Chateau de Fontainebleau: France’s forgotten jewel


You’ve visited the Louvre, Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle. You’ve been to Versailles and perhaps even made a trip to the chateaus of the Loire Valley.

Is there anything else of the same calibre near Paris for those who love the classic ideals of French architecture and decorative arts? The answer is a resounding yes: the Chateau de Fontainebleau.

Far less familiar to travellers than Versailles, and drawing fewer than one-seventh the number of visitors who flock to the Sun King’s domain, Fontainebleau, 72km south of Paris, isn’t exactly unknown…. (View original article)

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Château de Bonneval and The Devils Tower – Coussac-Bonneval, France | Atlas Obscura


Nestled out in the Haute-Vienne department in western France you’ll find one of the earliest French aristocratic homes. Château de Bonneval is the site of one thousand years of Bonneval family history, including the legend of the Devil’s Tower.

Documents have dated the construction of this castle to the early 11th century. Over the years, legends of a visit from the devil have painted the castle in the spooky light. Roughly, the legend says that long ago an earthquake shook the villa… (View original article)

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GETAWAY: Biltmore (on a budget) – Winston-Salem Journal: Features

George Vanderbilt dreamed of a palatial estate. He remembered with longing the elegance of a French chateau, the rolling hills, and soaring views. He sought to re-create a similar storied paradise in the mountains of North Carolina in the late 1800s. The result was Asheville’s Biltmore Estate, which plays host to travelers and day-trippers 365 days a year.

For years, like so many places that cater to discriminating clientele, Biltmore remained unattai… (View original article)

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Mohamed Hadid displays Quran in his lavish home for exclusive Harper’s Bazaar cover | Al Bawaba


Le Belvédère, his 48,000-square-foot home, sits on 2.2 acres and includes a pool and gardens on the grounds. (Instagram)

Gigi Hadid is certainly raking in the big bucks now that she’s a successful supermodel, but the 21-year-old millionaire’s still got nothing on her father. 

Mohamed Hadid, 67, is positively loaded — and the proof is in his incredible Bel Air mansion, luxuriously named Le Belvédère.

Mohamad and his wife Shiva Safai gave a peek insid… (View original article)

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Sydney waterfront home in Hunters Hill sells for $11m in just 15 minutes | Daily Mail Online

Published:
01:19 EST, 4 October 2016
|
Updated:
03:15 EST, 4 October 2016

A waterfront mansion in an exclusive Sydney suburb has sold for an incredible $11 million in just 15 minutes after it went under the hammer.

The four-bedroom, four-bathroom waterfront home in Hunters Hill, in Sydney’s North Shore, allowed the former owners to pocket $4.3 million after they purchased the estate in 2005 for $6.7 million.

But the record price did not come as a shock with t… (View original article)

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National Trust’s Shugborough takeover leads to 56 job cuts – BBC News

Image caption

Shugborough was once the home of photographer Lord Lichfield, the 5th Earl of Lichfield, who was a cousin of the Queen, and who died in 2005

More than 50 jobs are to go at Shugborough Estate as the National Trust takes on the running of the mansion house.

Staffordshire County Council, which leased the grade-I listed property from the trust, has been losing about £650,000 a year running it.

The trust said 12 staff are staying on and more volunteers… (View original article)

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Princeton real estate guide: The Aquinas Institute | MercerSpace.com

The Aquinas Institute’s former home at 65 Stockton Street is now being renovated by its new owners. The Aquinas Institute moves across town
Where is a Catholic to go? For those living in the eastern half of Princeton, the answer is typically St. Paul’s, which had its start in Princeton in 1795 and has called 214 Nassau Street home since the mid-19th century.

For Catholics in the western section, the answer used to be the Aquinas Institute. But when the Aquinas Institute left its Stoc… (View original article)

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Live Like a Movie Mogul in Beverly Hills’ $40M Warner Mansion


The legendary Beverly Hills home built by Warner Bros. co-founder Harry Warner has just been put on the market for $40 million. The stately mansion recently played a prominent role as O.J. Simpson‘s home in the Emmy-winning series “The People v. O.J. Simpson.”

Its recent star turn aside, the acre-plus property became legendary even before it was built in 1923. Warner hired a young Paul Williams, the first African-American member of the American Institute of Architects, to design the … (View original article)

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$6.9 million Malibu mansion owned by Denise Richards now being rented by Angelina Jolie | Daily Mail Online

Published:
15:30 EST, 4 October 2016
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Updated:
16:56 EST, 4 October 2016

Angelina’s new gated hideaway in Hidden Hills is a spacious mansion owned by Charlie Sheen’s ex-wife Denise Richards.

The 8,300-square-foot residence with six bedrooms and eight bathrooms was first purchased by former Bond girl Denise in 2007 following her divorce and she filmed her reality TV series It’s Complicated there.

The former Playboy cover girl, 45, has since remodeled the home… (View original article)

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Family feud leads to bankruptcy, sale of opulent Olmos Park mansion – San Antonio Express-News

Photo: William Luther, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

Jeffrey Jaffe’s 1920s home at 300 Alameda Circle in Olmos Park, seen Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2016, will be sold as part of Jaffe’s bankruptcy reorganization plan. The mansion is 12,000 square feet and has seven bedrooms and 7.5 baths.

Jeffrey Jaffe’s 1920s home at 300 Alameda Circle in Olmos Park,…

The stately mansion perched atop the highest point in tony Olmos Park has hosted gra… (View original article)

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