From the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to the star-lined Hollywood Boulevard and the sun-kissed beaches of Malibu, the Golden State of California struggles to be beaten for beauty.

This is the most populated state in the US, with 39 million residents, and home to eight of the biggest 50 cities in America with Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach and Oakland.

Nowhere tops Los Angeles when it comes to star quality though, and that tells in the standard of its homes. It’s no exaggeration to say that the mansions in and around Beverly Hills are among the most magnificent in the world and continue to attract the rich and famous. Properties here can top $100 million, realising even the most ambitious of dreams of an ideal home.

Nearby Malibu, meanwhile, is best for exclusive beachfront properties that make the most of the views of the Pacific Ocean away from the hullabaloo of the tourist hotspots at Venice and Santa Monica beaches.

Those areas alone would make California one of the most attractive destinations to purchase a property – but there’s even more to explore. Up the coast in San Francisco the properties in the Pacific Heights neighbourhood – with views over the aforementioned iconic Golden Gate Bridge – are among the most sought after in the USA.

Del Mar, La Jolla and Coronado – near San Diego in the south of the state – also offer multi-million dollar homes with ocean views that can rival their northern counterparts. San Diego itself – with its world famous zoo, Balboa Park, art galleries and museums – certainly shouldn’t be overlooked while further inland the wonders of Yosemite and Death Valley national parks are bound to draw you in.