed by Juan Bautista Sachetti after the previous palace burned down in 1734.
Hampton Court Palace was commissioned by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in the early 1500s. However, King Henry VIII was so impressed by its grandeur that he took up residence in the 1530s to host his extravagant Tudor court.
The building has been extended over the years, with the addition of an elegant Baroque palace designed by Sir Christopher Wren. It’s said that the ghost of the King’s third wife, Jane Seymour, appears every year on the anniversary of her death on 24 October.
It’s not often that monarchs get involved in the construction of their own palaces. However, when building works began on Oslo’s Royal Palace, it was King Carl Johan that laid the first foundation stone in October 1825.
Set in an imposing position at the head of Oslo’s main thoroughfare, Karl Johan's gate, this impressive residence remains the home of the current King and Queen.
Less than an hour from Paris, this stunning gem is nestled in 130 acres of stunning parkland and gardens. As well as boasting an impressive 1,500 rooms, the royal houses of Valois, Bourbon and Bonaparte have all called Fontainebleau home.
The Château de Fontainebleau showcases an array of historic architectural styles, from the 12th to the 19th century. Look out for the famous horseshoe staircase that dates from the reign of Louis XIII.
St Petersburg’s Winter Palace was the official residence of Russian Emperors until 1917. Featuring iconic columns, statues and parapets, the richly decorative façade was designed by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli.
The palace was such an important landmark that no structure in St Petersburg was allowed to overshadow it for some 200 years. Strict height restrictions, which were removed in the 1960s, says World Atlas, were imposed which prohibited the construction of buildings that would exceed the height of the historic residence.
The site of Prince Harry’s 2018 wedding to Meghan Markle, Windsor Castle has been occupied by British kings and queens since the Middle Ages, making it the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world.
The original structure was constructed in the 11th century and was added to over the centuries. Architectural highlights include the 16th-century St George’s Chapel, which is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful examples of Gothic design and is the final resting place of the late Queen Elizabeth ll.
One of Thailand's finest architectural treasures, King Rama I commissioned the Grand Palace in 1782.
Subsequent kings made their own additions to the complex of buildings, resulting in an eclectic mix of pavilions, halls, and temples. With walls adorned in gilt and glass mosaics, it's home to an array of treasures, including the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.
At the head of London’s Mall, Buckingham Palace is a pretty impressive sight. Dating back to the 17th century, the royal palace boasts no less than 775 lavishly decorated rooms and 40 acres of grounds.
Factoring in the artworks, antique furniture and luxurious facilities, a recent estimate valued the iconic palace at £3.9 billion (almost $5bn). Yet, the palace is currently undergoing a massive renovation and King Charles lll resides nearby at Clarence House.
This glorious Baroque masterpiece has been used as the filming location for an eclectic selection of media, from Brideshead Re-visited to Garfield 2: A Tale of Two Kitties as well as an Arctic Monkeys music video.
15 miles north of York, Castle Howard stretches across 8,800 acres of land. While Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle initiated construction of the main house in 1699, it took over 100 years to complete. The estate is still managed by descendants of the Howard family today.
Waddesdon Manor encapsulates all the enchantment of a traditional French château. Originally conceived as a summer escape for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild to entertain guests, construction was completed in 1883.
A lift was installed in 1890 for the visit of Queen Victoria, but suspicious of electricity, she declined to use it. The property was used as the setting for numerous movies and TV shows, including The Crown, Downton Abbey and Midsomer Murders.
Built in 1611 by the first Earl of Salisbury, Hatfield House has been in the Cecil family for over 400 years. The Old Palace and the deer park surrounding the house were once owned by King Henry VIII.
Hatfield House has appeared numerous times on the silver screen, including as one of the settings for 2018's The Favourite. Other hits filmed here include Sherlock Holmes, The King's Speech, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Transformers and The Crown.
Built in 1919, this impressive property is the second-largest private residence in the US. It’s thought that the estate inspired the glitzy mansion in F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous novel The Great Gatsby.
Over the years, Oheka Castle has appeared in a plethora of Hollywood creations, including the 1941 classic Citizen Kane and 2018's What Happens in Vegas, as well hit TV shows such as Madame Secretary, Gossip Girl and Project Runway, and Taylor Swift's Blank Space music video.
