Spanish for “house on the hill,” Casa Loma is the stuff of fairy tales. Completed in 1914, it was originally home to Sir Henry Pellatt, a wealthy businessman who lived here for less than 10 years before he lost his fortune. The extravagant folly boasted 98 rooms (including 30 bathrooms), 25 fireplaces, 39 servants, 5,000 electric lights and 59 telephones (plus a switchboard), and required 300 men to build it. Designed by E.J. Lennox, the architect responsible for Old City Hall, Toronto’s original monster home cost $3.5 million (the equivalent of $60 million today). Twenty-some rooms have been fully restored, most notably Lady Pellatt’s second-floor suite, resplendent with blue and silver panelled walls and elegant furniture in pastel shades. The Norman and Scottish towers are open to the public and offer fabulous views of the city; they’re reached via narrow iron spiral staircases.