The 11 Biggest Houses in the World
To put into perspective what “big” means when we talk about the biggest houses in the world, consider the White House—presidential, yes, but at a mere 55,000 square feet, it’s not nearly palatial enough to make the list. Hearst Castle? The legendary San Simeon, California, home of William Randolph Hearst has 38 bedrooms, 42 bathrooms, and 30 fireplaces—and yet, you could fit 445 Hearst Castles inside the staggeringly sizable house that’s number one on this list.
So what are the expansive abodes that make America’s legendary mansions look pint-size in comparison? Though not all private residences anymore, they include homes of maharajas, popes, and presidents; 15th-century structures; and 21st-century skyscrapers. Some of them we can only read about and imagine, others are open for tours, and a couple are even available for overnight stays. Below, the 11 biggest houses in the world.
Photo: Ranimiro Lotufo Neto/Getty Images1/1111. Safra Mansion (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Coming in at 117,000 square feet and located in the ritzy Morumbi neighborhood of Sao Paulo, Brazil (seen here), this sprawling home is owned by the ultra-wealthy Safra family, who made their billions in banking. Though it was built in the 1990s, the house drew design inspiration from the palaces of Roman nobles. Not much is known about the interiors—the residence is private in every sense of the word—though it has been reported that the mansion has a whopping 130 rooms as well as its own helipad.
Photo: S. Greg Panosian/Getty Images2/1110. Biltmore Estate (Asheville, North Carolina)
It’s not uncommon for travelers to fall so in love with a destination that they scoop up a vacation property. What is less common, however, is when they scoop up 125,000 acres and build a 175,000-square-foot French Renaissance château as their country retreat. That’s exactly what George Vanderbilt did after visiting Asheville, North Carolina, with his mom, Maria Louisa Kissam Vanderbilt. In 1889 he began construction on Biltmore Estate, with its 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces. Today, the gargantuan getaway—designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt—is open to the public for tours, wine tastings, art exhibits, shopping, and even overnight stays.
Photo: Dinodia Photo/Getty Images3/11Antilia (Mumbai, India)
There’s nothing quite like Antilia, which is a 400,000-square-foot home spread out vertically among 27 stories. Owned by Mukesh Ambani (the patriarch of the “Ambani wedding” family) and located in Mumbai, India, the $2 billion mansion has its own temple, multiple helipads, an ice cream parlor, a 50-seat movie theater, and a snow room that spits out machine-made snowflakes from the walls to help the residents beat the heat. Even the garage is six stories tall and includes a dedicated car service station.
Photo: Rudy Sulgan/Getty Images4/118. Palace of Versailles (Versailles, France)
Each year, France’s Palace of Versailles draws over 10 million visitors who are eager to walk its centuries-old halls, ogle its 6,000-plus paintings, stroll its nearly 2,000 acres of gardens, and maybe purchase a souvenir Marie Antoinette throw pillow. But Versailles had much more humble beginnings. King Louis XIII originally bought the land and built a small hunting lodge on the grounds in 1623 for when he couldn’t make it back to Paris before dark. King Louis XIV then expanded on what his father had built to transform the property into a royal palace and an architectural masterpiece—which spans 721,206 square feet.
Photo: Jorg Greuel/Getty Images5/117. Buckingham Palace (London, England)
Home to the most famous balcony in the world, London’s Buckingham Palace has been the official residence of the British sovereigns since 1837. The palace regularly hosts state banquets, garden parties, weekly audiences between the king and prime minister, as well as all those famous balcony appearances with the royal family. It has a total of 775 rooms, including 52 royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, and 78 bathrooms. All of this is spread out across 828,820 square feet, making Buckingham Palace one of the most grandiose work-from-home setups in the world.
Photo: Walter Bibikow/Getty Images6/116. Umaid Bhawan Palace (Jodhpur, India)
Not only was this palace turned hotel once fit for a maharaja—it still is. One wing of the one-million-square-foot Umaid Bhawan Palace serves as a residence for the current maharaja of Jodhpur. Other sections of the property are now an opulent stay operated by Taj Hotels. The one-million-square-foot property was originally built between 1929 and 1943 for Maharaja Umaid Singh and designed by architect Henry Lanchester. Today, guests can mingle with peacocks among the property’s 26 acres of gardens that overlook the Blue City, swim in the Maharaja’s subterranean Zodiac Pool, or visit the spa for an ancient Indian healing ritual.
Photo: Andrea Izzotti/Getty Images7/115. Quirinal Palace (Rome, Italy)
Roughly 20 times the size of the White House (or 1.2 million square feet), the Quirinal Palace in Rome is one of three official residences of the president of Italy. Pope Gregory XIII built the palace in 1583 as a summer residence—its hilltop location was ideal for escaping the humidity coming off the Tiber River near the Vatican. Since then, the cool and colossal abode has served as home to 30 popes, 4 kings, and 12 presidents. Even Napoleon once eyed it as his home. The interiors are decked in valuable tapestries (over 200), paintings, sculptures, elaborate chandeliers, and rare books. And here’s a fun fact: The Quirinal Palace is home to the second largest carpet in the world—a roughly 3,200-square-foot piece that covers the ballroom floor.
Photo: Tibor Bognar/Getty Images8/114. Apostolic Palace (Vatican City)
The official residence of the reigning pope, the Apostolic Palace is technically a 1.7-million-square-foot complex that includes the papal apartments, Catholic Church offices, the Vatican Library, Vatican Museum, and various public and private chapels. If all of this doesn’t sound as exciting as an ice cream parlor and snow room (see Antilia above), consider that these buildings house some of the most famous art in the world. The Sistine Chapel is here with Michelangelo’s ceiling masterpiece, as are the fresco-covered Raphael Rooms and Borgia Apartments. Best of all, parts of the Apostolic Palace are open to the public, including the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museum.
Photo: Anders Blomqvist/Getty Images9/113. Istana Nurul Iman (Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei)
Here’s another official residence, this time for the Sultan of Brunei and his family. Measuring in at around 2.2 million square feet, Istana Nurul Iman, located in Bandar Seri Begawan, has 1,788 rooms (including 257 bathrooms), 5 swimming pools, 44 staircases made of 38 different kinds of marble, and an air-conditioned stable with room for 200 polo ponies. Construction on the palace, which has a name that translates to “Palace of the Light of Faith,” was completed in 1984, just before Brunei gained independence from the United Kingdom. It’s said that the palace was intended to reflect a new era for the country.
Photo: Adem Altan/Getty Images10/112. Ak Saray (Ankara, Turkey)
Ak Saray, a.k.a. Turkey’s White Palace, is not only the second largest house on this list—coming in at 3.1 million square feet—it’s also the newest. Built in 2014 on the outskirts of Ankara, the country’s new presidential palace has 1,100 rooms and interiors decked in green marble, gold fittings, silk wallpaper, and acres of red carpet. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the palace was a sign of the country’s prestige, though many saw the sprawling mansion—and its $615 million price tag—as controversial.
Photo: Dynamoland/Getty Images11/111. Lakshmi Vilas Palace (Gujarat, India)
At a whopping 30.5 million square feet, it’ll be hard to dethrone the biggest house in the world, Lakshmi Vilas Palace. Built by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III in Vadodara, India, in 1890, the palace is still home to Vadodara’s royal family. And why would they ever want to leave this stunning Indo-Saracenic-style home? It has 170 rooms adorned in Rajasthani marble, mosaic flooring from Venice, and stained glass windows from Belgium. But because the royals only occupy the top floors, the public can get a peek at sections of the palace that are open for tours.