Englefield Estate, the Elizabethan country house, where Pippa Middleton (sister to the Princess of Wales) married James Matthews in 2017, isn’t short of claims to fame.
The 16th-century Berkshire property has featured in an array of silver screen hits, including The Crown, The King’s Speech, X-Men: First Class and Great Expectations.
This Gothic Revival-style mansion was built over a three-year period from 1911 to 1914 for banker Sir Henry Pellatt. Casa Loma is home to no less than 98 rooms covering an area of 64,700 square feet and includes two hidden underground tunnels, as well as a bowling alley in the basement.
A whole host of blockbusters have been shot at the property, including X-Men, Chicago, Crimson Peak and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
This breathtaking Baroque palace was designed by the first Duke of Marlborough in the 18th century and one of the UK’s grandest stately homes.
The birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, the palace has been used as the setting for numerous films and television shows, including Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Spectre and Transformers: The Last Knight. Blenheim Palace is estimated to be worth around £180 million ($228m).
This former royal residence is one of the largest palaces to have been erected in Europe in the 18th century. Its 1,200 rooms include a vast library, theatre and 24 state apartments.
Designed by Luigi Vanvitelli, the Palace of Caserta has often been likened to the Vatican, which has made it a popular filming location. In fact, it doubles up for the seat of the Catholic Church in several movies, including Star Wars, Mission Impossible III, Angels and Demons and The Good Pope.
Nestled in 1,000 acres of sublime parkland designed by Capability Brown, the Jacobean-style Highclere Castle dates to 1679 and is the ancestral home of the Earls of Carnarvon.
While this iconic country home is best known as the seat of the Crawley family in the hit show Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle was also the film location for a host of Hollywood blockbusters including Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut and Kevin Reynolds’ Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
Unsurprisingly, the official residence of the US President scoops our top spot as the most filmed stately home in the world. The White House is seen in hundreds of films and TV shows including Independence Day, Olympus Has Fallen, Jackie and The Day After Tomorrow.
However, while numerous big screen sensations are set within the iconic building and feature shots of the exterior, few are actually filmed inside. So for a sneak peek, you’ll have to stick to the news.
Built in 1847 for Sir Edward Eyre Williams, Como House offers a rare glimpse into the opulent lifestyle of its former owners, the Armytage family.
Charles Armytage purchased the property in 1864 for £14,000 ($17.7k), equivalent to around £1.5 million ($1.9m) in today's money, and the family lived there for nearly a century until they sold the house to Australia’s National Trust in 1959. One of southern Australia’s most celebrated architectural gems, the residence houses a vast collection of rare antique furniture.
This imposing building, which dates to 1838, is the official residence of the Governor General of Canada. Originally designed as a two-storey structure in the Regency style, Rideau Hall has been altered and added to, creating the impressive building that stands today.
One of the greatest changes took place in 1913 when the Mappin Wing was constructed, linking the ballroom with the Tent Room, a cavernous space draped in red and white striped fabric.
Once the residence of the House of Savoy, this elegant Baroque masterpiece became the city’s main seat of power in 1563, undergoing various revisions across the decades.
The 17th-century renovations of the Royal Palace or Musei Reali Torino as it is known locally, saw the addition of the incredible Scala delle Forbici or Staircase of Scissors, as well as the Chapel of the Holy Shroud, which was added to house the Shroud of Turin. Many Catholics believe this relic was the actual burial shroud used to wrap the body of Jesus of Nazareth following his crucifixion and on which his image has been miraculously imprinted.
This impressive hilltop castle is the ancestral seat of the Prussian Royal House and the Hohenzollern princes.
First accounts of Hohenzollern date all the way back to 1061, although the awe-inspiring structure we see today is the result of the 19th-century reconstruction by Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia. A multitude of towers, turrets and fortifications create a fairytale-like castle, which is one of Germany’s finest pieces of neo-Gothic architecture.
This Elizabethan beauty was constructed for Sir William Cecil, Lord High Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I. The property's aesthetic was influenced by the classical style of buildings that were popular in France and Flanders at the time.
