World's largest palace
Comparison of world's large palaces
Table:
Rank

Name

Country

Place

Floor Area

Notes

Source

Image

1

Palace of the Parliament

Romania

Bucharest

330,000 square metres (3,552,090 sq ft)

The Fauxpalace of the Parliament is the world's largest administrative building (for civilian use; The Pentagon in the United States is larger). It measures 270 m by 240 m, 86 m high, and 92 m under ground. It has 1,100 rooms and is 12 stories tall, with additional 8 underground levels.[23] The palace was intended to be used by Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania's supreme ruler and dictator. Colossal parliament building known for its ornate interior, it is now housing the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, three museums and an international conference center. The National Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Totalitarianism and Socialist Realism and the Museum of the Palace are hosted inside the palace.[24]

[23][24]

Palace of the Parliament

2

Hofburg Palace

Austria

Vienna

240,000 square metres (2,583,339 sq ft)

Former imperial palace in the centre of Vienna. Part of the palace forms the official residence and workplace of the President of Austria. Built in the 13th century and expanded in the centuries since, the palace has housed some of the most powerful people in European and Austrian history, including monarchs of the Habsburg dynasty, rulers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was the principal imperial winter residence. The palace has 2600 rooms.

[25][26]

Hofburg Palace

3

Louvre Palace

France

Paris

210,000 square metres (2,260,421 sq ft)

Royal residence of the kings of France for 300 years, the modern day Louvre Museum exhibitions occupy 60,600 square metres (652,293 sq ft). The entire palace complex occupies 40 hectares (4,305,564 sq ft) (400 000 square meters).

[27]

Louvre Palace

4

Ak Saray

Turkey

Ankara

200,020 square metres (2,152,997 sq ft)

The official presidential palace of the Republic of Turkey since 2014.

[28][29]

Ak Saray (White Palace)

5

Istana Nurul Iman

Brunei

Bandar Seri Begawan

200,000 square metres (2,152,782 sq ft)

Official residence of the Sultan of Brunei. The largest functioning royal palace in the world.

[15]

Istana Nurul Iman Palace

6

Apostolic Palace

Vatican City

Vatican City

162,000 square metres (1,743,753 sq ft)

Current Papal Palace and Vatican Museums in Rome.

[30]

Apostolic Palace

7

Forbidden City

China

Beijing

150,000 square metres (1,614,587 sq ft)

With an enclosed area of 720,000 square meters (178 acres), it is the world's largest palace complex.

[31]

Forbidden City

8

Malbork Castle

Poland

Malbork

143,000 square metres (1,539,239 sq ft)

Located in Poland, Malbork Castle is the largest castle in the world. The castle was founded in 1274 by the Teutonic Knights who used it as their headquarters to help defeat Polish enemies and rule their own northern Baltic territories. The castle was expanded several time to host the growing number of Knights until their retreat to Königsburg in 1466.

[32]

Malbork Castle

9

Royal Palace of Madrid

Spain

Madrid

135,000 square metres (1,453,128 sq ft)

The largest functioning palace in Europe.

[12]

Royal Palace of Madrid

10

Quirinal Palace

Italy

Rome

110,500 square metres (1,189,412 sq ft)

Ancient Pope's palace and current presidential palace of the President of the Italian Republic. The presidential residence also has a garden with an area of 430,556,417 square feet (40.000 square metres or 4 hectares).

[33][34]

Quirinal Palace in Rome

11

Abdeen Palace

Egypt

Cairo

108,000 square metres (1,162,502 sq ft)

The construction of the palace bagan in 1863 and the was officially opened in 1874. In 1921 Sultan Fuad I added the gardens. The total size of the palace complex is 192,000 square metres.

Abdeen Palace

12

Falaknuma Palace

India

Hyderabad

93,971 square metres (1,011,495 sq ft)

Built in the year 1889 in Hyderabad, India it was owned by the Nizams, the rulers of the princely state of Hyderabad, until 1950.

