Forty-five miles northwest of San Luis Obispo, the hilltop Hearst Castle is one of the most extravagant houses in the world. The home where publisher William Randolph Hearst held court over such guests as Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin, George Bernard Shaw and Charles Lindbergh now brings in over a million visitors a year. Its interior combines walls, floors and ceilings ripped from European churches and castles with Gothic fireplaces and Moorish tiles, while nearly every room bursts with Greek vases and medieval tapestries. Ironically, the same financial power and public infamy which allowed Hearst to hoard these artifacts have made them viewable to more people than they would have had they remained in the lands where they were created.

Work on Hearst's 250,000-acre ranch began in 1919, managed by architect Julia Morgan (also famous for designing the Spanish Colonial newspaper complex housing Hearst's own Los Angeles Herald Tribune ), who designed each room and building in the spirit of the works destined to be housed inside. The castle was never truly completed: rooms were torn out as soon as they were finished in order to accommodate yet more acquired booty. The main facade, a twin-towered copy of a Mudejar cathedral, stands atop steps curving up from the world's most photographed swimming pool, filled with spring water and lined by a massive neoclassical colonnade - the height of aesthetic glory, or irredeemably vulgar kitsch, depending on your taste.

The most dramatic time to visit is in the morning when the coastal fog hides the world below. Four different, two-hour guided tours (summer daily 8am-4pm; rest of year 8.20am-3.20pm; $10 unless specified; tel 1-800/444-4445, ) leave from the visitors center just off Hwy-1. A tour is essential, as are reservations; new visitors are directed to the so-called "Experience Tour" ($14) which provides a basic overview of the castle and its treasures. In the spring and fall, the evening tour series ($20) is guided by docents in period dress leading visitors through the castle, speaking of Hearst in the present tense.

Hearst Castle

• Hearst Castle
• W.R. Hearst - Citizen Kane

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