The Biltmore Estate
The Biltmore House and Estate are usually the first reason people come to visit Asheville. It is the largest private home ever built in North America, and the statistics are staggering (for fun, we’ve included some below).
The house is open from 8:30 to 5:30 every day except New Year’s, and that will probably change to every day this year. Rates go from $39 per person on up—depending on whether you’re getting the two-day pass, annual pass, Vanderbilt pass, etc.
The original size of the estate was 125,000 acres (probably larger than Rhode Island, and that may be because the Vanderbilts were always trying to outdo one another with their estates, and most of them were in Newport, R.I.). The current size is approximately 8,000 acres, which is still huge, when you consider that Asheville now pretty much surrounds it.
We are located about four blocks from the entrance to the estate (Biltmore Village lies between us and the entrance). Biltmore House itself is three miles from the entrance—and is, in fact, at least that far from the winery and hotel. So you do not walk to the house from anywhere, although you are free to walk the grounds once you have gone through the entrance gate.
Biltmore Estate has a wide variety of activities in addition to the house. There is the winery (we’re told the most-visited in the country). Recently added are an equestrian center, carriage rides, and an outdoor center. The estate often has activities and concerts (if you buy the annual pass, they’ll keep you informed). There are also three restaurants and shops, with more on the way. The newest addition is the Inn on Biltmore Estate, which people often confuse with us (no way—they have more than 200 rooms).
The two biggest seasons on the Biltmore Estate are Christmas and fall color. The color season is essentially October; Christmas includes both November and December. During those times, and other busy seasons, the Estate has what is called “timed entry” to the house on Saturdays. That means you must go to the entry, and get a time to go in the house.
OUR BIG ADVANTAGE for timed entry is this: The grounds open at 8, so you can go over to the estate before breakfast, get your time for your party (take all the tickets) and return for breakfast. Then you can enter at your leisure.
We’ll tell you lots of other things about the Biltmore Estate when you get here.
