The Biltmore House is like exploring a real-life castle!  The house atmosphere is one of a relaxed elegance.  George and Edith Vanderbilt’s 250-room family home and country retreat in Asheville, North Carolina provides a fun and educational trip for the entire family on weekdays, a weekend or just on Saturday.

At the Biltmore House you will discover original art from masters like Renoir, 16-century tapestries, Napoleon’s chess set, and a library with 10,000 volumes.  The Banquet Hall has a 70-foot ceiling.  There are 65 fireplaces in the Biltmore House, an indoor pool, a bowling alley and many priceless antiques.  The French Renaissance chateau is America’s largest privately owned home.

Take a self-guided tour of Biltmore House for one admission fee.   You can also learn the inside stories and view rarely seen areas with guided specialty tours, most of which are offered year-round.  The guided specialty tours may be reserved in advance or the day of your visit.  Time to tour the house is about two hours, but there is more than the house to see at the Biltmore Estate.  Other attractions include:

•    Biltmore Gardens:  At your leisure and included in the self-guided tour estate admission, stroll acres of formal and informal gardens.  Frederick Law Olmsted, America’s foremost landscape architect, designed the gardens.  There is a an Italian Garden, managed forests, and Biltmore’s lush landscape as well as an All America Rose Garden that features more than 250 varieties of roses.
•    Take a motor coach tour of the estate while learning the history of the land, structures and former residents.  The cost currently in 2007 is $17.00 per guest in addition to the estate admission.
•    America’s Most-Visited Winery:  You will be able to sample the Biltmore’s award-winning red, white, rose and sparkling wines and learn a new recipe during their culinary demonstrations.  Gourmet foods, cooking accessories and other treats await you at the Wine Shop.  The self-guide visit and wine tasting is included in estate admission.
•    Behind-the-Scenes Guided Tour:  The guided tour is at 2:00 p.m. daily.  On this tour you can take a look at how the Biltmore House crafts their award-winning wines.  This tour is free with estate admission.
•    Red Wine & Chocolate Seminar at Winery:  Held daily 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.  Free with estate admission.
•    Culinary Demonstrations at Winery:  Monday through Thursday, 3:00 p.m. and Friday through Sunday, Noon to 2:00 p.m.  You will be able to watch their culinary experts prepare recipes created by the Biltmore chefs.  Free with estate admission.
•    Barrel Tasting:  This occurs daily at 4:00 p.m.  Enjoy a sample drawn directly from the barrel free with estate admission.
Are you interested in how wine is made?  Discover the art of winemaking during your self-guided tour of the Biltmore House.  You can start off with an introductory film, and then take a look at their fermentation room and corking area.  Walk through at leisure the cool cellars where wines age.

The Tasting Room

While you are enjoying your self-guided tour of the Biltmore House Winery be sure to visit their tasting room.  Enjoy complimentary samples of their award-winning wines.  The only stipulation here is that guests must be at least 21 years of age to taste the wine.  The showing of an I.D. will be required.  Children are invited to participate with grape juice.

Continued in Part 2

Important Disclaimer:  The web site address listed in the resource box of this article is not associated with the Biltmore Estate or any of its employees.  This article and the web site are for information purposes only.

Written by:  Connie Limon.  For more information about planning a trip to the Biltmore Estate visit  http://smalldogs2.com/BiltmoreEstateTripPlan For a variety of FREE reprint articles and special sections of other topics visit Camelot Articles at http://www.camelotarticles.com

This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.

© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved