Live the high life: the penthouse apartment with the best view in town

A vast £50m penthouse as large a seven-bedroom house has been planned for the top of the Shard, Europe's tallest skyscraper, it has been reported.

The centre-piece of the opulent two-level residence in London – which will take up the entirety of floors 64 and 65 and be the highest home in Europe – will be the dining hall. There, the host will have access to food from the kitchens of the Shangri La hotel below, as well as its swimming pool on the 52nd floor.

With the skyscraper not due to be officially completed until inauguration on 5 July, the homes are yet to be marketed by the building's developer, Sellar Property Group, and its agents Knight Frank.

But a source told the London Evening Standard that a gallery space on the top floor of the main apartment will offer unobstructed 360-degree views of London, giving a "manorial" feel.

Blinds will be built into the windows, coming down on sunny days to reduce glare and retracting on gloomy ones.

The Shard will have 10 apartments in total, located between floors 53 and 65. Even the lowest residence will be higher than any other home in the country – but the top one will be so luxurious it could be the closest real-life equivalent to Batman's fantasy eyrie at the top of the Bruce Wayne Foundation Building.