6 picturesque homes in apartments abroad
Featuring a wall of windows in Costa Rica and a luxury department store-turned-home in New Zealand

Paris, France
The 1915 building housing this three-bedroom apartment is in the 6th arrondissement’s Raspail Notre-Dame-des-Champs neighborhood. The south-facing home features a curved living room with multiple balconies, decorative crown molding, plaster wall details, and herringbone floors; a study with dark wood paneling and built-ins; a formal dining room; and a modern galley kitchen.
The Luxembourg Gardens are walking distance; Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Pont Neuf are a short drive. $3,260,000. Carole de Vellou, Daniel Féau Conseil Immobilier/ Luxury Portfolio International, +33-18-479-6807.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
From an 1888 building in Amsterdam Oud-West, this street-level duplex condo looks out on two canals. The recently renovated three-bedroom home has an open layout, oversized windows, white herringbone floors, two baths and a laundry, a living room with gas fireplace, an ultramodern chef’s kitchen, and French doors opening to a balcony with stairs leading down to a walled garden patio.
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Leidseplein, the Vondelpark, and the Rijksmuseum are all nearby. $1,393,000. Karina Nipperus, The Agency Netherlands, +31-63-875-5221.
Mayakoba, Mexico
The Fairmont Residences in Mayakoba is on the Riviera Maya about an hour south of Cancún. This top-story three-bedroom apartment features an organic-modern, open living area with travertine floors, inlaid-wood ceilings and built-ins, a minimalist kitchen with Smeg appliances, and pocket glass doors opening to a patio with a private pool.
Property amenities include concierge and butler service, nature trails, a golf course, spas, dining, and a dive center. $1,900,000. Tomas Capella, Mayakoba Fairmont Residences, +52-984-807-9007.
Auckland, New Zealand
The Heritage Hotel was once a luxury department store, and this penthouse was its grand tearoom, designed in 1930 by U.S.-born architect Roy Lippincott. The modern home with four en-suite bedrooms has the original floor-to-ceiling steel-framed windows with Auckland Harbour Bridge views, art deco barrel ceiling, wood floors, exposed brick, spiral staircase, and a custom kitchen with a butler’s pantry.
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Building amenities include swimming pools, a gym and room service. $6,000,000. Patrick McAteer, New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty, +64-21-664-859.
Bologna, Italy
Once occupied by 19th-century statesman Marco Minghetti, this home is lodged in an early Renaissance building in Bologna’s Centro Storico (Old Town). The five-bedroom apartment features arched and vaulted ceilings; floor-to-ceiling arched windows; wall murals; a loggia with Venetian-style terrazzo flooring; an airy, ornate living room and dining area; a library; and a finished lower level under exposed-brick vaults.
Outside is a leafy private garden with a fountain. $4,732,000. Mattia Salvi, Engel & Völkers Bologna, +39-05-133-1460.
San José, Costa Rica
This two-bedroom home is in a modern building in the San Rafael de Escazú suburb, 30 minutes’ drive from the capital’s downtown. The furnished fifth-floor apartment has tiled floors, curved walls, and high ceilings; walls of windows framing trees, mountains and sunsets; an open kitchen; and a primary bedroom with walk-in closet and tiled and pebble-lined bathroom with glass-walled shower.
The complex’s amenities include a pool, a hot tub, a sauna, and a gym. $210,000. Andrés Espinach Bonilla, Costa Rica Sotheby’s International Realty, +506-8613-8279.
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