Hearst Castle - San Simeon, California

Address:750 Hearst Castle Road
San Simeon, California
Tel: (800) 444-4445

Hearst Castle, the extravagant former home of newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst, is located on a cliff by the ocean, halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Castle, which was donated to the State of California in 1957, is rich with historic European architectural styles and is still furnished to this day with priceless art, antiques and entire ceilings shipped from Egypt. The entire estate has 56 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 19 sitting rooms, 127 acres of gardens, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts, a movie theater, and a zoo filled with exotic animals. Just as Hearst Castle was once a delight to the guests such as Charlie Chaplin, Joan Crawford, and the Marx Brothers, who were just a sampling of the elite guests to be hosted here, so it remains today to visitors who come to see the Castle from all over the world, thus it is recommended to those who plan to drop by "the ranch" to book tickets in advance. This 90,080-foot ornate estate should definitely not be missed - there is nothing quite like it!

In 1865, George Hearst, a wealthy miner, purchased 40,000-acres of ranchland that included the Mexican Ranchos of Piedras Blancas, San Simeon and Santa Rosa. In 1919, his only son, William Randolph Hearst, inherited the land from his mother, Phoebe Apperson Hearst. By then the ranch had grown to encompass 250,000 acres. Originally known as "Camp Hill," its wilderness offered a place for family members and friends to "rough it" on camping trips. Despite elaborate arrangements with separate sleeping and dining tents, Hearst envisioned more comfortable accommodations. His simple instructions to famed San Francisco architect Julia Morgan in 1919: "Miss Morgan, we are tired of camping out in the open at the ranch in San Simeon and I would like to build a little something."