Falaknuma Palace

13

Palace of Venaria

Italy

Venaria Reale

80,000 square metres (861,113 sq ft)

The Palace was designed and built from 1675 by Amedeo di Castellamonte, it is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy.

Palace of Venaria

14

Buckingham Palace

United Kingdom

London

77,000 square metres (828,821 sq ft)

A royal residence since George III bought Buckingham House in 1761 for his wife Queen Charlotte and has been the official London residence of the UK’s sovereign since Queen Victoria took up residence in July 1837. The palace contains 775 rooms and has a garden 40 acres in size.

[35][36]

Buckingham Palace

15

Prague Castle

Czech Republic

Prague

70,000 square metres (753,474 sq ft)

Seat of power for kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman emperors, presidents of Czechoslovakia and currently presidents of the Czech Republic. Dating back to the 9th century and at about 570 meters in length and an average of about 130 meters wide, the Guinness Book of Records lists Prague Castle as the largest ancient castle in the world.

[37]

Prague Castle

16

Topkapi Palace

Turkey

Istanbul

70,000 square metres (753,474 sq ft)

Primary residence of the Ottoman Dynasty for approximately 400 years. The entire palace complex including grounds occupies 700,000 square metres.

[38][39]

Topkapi Palace

17

Palace of Versailles

France

Versailles

63,154 square metres (679,784 sq ft)

World's largest royal domain with 87,728,720 square feet (8,150,265 m2) or 2,014 acres of palace grounds.

[40]

Palace of Versailles

18

Royal Palace of Stockholm

Sweden

Stockholm

61,210 square metres (658,859 sq ft)

Claims to be world's largest palace still used for its original purpose, despite its smaller floor area.

Royal Palace of Stockholm

19

Palace of Caserta

Italy

Caserta

61,000 square metres (656,599 sq ft)

Royal Palace of House of Bourbon. It is the largest royal palace of the World by volume, with 2 millions cubic meters.

[41]

Reggia di Caserta

20

Winter Palace

Russia

Saint Petersburg

60,000 square metres (645,835 sq ft)

Currently part of 1,978,622 square feet (183,820 m2) Hermitage Museum.

[11]

The Winter Palace

21

Mannheim Palace

Germany

Mannheim

60,000 square metres (645,835 sq ft)

Mannheimer Residenz is the main palace of the Prince-electors of the Electorate of the Palatinate of the House of Wittelsbach. The 6 hectare (60,000 square meter) castle is one of Europe's largest palaces and the second largest baroque palace (after Versailles).

Mannheim Palace

22

Windsor Castle

United Kingdom

Windsor

54,835 square metres (590,239 sq ft)

Castle which dates back to around 1070 and has 5455 acres of royal parkland. Many famous people associated with British Royalty are buried in St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle including Henry VIII.

It is also the World's largest and oldest inhabited castle.

[32]

Windsor Castle

23

Christiansborg Palace

Denmark

Copenhagen

51,660 square metres (556,064 sq ft)

The seat of the Danish Parliament, the Prime Minister's Office and the Supreme Court. Also, several parts of the palace are used by the monarchy, including the Royal Reception Rooms, the Palace Chapel and the Royal Stables. Christiansborg Palace has a more than 800 year-long history as the state's centre of power as royal palace and parliament.[42][43]

[44]

Christiansborg Palace

24

Hampton Court Palace

United Kingdom

Richmond upon Thames

47,330 square metres (509,456 sq ft)

Palace dating back to 1515 containing 1000 rooms and grounds comprising 60 acres of formal gardens and 750 acres of royal parkland.

[45][46]

Hampton Court

25

Grand Serail

Lebanon

Beirut

39,970 square metres (430,233 sq ft)

Headquarters of the Prime Minister of Lebanon

Hamidiyyeh Clock Tower

26

Mafra National Palace

Portugal

Mafra

39,948 square metres (429,997 sq ft)

The Mafra National Palace is a monumental Baroque and Italianized Neoclassical palace-monastery located in Mafra, Portugal.