When the 9th Earl of Exeter inherited Burghley House in 1754, he commissioned Capability Brown to modernise the grounds, adding an orangery and a Gothic-style summerhouse.
The design of this striking historical landmark was masterminded by publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst and his architect, Julia Morgan.
Built between 1919 and 1947, Hearst Castle is an exciting showcase of various architectural styles, from Mediterranean to Southern Spanish Renaissance, largely inspired by Hearst’s tours of Europe. The original plans included no less than 42 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 19 sitting rooms and a private zoo.
Nestled amidst the rolling hills of England’s Peak District, Chatsworth House is often referred to as Britain’s best-loved stately home. The historic residence of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, the heads of the Cavendish family, since 1549, its notable members include Duchess Georgina Spencer, an ancestor of Princess Diana.
The original Tudor mansion was built in the 1560s, but this was rebuilt in part in the late 17th century by the first Duke of Devonshire to create the stunning English Baroque building we see today. Its opulent rooms and acres of garden have often featured in films including Pride and Prejudice and The Duchess.
Once described by Moorish poets as “a pearl set in emeralds”, the Alhambra of Granada started out as a small fortress built on the site of Roman fortifications.
The current palace and fortress walls, which house courtyards and tranquil gardens, were commissioned by Muhammad I of Granada in the mid-13th century. Many innovations which were groundbreaking at the time were incorporated during construction, including fountains and reservoirs of running water.
Built for the wealthy Vanderbilt family in 1895, this sprawling mansion is America’s largest privately-owned home. The property extends an incredible 178,926 square feet, with 35 bedrooms and 45 bedrooms.
Open to the public all year round, Biltmore's medieval-style banqueting hall features a seven-storey ceiling, complete with stunning carved wooden panelling.
The awe-inspiring Château of Versailles scoops the top spot in our selection of the world’s most dazzling stately homes. The site’s 17th-century hunting lodge was dramatically overhauled by King Louis XIV, who added numerous wings, grottos and magnificent, landscaped gardens.
The famous Hall of Mirrors is bursting with opulent treasures, including 5,000 pieces of antique furniture and 6,000 paintings. Estimates put the value of Versailles somewhere around the £39 billion ($50bn) mark.
While Schwerin Castle, home to the Dukes and Grand Dukes of Mecklenburg for centuries, can be considered one of the most significant architectural creations of the romantic historicism era in Europe, its gardens are considered the most impressive Baroque gardens in northern Germany.
Built on an island in Lake Schwerin, the garden spans across more than 50 acres and incorporates elements of English landscape design, Italian architecture and stunning sculptures by the famous Saxon sculptor Balthasar Permoser. It also features a cast-iron and glass orangery which is one of a kind in Germany.
In Charlottesville, Virginia, Monticello is the former home of Thomas Jefferson. The third President of the United States used enslaved African American labourers to create the property’s stunning gardens and grounds which spanned 5,000 acres and included botanical plants from around the world as well as saleable tobacco and wheat.
At one time there were 150 enslaved labourers working on the estate, including head gardener Wormley Hughes, responsible for tending the grounds and planting many of its seeds, while his assistant John tended to Jefferson’s kitchen garden.
Built on the banks of the Loire, the Château de Villandry is celebrated for its exquisite formal gardens, which are laid out on three levels and a perfect example of formal gardening in France.
Constructed in the 16th century, the property was extensively restored in the early 20th century by Spanish doctor and scientist Joachim Cavallo and his wife, wealthy American heiress Ann Coleman.
The gardens cover nine hectares and include six distinct gardens, incorporating ornamental flower beds, intricate knot gardens and neatly trimmed hedges. One of the most beautiful parts of the garden is the vegetable garden, where decorative cabbages, leeks, tomatoes and kale are arranged in colourful geometric patterns.
In Charleston, South Carolina, Middleton Place boasts 110 stunning acres of land, 65 of which are recognised as the oldest landscaped gardens in America.
Henry Middleton, a First Continental Congress president, designed his gorgeous dream garden in 1741, mimicking the classical European styles made famous by André Le Nôtre, the master behind the grounds at the Palace of Versailles.
