World’s top 50 stately homes
The best stately homes on the planet

From dramatic royal palaces to stunning châteaus, 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 royal, most filmed, most beautiful, the best that are still family homes and the most surprising stately residences hiding a secret. Dive in to our definitive ranking and get swept away into a bygone era...
Most royal: 10. Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

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.
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Most royal: 9. Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark

Most royal: 8. Royal Palace of Madrid, Madrid, Spain

Most royal: 7. Hampton Court Palace, Richmond, UK

Most royal: 6. Royal Palace, Oslo, Norway

Most royal: 5. Château de Fontainebleau, Fontainebleau, France

Most royal: 4. Winter Palace, St Petersburg, Russia

Most royal: 3. Windsor Castle, Windsor, UK

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.
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Most royal: 2. Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand

Most royal: 1. Buckingham Palace, London, UK

Most filmed: 10. Castle Howard, North Yorkshire, UK

Most filmed: 9. Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire, UK

Most filmed: 8. Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, UK

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.
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Most filmed: 7. Oheka Castle, Long Island, USA

Most filmed: 6. Englefield House, Berkshire, UK

Most filmed: 5. Casa Loma, Toronto, Canada

Most filmed: 4. Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, UK

Most filmed: 3. Royal Palace of Caserta, Caserta, Italy

Most filmed: 2. Highclere Castle, Hampshire, UK

Most filmed: 1. The White House, Washington DC

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.
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Most beautiful: 10. Como House, Melbourne, Australia

Most beautiful: 9. Rideau Hall, Ontario, Canada

Most beautiful: 8. Royal Palace of Turin, Turin, Italy

Most beautiful: 7. Hohenzollern Castle, Zollernalbkreis, Germany

Most beautiful: 6. Burghley House, Cambridgeshire, UK

Most beautiful: 5. Hearst Castle, California, USA

Most beautiful: 4. Palacio Nacional da Pena, Sintra, Portugal

Perched atop a hill in the Sintra Mountains, this splendid multi-coloured palace is one of the finest examples of 19th-century Romanticism in the world. The first building to occupy this position was a small chapel built in the Middle Ages – a far cry from the dramatic residence that occupies the site today. The estate was commissioned by King Ferdinand II and completed in 1854, with the King insisting that Medieval and Islamic elements be incorporated.
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Most beautiful: 3. Alhambra, Granada, Spain

Most beautiful: 2. Biltmore, North Carolina, USA

Most beautiful: 1. Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France

Still lived in: 10. Prague Castle, Prague, Czech Republic

Still lived in: 9. Stiftsgården, Trondheim, Norway

Still lived in: 8. The Union Buildings, Pretoria, South Africa

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.
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Still lived in: 7. Castletown House, County Kildare, Ireland

Still lived in: 6. Palace of Holyrood House, Edinburgh, UK

Still lived in: 5. Stockholm Palace, Stockholm, Sweden

Still lived in: 4. Mysore Palace, Mysore, India

Still lived in: 3. Château de Coppet, Coppet, Switzerland

Still lived in: 2. Quirinal Palace, Rome, Italy

Still lived in: 1. Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, UK

With a secret: 10. The Breakers, Rhode Island, USA

This lavish country home was built between 1893 and 1895 by the Vanderbilts – the closest thing America has to a royal family. The property is packed with ornature statues, priceless artwork and intricate covings, however, Cornelius Vanderbilt II wanted to hide something of his family history within the neo-classical grandeur. If you look carefully at the cherub relief above the doorway of the music room, you'll see a nod to the Vanderbilt wealth – a railway train chugging along.
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With a secret: 9. Mount Stuart House, Isle of Bute, UK

With a secret: 8. Dolmabahçe Palace, Istanbul, Turkey

With a secret: 7. Chillon Castle, Veytaux, Switzerland

With a secret: 6. Kronborg Castle, Helsingør, Denmark

With a secret: 5. Monticello, Virginia, USA

With a secret: 4. Schwerin Castle, Schwerin, Germany

With a secret: 3. Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, UK

With a secret: 2. Mount Vernon, Virginia, USA

With a secret: 1. Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany

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 the structure 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.
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