27

Royal Palace of Brussels

Belgium

Brussels

33,027 square metres (355,500 sq ft)

Palace in Brussels dating back to 1783. The Royal Palace of Brussels is the official palace of the Sovereign of Belgium, However it is not used as a royal residence, as the king and his family live in the Royal Castle of Laeken on the outskirts of Brussels.

[47]

Bruxels April 2012-4

28

Palazzo Pitti

Italy

Florence

32,000 square metres (344,445 sq ft)

Renaissance, palace, the core of the present palazzo dates from 1458. The palace was bought by the Medici family in 1549 and became the chief residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. In the late 18th century, the palazzo was used as a power base by Napoleon, and later served for a brief period as the principal royal palace of the newly united Italy. The complex also includes the Boboli Gardens (320,000 square meters).

[48]

Palazzo Pitti

29

Frederiksborg Palace

Denmark

Hillerød

31,290 square metres (336,803 sq ft)

It was built as a royal residence for King Christian IV and is now a museum of national history. The current edifice replaced a previous castle erected by Frederick II and is the largest Renaissance palace in Scandinavia. The entire palace complex including grounds occupies 95 hektar (950,000 square metres).[49]

[50]

Frederiksborg Palace

30

Schoenbrunn Palace

Austria

Vienna

31,056 square metres (334,284 sq ft)

Baroque Palace dating back to the 1740s. The grounds of Schönbrunn, a World Heritage Site, cover 160 hectares.

[51][52]

Schönbrunn, Viedeň, Rakúsko

31

El Escorial

Spain

San Lorenzo de El Escorial

30,658 square metres (330,000 sq ft)

Monastery of the Order of Saint Augustine, Royal Palace and Royal Pantheon.

[53]

El Escorial

32

Kronborg

Denmark

Helsingør

28,724 square metres (309,183 sq ft)

Immortalized as Elsinore in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and has been added to UNESCO's World Heritage Sites list (2000).[54][55]

[56]

Kronborg

33

Amalienborg

Denmark

Copenhagen

26,500 square metres (285,244 sq ft)

Home of the Danish royal family, It consists of four identical classical palace façades with rococo interiors around an octagonal courtyard, in the centre of the square is a monumental equestrian statue of Amalienborg's founder, King Frederick V.[57]

[58]

Amalienborg Palace

34

Grand Kremlin Palace

Russia

Moscow

24,100 square metres (259,410 sq ft)

It includes the earlier Terem Palace, nine churches from the 14th, 16th, and 17th centuries, the Holy Vestibule, and over 700 rooms.

[59]

Grand Kremlin Palace

35

Munich Residenz

Germany

Munich

23,000 square metres (247,570 sq ft)

The Residenz, with its 130 rooms and ten courtyards, is the former royal palace of the Wittelsbach monarchs of Bavaria and the largest city palace in Germany. The three main parts are the Königsbau, the Alte Residenz and the Festsaalbau. A wing of the Festsaalbau also contains the Cuvilliés Theatre and the Herkulessaal (Hercules Hall). Also included in The Residenz is the Byzantine Court Church of All Saints (Allerheiligen-Hofkirche) and the Marstall, the building for the former Court Riding School and the royal stables.

[60]

36

Rashtrapati Bhavan

India

Delhi

200,000 square feet (18,581 m2)

The official presidential palace of the Republic of India.

[61]

Rashtrapati Bhavan

37

Ras El Tin Palace

Egypt

Alexandria

17,000 square metres (182,986 sq ft)

Construction began in 1834, taking eleven years to complete the original design in 1845. Complementary work and the construction of additional wings continued for two more years until 1847, when it was officially inaugurated by Muhammed Ali of Egypt.

Ras El Tin Palace

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