A look inside the world’s most expensive house | CNN

A look inside the world’s most expensive house

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by The Spaces, a digital publication exploring new ways to live and work.

CNN  — 

A Cap Ferrat mansion that was once home to Belgian King Leopold II has gone on the market for 350 million euros ($410 million) – making it the most expensive home for sale in the world.

Villa Les Cèdres was built in 1830. The 18,000-square-foot mansion sits within 35 acres of landscaped grounds on the Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat coast. Its rooms are ornately appointed with paneling, coffered ceilings, period moldings and elaborate chandeliers.

According to Bloomberg, its library holds some 3,000 books, including a 17th-century botanical codex, which is also for sale, alongside carpets, paintings and furniture from the villa.

King Leopold bought Villa Les Cèdres in 1904 and expanded its grounds. His blue-and-gold sigil is mounted on one of the sitting room’s walls, while portraits of his mistress still hang in the rooms.

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Villa Les Cèdres was later owned by the Marnier-Lapostolle family (of Grand Marnier fame) who cultivated its cedar and palm trees, as well as the olive groves and orchards surrounding the French property, some of which date back 300 years.

Italian distiller Davide Campari-Milano SpA acquired the 14-bedroom home last year, and it’s now offered for sale via Savills.

If the Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat home goes for its asking price, it will become the most expensive residential sale in history. It trumps LA’s Clampett estate in Bel Air, which listed in August for $350 million.

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