Southern Trip: Biltmore Estate

April 13, 2021

Southern Trip: Biltmore Estate

All good things come to an end, and so did our vacation.

But before heading home, our last stop was the Biltmore Estate- found in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina.

This is the largest house in the U.S. The house itself contains 4 acres of floor space- including 35 bedrooms and 43 bathrooms.

It was built by George Vanderbilt, the grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt (who made a fortune from railroads). Apparently the family fortune was still going pretty strong 2 generations later.

They started building it exactly 100 years before me... 1889. It was finished in 1895, and was opened for the public to tour in 1930 (I'm guessing the Great Depression had something to do with that).

It definitely gave me Loire Valley chateau vibes both inside and out.

The entrance hall/sunroom:

I enjoyed the art collected from all over Europe- here's a Dürer print, a 14th century Flemish tapestry, and a Renoir.

This was David's favorite room- the banquet hall, featuring a multi-story fireplace and an organ.

This was my favorite room- the library, featuring 20,000 books and Napoleon Bonaparte's chess set.

But to be honest, it's hard to choose when there were no shortage of impressive rooms.

I loved the spiral staircase too!

The basement boasted a bowling alley, an (empty) swimming pool, a gym, and the servant's quarters.

I have to guess that George Vanderbilt was not a big fan of people, because the Biltmore is super isolated from everything... especially compared to New York, where he was from.

He lived there with his wife Edith and their one and only child Cornelia... plus about 30 servants. It's funny to think about how spoiled that girl must have been growing up as an only child in this palace.

The grounds were huge- just driving to the parking lot from the entrance took a while. After touring the house we spent a while checking out the gardens, conservatory, and views of the Blue Ridge mountains.