On Friday, Rich and Sue handed me a free ticket and I was on my way to yet another trip to this 250-room French Renaissance-style chateau that first opened in 1895.
Rich and Sue are annual pass holders and were given four free tickets. They shared these with me, Becky, Bob, and Susan and that was the impetus for our winter weekend in Asheville. The snow still on the ground in places around the estate lent a special touch to our visit. The 3-mile drive from the main gate up to the house was beautiful. |
The youngest son of W.H. Vanderbilt did not follow his brothers in the family railroad business, but chose instead a life of learning and travel. He is perhaps best known for his magnificent Biltmore Estate, where he gathered experts in architecture, landscaping, agriculture, and forestry to create his self-sustaining European-style estate. | With a table that extends to seat 64 and a ceiling that arched 70 feet in the air, this room was a regal setting for George to host his guests at formal dinner parties. The Banquet Hall houses five priceless 16th-century Flemish tapestries and flags of the 13 original colonies. |
The magnificent glass-ceilinged room is a dramatic example of the turn-of-the-century love of plants and flowers. The Winter Garden is much the same as it was in Vanderbilt's time with tropical greenery and an ever-changing variety of flowering plants. | Housing over 10,000 of the 23,000 books in the Biltmore House collection, the Library reflects George Vanderbilt's love of learning and the arts. The impressive 18th-century canvas on the Library ceiling, painted by Giovanni Pellerini, was brought to Biltmore House in 17 pieces from the Pisani Palace in Venice, Italy. |
From the windows of his bedroom, George Vanderbilt could view most of the 125,000 acres which made up his Biltmore Estate at the turn-of-the-century. The bedroom is dressed in rich reds and hand-carved walnut furnishings designed specifically for the room by architect Richard Morris Hunt. | One of the most ornate of the 35 bedrooms in the house, Mrs. Vanderbilt's Bedroom is furnished in a style considered appropriately feminine for a turn-of-the-century woman: Loius XV-style furniture, gilded fixtures and furnishings, and cut and uncut silk imported from Lyon, France. |
If you have never visited the Biltmore Estate, I highly recommend it to you. As a North Carolinian, it's something we are quite proud of and like to show off.
Plan a visit this Spring to see over 50,000 tulips and Dutch iris in bloom. The Walled Garden is thought to be one of the finest examples of English-styled gardens in America. Bring your bicycle and ride the carriage roads and bike paths to see the beauty of the grounds just as landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted planned a century ago.
Between the house and gardens, you can spend the entire day here when you add the winery tour and tasting, and a bit of shopping as we did. Well, you get the message...put the Biltmore House on your bucket list...you won't regret it!!