The World's Most Beautiful Houses You Can Visit
Courtesy Taj Lake PalaceTaj Lake Palace in Udaipur, India
This 18th-century Taj Lake Palace—former home of Maharana Jagat Singh II—is a sweep of courtyards, corridors, and pavilions inlaid with stone, gilt molding, and mirrors. Now a five-star resort, guests reach the four-acre, man-made island on Lake Pichola by private boat and are taken to rooms with hand-painted motifs, mosaics, silk bolsters, and stained glass.
GettyChateau d'Usse in Rigny-Ussé, France
Originally built as a fortress in the Middle Ages, this chateau in the Loire Valley became a renowned residence in the 17th century. Home of the Duke of Blacas and family, the Chateau d'Usse served as inspiration for Charles Perrault (Sleeping Beauty) and later, Walt Disney. Guests can explore public parts of the home, which is two and a half west of Paris by car, or one hour by train.
AlamyLeighton House in London
London's 19th-century Leighton House is now part museum, but it was once the home of Victorian-era painter Lord Frederic Leighton. One of the most notable rooms is the Arab Hall (pictured), covered in tile mosaics dating back to the 15th century, gathered during Leighton's trips to Damascus. The home has been open to the public since 1929.
AlamyVilla del Balbianello on Italy's Lake Como
Set at the tip of a peninsula, the Villa del Balbianello was built in the 18th century, above the ruins of a Franciscan monastery. The villa was privately owned in the 19th and 20th centuries before it was eventually gifted to the Italian Environment Fund. Today, the wooded grounds and villa are primarily used for weddings, as well as film and photo shoots (you may recognize it from the 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale). Tours are also available.
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GettyClaude Monet's Home in Giverny, France
It's worth taking a day trip from Paris to stroll around the colorful Clos Normand garden, explore the artist's vine-covered house, and find the Water Garden, home to the famous Japanese bridge and water lilies that appear in many of his paintings.
GettyThe Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina
The Biltmore Estate is perhaps America's grandest home, built by George Vanderbilt in 1895 as a 250-room French Renaissance chateau with grounds sculpted by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, the property's 8,000 acres now foster a village, vineyard, inn, and hotel, making the Vanderbilt estate a luxe Southern sanctuary.
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Gallery StockJardin Majorelle in Marrakesh
Once owned by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé, the Jardin Majorelle is as bold as it is beautiful. The bright blue Moorish villa, surrounded by a 12-acre botanical garden with more than 300 types of plants from five continents, has been open to the public since 1947. Here, you'll also find the Berber Museum, which houses Bergé's and Saint Laurent's private collection of indigenous artifacts, including jewelry and costumes.
Courtesy Frank Sinatra HouseFrank Sinatra's Home in Palm Springs
When Frank Sinatra arrived in Palm Springs in the 1940s, he turned the sleepy desert town into a hotbed for Hollywood starlets. His home, now a vacation rental and wedding venue, has four bedrooms and seven bathrooms. Its infamous piano-shaped swimming pool is still the showpiece, surrounded by one of Palm Springs' finest examples of mid-century modern architecture.
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GettyThe Gaudí House Museum in Barcelona
Gaudí House Museum was the residence of esteemed Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí from 1906 to 1926, before he moved into the workshop at the Sagrada Familia. Today, the pink home-turned-museum in Park Güell houses a collection of furniture and objects designed by Gaudí himself.
GettyThe Mirrorcube in Harads, Sweden
This ultra-modern treehouse in Sweden's Lule River valley near the Swedish-Norwegian border is also called, fittingly, a "Mirrorcube." It fits two people and is part of the area's Treehotel, which offers guests the chance to sleep in minimalistic treehouses. Available for rent at $690 a night, the space has six distinct windows, providing stunning views of the tree-filled valley from every side.
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AlamyHighclere Castle in Hampshire, England
The set of Downton Abbey is in fact Highclere Castle, home to the eighth Earl and Countess of Carnarvon, whose family has lived on the property since 1679. Two hours west of London, the Jacobethan-style castle is open to visitors from March to September; visit in the spring, when the 1,000 acres of land are best for garden strolls.
GettyNesvizh Palace in Nesvizh, Belarus
The foundation of Nesvizh Palace was first built in the late 1500s, but the castle—which is two hours southwest of Minsk—has been rebuilt many times and covers every architectural style from Renaissance to neo-Gothic. A designated UNESCO World Heritage site, the home and its vast gardens have been restored for visitors.
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Courtesy LACMAThe Sheats Goldstein Residence in Los Angeles
A movie-set favorite—it will look familiar if you’ve seen The Big Lebowski or Charlie's Angels—the modernist Sheats-Goldstein Residence is a design darling among architects and celebrities (Rihanna recently celebrated her 27th birthday in the house's attached club). Built on the edge of a canyon in Beverly Crest, the concrete-and-glass masterpiece designed by John Lautner (a Frank Lloyd Wright disciple) offers sweeping views of downtown Los Angeles, and on a clear day, a sightline to the Pacific.
Courtesy Charleston Convention and Visitors BureauThe Edmondston-Alston House in Charleston
One of the many Federal-style homes that line the streets of Charleston, the Edmondston-Alston House gives visitors a front-row seat to life on city's habor. Built in 1825, the home offers daily tours through the Alston family's vast collection of silver and furniture, which has survived the Civil War, an earthquake, and numerous hurricanes. Stay in the attached bed and breakfast,, for the full antebellum experience.