On the Dalkey Riviera - for €25 million

The stamp duty bill will be €2.2 million if Monte Alverno reaches its target price of €25 million. Property Editor Orna Mulcahyreports.

The Russian oligarchs who are swarming all over the French Riviera buying up villas clearly haven't heard of Dalkey where the views from the best houses rival anything in the Med.

Six-bedroom Monte Alverno set high on Sorrento Road looking out over Killiney Bay has 1.2 acres of Italianate gardens that include a swimming pool, tennis court, rock gardens, woodland and a lookout tower to take in the spectacular views.

It's on the market at €25 million. Sherry FitzGerald says it's confident of finding a buyer despite the uncertainty shrouding the Dublin property market in the run up the general election. The stamp duty alone will be €2.2 million. "It's a very special house," says selling agent Simon Ensor. "The views are magical and the house faces south unlike many of the coastal homes on this side of the city."

Sharing a driveway with Van Morrison, Monte Alverno is well protected behind high electronically controlled gates off Sorrento Road, with a second set of gates leading directly into the property. The owner, a businessman with expensive taste in art and furniture, has poured money into the house since he bought it in the early 1990s from socialite Renata Coleman for an estimated €1.5 million.

It's a highly atmospheric house with the feel of a gentleman's club - full of soft leather sofas, original oak panelling and Oriental rugs scattered on polished floors. Full-time staff tend the house and grounds which are pristine. The pool, with its dragon motif floor, is filled and ready for summer. There are numerous terraces and lookout points where statues gaze out to sea.

The original Georgian house on the site was given a thorough makeover in 1895 with a new castellated facade and a wealth of Victorian Gothic detail, such as the solid oak panelling and fitted furniture provided by the renowned cabinet makers Strahan of Dublin.

During the War of Independence the house was commandeered by the British Army and the story goes that a British officer was shot in the library. A leather chesterfield sofa has a mottled red finish to intrigue the dinner guests when they are not admiring the exotic plants and koi carp in the large and steamy Victorian-style conservatory built onto an outcrop of Dalkey granite.

A superb double drawingroom has French doors opening onto the terrace where a wide flight of steps lead down to wide lawn overlooking Killiney Bay.

The Goose Room - so called for its seasonal view of migrating geese through more French windows - is a third reception room with lots of space to lounge around the fireplace. Across the hallway is the diningroom, which connects to the conservatory and the kitchen which is relatively modest by today's standards. Next door, the cellar is not open for viewing.

The main staircase has a high domed ceiling overhead and tall leaded windows throwing a rich, filtered light onto the upstairs landing.

This leads to several large and lofty bedrooms on one side, and to a cosier domain at the other where there is a study and sittingroom, and access to the tower room with windows on all sides and a final flight to the roof where the flag can be raised when owners are at home.