The spectacular displays, fringed walkways and elaborate sculptures epitomise the excessive grandeur of 18th and 19th century plantation society.
Sometimes known as the Garden of Europe, Keukenhof flower park in Lisse, near Amsterdam, is part of the larger Keukenhof estate, which includes Keukenhof Castle.
Initially a hunting ground, it was transformed in the 19th century by landscape architects Jan David Zocher and his son, who laid the foundations for the exquisite gardens we know today.
Renowned for its tulips, Keukenhof hosts an annual flower exhibition, showcasing more than seven million tulips, daffodils and hyacinths. To the south of the estate lies Keukenhof forest where you can experience the landscape before it was developed for bulb cultivation.
While it belonged to the Stourhead family for half a century, we can thank the banking family, the Hoares, who purchased Stourhead in 1717, for the iconic Palladian villa and amazing gardens we know today.
Henry Hoare ‘The Magnificent’ decided to flood the valley and create the 18-acre lake around which the garden and architectural adornments are wrapped, say House & Garden. Some of the highlights include the Pantheon, the Grotto, and the Temple of Apollo, which is a popular venue today for civil wedding ceremonies.
London’s Kew Gardens is home to the largest and most diverse botanical collection in the world.
Opened to the public in 1840, it was an expansion of Princess Augusta’s botanic garden, which she founded at Kew in the mid-18th century.
Her son George lll, his wife Queen Charlotte, and their 15 children, spent many happy summers at Kew Palace, the oldest building within the gardens, which is open to the public.
Over the past 200 years, the gardens have grown to include its iconic Victorian Temperature House, Japanese Gateway and recently-restored Great Pagoda. It is also now considered a World Heritage Site.
The Master of the Nets Garden, or Wangshi Yuan, is a classical Chinese garden in Suzhou in China. Built during the Song Dynasty in the 12th century, it was originally the residence of Shi Zhengzhi, a government official. Famed for its exquisite design, it features serene ponds, intricately designed pavilions, and carefully manicured landscapes, showcasing traditional garden design techniques.
The garden complex typically includes traditional Chinese-style residences and halls which served as living quarters, and quiet corners where scenic views of the garden could be enjoyed. Along with other renowned gardens of Suzhou, it has been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Home to the political dynasty, the Marquesses of Londonderry for over 250 years, Mount Stewart in County Down, Northern Ireland, is steeped in history and bursting with stories of its famous guests which included Winston Churchill and Neville Chamberlain.
It is best known however for its stunning gardens which were created by Edith, Lady Londonderry, and her husband in the early 20th century. They feature a diverse range of themed gardens, including the Sunk Garden, the Shamrock Garden, and the Spanish Garden, seen here, each showcasing unique plant collections and architectural elements.
Now an Italian state museum, Cardinal Ippolito Il d'Este commissioned architect Pirro Ligoriothe to create this villa and gardens on the site of a dilapidated Benedictine monastery after he was appointed governor of Tivoli in 1550.
Renowned for its magnificent gardens and fountains, Villa d’Este was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001 and recognised as one of the "most remarkable and comprehensive illustrations of Renaissance culture at its most refined".
With its ornamental fountains and incredible sculptures, the garden is a masterpiece of hydraulic engineering, which extends across two steep slopes, descending from the palace to a flat terrace. A highlight is the Organ Fountain, which due to its hydraulic mechanism, can produce sounds like a proper musical instrument.
This enchanting estate is thought to have inspired Walt Disney's iconic castles, though its history is far from happy. King Ludwig II, who commissioned Neuschwanstein Castle in 1868, was declared insane and later died in mysterious circumstances.
Further misfortune struck in 1940 when the Nazis chose the castle as the headquarters for their notorious art-looting operation. Thousands of plundered items were recovered when US troops descended on the castle in 1945.
The home of the Swedish Royal Family, Stockholm Palace has over 1,430 rooms and is one of the largest royal palaces in the world still in use for its original purpose.
Its history is just as expansive. The stunning Italian Baroque residence that stands today was built during the 18th century on the spot where Tre Kronor, the previous royal castle, burned down in 1697.
