Up On The Roof

The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina… Built by George Vanderbilt between 1888 and 1895, the 250-room Biltmore mansion (with 43 bathrooms) is the largest privately owned home in the US at 175,000 square feet. This was today’s destination, as we spent pretty much the entire day on the estate grounds.

We began our visit with the “Legacy of the Land” tour, a 90-minute motorcoach drive around the estate during which we learned about the history of the land on which the estate stands, along with the various different structures and also the former residents of the mansion, starting with George Vanderbilt. In fact, the mansion remains in the family and is owned by the Biltmore Company, which is controlled by Vanderbilt’s grandson, Bill Cecil II.

After the motorcoach tour, we entered the mansion and took a self-guided tour of the house. The tour takes you up through the four main levels of the house, then back down to the basement and finally returns to the main floor. Millions of dollars have been spent to restore portions of the mansion to its original state and restoration continues throughout the building (which is not completely open to the public).

Later, I went on the “Rooftop” tour, which is a guided tour that takes you up to the roof of the mansion, as well as out onto several balconies, which are not accessible to the general public (i.e., without going on this tour). The tour also takes you through other “closed” portions of the house, where some restoration is currently underway. Despite the many steps and the heat up on the roof, the tour was well worth it for the views from the roof as well as the additional access to the mansion.

Following our time inside the house, we visited some of the Biltmore’s gardens and the conservatory, before heading back to our B&B for a brief rest before dinner.

The heat wave continued today, although it is expected to break tomorrow, as temperatures are forecast to drop into the mid-80’s. We’re hoping they’re right, but we’ll have to wait and see.

More to come…

Stu