House and Gardens

When you arrive at the estate, you must purchase a ticket to travel further onto the property. This is when you make a decision as to how you plan on touring the house. There are many options. The two most popular tours are the self guided tour and the audio tour. There are also several special tours that one can purchase to view rooms not open to the public or to get a personal tour guide. I recommend the audio tour. The self guided tour allows you to see the same rooms as in the audio tour, but the guidebook only gives a brief description of each room. The audio tour provides lots of additional details. It is definitely worth the extra money. The gardens are in walking distance of the house. Each season provides a new experience. Spring is noted for the brightly colored tulips. Summer is known for the brilliant patterns formed by blooming annuals and perennials. Falls arrival is heralded by blooming chrysanthemums. Pansies abound in the winter. Don't miss the conservatory. It is full of green plants and blooming hot house varieties.

Restaurants

There are three main restaurants and several quick service locations where you can pick up a sandwich, have a pastry, or break for ice cream on the estate. The Deerpark Restaurant is famous for its lunch buffet made up of Southern style home cooking. The Stable Café is known for great sandwiches, burgers, and barbeque. My favorite is the Bistro located by the winery. I love its European Country décor and the freshness of the food. Many of the ingredients used at this restaurant are grown on the estate. I always choose one of their salads and homemade brick oven pizzas.

Winery

The Winery gets a little better every year. There is a great walking tour that takes you through the wine making process. A wine tasting is provided at the end of the tour. The wine guides really strive to make everyone feel comfortable. They are knowledgeable and really help those inexperienced wine tasters find a great wine. For those wine connoisseurs, they are knowledgeable enough to assist them as well. For families touring the Winery, they provide Concord grape juice for the kids during the tasting. They have added several free special wine related demonstrations. My favorite is the Red Wine and Chocolate Seminar. The Winery also has a large gift shop filled with wines and accessories.

Be sure to plan on spending six to eight hours at the estate. You will definitely need a car to get around. There is a long drive from the entrance to the welcome center where you'll purchase your tickets and see a short informational film on the estate. From there you will drive quite a distance to the house, or a restaurant, or the winery. My perfect day at Biltmore begins with lunch at the Bistro followed by a tour of the house. It takes approximately an hour and a half to two hours to tour the house. We usually take an ice cream break after the tour before taking a long walk through the gardens and the conservatory. If we are feeling really energetic, we may walk down to the bass pond before heading over to the Winery. We end our day with a tour of the winery, a wine tasting, before purchasing some wine to take home. I hope you take a day to visit the Biltmore Estate it is a great way to spend a day.

When I was ten my mother took us on a spontaneous road trip. We had no set destination but eventually landed at the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, North Carolina. For those of you who don't like to fly by the seat of your pants, planning a trip to the Biltmore is easy. Driving in is super convenient with the home sites Regional Driving Directions page. The Estate is about 15 minutes from Ashville Regional Airport which is serviced by most major airlines and car rental companies. Or you could Greyhound it, landing about four miles from the Estate.

Being there…

The Festival of Flowers is being held until May 20th. You can listen to classical music under the arbor, ask gardening questions to the masters, or enjoy wine and chocolate while your children stomp the grapes. During their summer evening concert series you can watch the sun set over the Blue Ridge Mountains while you watch Chicago perform, yes, Chicago. Fall hosts the Harvest Celebration with abundant activities and the changing of the leaves in the mountains, need I say more? It was Christmas time when I went so the Mansion stood in stark contrast to the evergreens surrounding it. Inside a choir sang in the recessed greenhouse-like entry and the smell of cinnamon filled the air from the kitchens below. These days you can experience their Candlelight Christmas Evenings, but it is best to purchase those tickets online at biltmore.com where you can find lots of other details.

Building memories…

As Americans we are the “young country” and as such are starved for true old world culture. The Biltmore embodies the opulence of antiquity fused with American modernism. Treat yourself to a unique and unforgettable experience.

See America's only true castle for yourself.