In addition to the Royal Apartments, which are spread over 11 floors, there are three museums steeped in regal history: the Treasury with the regalia, the Tre Kronor Museum that portrays the palace’s medieval history and Gustav lll’s Museum of Antiquities.
One of Switzerland’s most historic sites, Chillon Castle on the eastern bank of Lake Geneva, dates to the Bronze Age.
It served as the summer residence for the Counts of Savoy from the 12th to the 16th century, when it was converted into a prison, although a jail existed in the castle from the 13th century onwards.
Many prisoners were tortured and killed at the castle and its grizzly history inspired Lord Byron’s 1816 poem, The Prisoner of Chillon. In it, Bryon recounted how one prisoner, a devout scholar, was chained to a pillar for four years for his heretical Protestant beliefs. But it was only six months.
Founded in 880 AD, Prague Castle remains the official seat of power in the Czech Republic, although now it’s the official office of the president rather than the home of the Royal Family.
The estate is the largest complex of castle buildings in the world, comprising an array of palaces and religious buildings. A smorgasbord of architectural influences is on show, from 10th-century Romanesque-style buildings to Gothic structures from the 14th century.
It is also the scene of the so-called 1618 Defenestration of Prague, which led to the Thirty Years’ War, and which saw three Catholic officials thrown from a top-floor window of the castle by an angry mob of Bohemian Protestant activists.
Widely acknowledged to be one of South Africa’s finest architectural masterpieces, this impressive complex of buildings was designed by Herbert Baker and completed in 1913.
Constructed in light sandstone, the building’s sweeping semi-circular structure sits within a magnificent terraced garden which features an array of indigenous plants. The Union Buildings are the official seat of the government in South Africa and house the offices of the President.
The scene of many Apartheid protests, it later saw the inauguration of South Africa’s first democratically elected President Mandela.
This sublime citadel is the official residence of the Wadiyar dynasty, who ruled the state of Mysore from 1399 to 1950, and the seat of the Kingdom of Mysore.
Constructed from fine granite and embellished with pink marble domes, the palace has real wow-factor, incorporating elements from Indian, Indo-Islamic, Neo-Classical and Gothic Revival architectural schools.
It is one of the biggest historical buildings in India and an important landmark for properly understanding the complexities of the feudal kingdoms that arose and fell in the region.
At the end of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, the Palace of Holyroodhouse is the official Scottish residence of the British monarch. The building has been home to the kings and queens of Scotland, including Mary Queen of Scots, since the 16th century and the monarch spends one week in residence here at the beginning of each summer.
Following her death at Balmoral in 2022, the late Queen Elizabeth ll was taken from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh before making her final journey down to London.
The largest and most sumptuous in Turkey, Dolmabahçe Palace was the official residence of six sultans and a caliph from 1856 to 1924 and showcases Ottoman architecture at its finest. Notable features include the opulent Crystal Staircase and a magnificent chandelier in the Throne Room, a gift from Queen Victoria.
After the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1924, when it became the property of the state, the palace was used as a summer residence for Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder, and first President of the Republic of Turkey, who passed away here in 1938 in a bedroom in the former harem area of the palace.
One of the most iconic 18th-century homes in America, this plantation property was the beloved home of President George Washington.
After leading the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War, he had hoped to return to his life here at Mount Vernon as a gentleman farmer but was invited to lead the convention that drafted the Constitution, before becoming the nation’s first president in 1789.
He finally retired at Mount Vernon in 1796 after two terms as president but sadly caught a cold inspecting his property three years later and died in December 1799. He is entombed at Mount Vernon, which was designated a national historic landmark in 1960.
This iconic castle dominates the skyline of Edinburgh. On top of an extinct volcano, archaeological evidence shows that humans have occupied the spot since the Iron Age.
Edinburgh Castle has been home to many kings and queens, including Queen Margaret, who died here in 1093 and was later made a saint. Mary Queen of Scots resided here with her second husband Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, and gave birth to James Vl in the Royal Palace in 1566. You can view the birthing room of the infant, who was crowned king of Scotland at just 13 months old and became the first monarch of both Scotland and England in 1603.
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