I finally visited The Biltmore Estate
The Biltmore Estate was built by George Vanderbilt II in Asheville North Carolina. Construction started in 1889 and was completed in 1895. To this day, it is still the largest privately owned home in the USA. Although no one lives in the house today, Vanderbilt’s decesendants still live on the Biltmore property.
I was a camper at a camp near the Biltmore while in high school, and that is when I first heard about the Biltmore Estate. In the 23 years since I graduated high school, I have been meaning to go back and visit the house. I finally went in the beginning of October of 2021.
On the property, you can not only tour the inside of the house, but there is also a gardens to visit, a shopping area called Antler Hill that has a winery, a shopping area/ restuarants in the carriage house next to the house, two hotels as well as horses that you can ride. There are also 20+ miles of hikinf trails on property. A full day can easily be spent visiting the Biltmore property.
When I visited, my tour of the house was at 3:30 PM, so I spent the morning visiting Antler Hill, and trying some of the wine that the winery has to offer in their tasting room. Biltmore offers free taste testing of their wines, but make sure you reserve your spot when arriving to the Biltmore, spots fill up fast!
