Estate agents have put the world’s most expensive home on the market – for a staggering US$1.1 billion.
Nestling on the hillside, the immense Villa les Cedres is set in 14 hectares of gardens was built in 1830 at St Jean Cap Ferrat, a small promontory outside Nice looking out to the Mediterranean Sea.
The home was sold to King Leopold of Belgium in 1904. The king never lived at the home, but gave the property over to his ‘friend’ Caroline Delacroix.
In 1924, the villa was bought by Alexandre Lapostolle, of the liquor dynasty Grand Marnier. The family has owned the home ever since.
His legacy was to create a botanical garden at the property that ranks as one of the best and largest on the Cote d’Azur.
Olympic sized pool
The gardens are said to have 25 huge heated greenhouses and is home to cedar trees that give the villa its name, as well as 20,000 different plant species.
For $1 billion, the next buyer inherits the gardens, a 10-bedroomed house with an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a cottage for a concierge, stables for 30 horses and a massive ballroom.
The property is the most expensive residential estate ever to go on sale.
Cap Ferrat is an exclusive residential neighbourhood boasting many huge and expensive villas.
Other local properties on the market with a price tag topping $1 million include a four-bedroom villa at Antibes with four bathrooms and stunning sea views with an asking price of $7.8 million.
Fortress for sale
Further afield, another luxury home on the market is the 80-bed Castle Valer in the Dolomites, north of Venice.
The castle goes to auction with a close to $40 million asking price.
The ancient fortress has remained in the same hands for 650 years. The castle and outbuildings dominate the surrounding countryside, so much so they were a base for artillery in World War 1.
Built between 1200 and 1700, the castle has a mass of historic features that remain despite a modern restoration that has taken more than two decades to complete. The fortress sits in close to 20 acres of lawns and gardens.
Owner Count Spaur zu Flavon und Valer will not say why he is selling but is resigned to moving on.
