And if that isn't enough, now I see on the website they have carriage rides, segway tours, land rovers, horseback rides on the estate.

We went to Biltmore at Christmas a few years ago and did both a regular house tour and a behind-the-scenes tour. The latter was quite interesting and well worth it. I don't remember if the regular house tour was candlelight or not, but the decorations were very nice.

The pipe organ was playing and I enjoyed it so much I bought a CD of Christmas carols played on it.

I can highly recommend that you get the audio tour if you choose to do the regular self guided admission. It not only gives lots of extra room details, but also includes lots of stories of people who lived there and events that took place. We were there in the spring, so the gardens were especially pretty to tour. We ate lunch at the Stable Cafe, which was right at the entrance to the home, and enjoyed it.

We did not have time for any specialty tours but I would imagine they would be great if you have the time. The home is just spectacular.

My parents' church choir sang in the Palm Court in the evening one Christmas-it was magic. I highly rec ommend going after dark.

Asheville has lots of great restaurants but not all are on the Biltmaore property. I like to stay in town and drive out to Biltmore when I visit.

The Biltmore Inn is on the estate. It is lovely but it is pretty pricey. There are several dining options on the estate , we like to eat down by the winery. There are lots of things to do on the estate besides touring the house. There are many trails you can walk on and tour the greenhouse, winery, etc... Downtown Asheville is close to the estate and there are so many restaurants there , see some of the postings about Asheville. I would guess it is 15-20minutes to get out of the estate and downtown if traffic is good. The behind the scenes tour is the way to go and you could just make a full day of it. Hope you have fun!

Spiro,

I'll give you the same advice I gave P_M. Don't drink the wine!!!

Dayle, What do you mean? Do you know my last name? P_M?

It is lovely but it is pretty pricey.

Since I visited 35 years ago, Biltmore has dreamed up countless ways to fleece the public, and they like to rub it in that they are taking you to the cleaners by adding $15 to the $49 admission price if you don't buy 7 days in advance. What other reputable attraction has such a creepy policy? None I want to visit.

If you go, look to downtown for good hospitality and respite from snobbishness.

HTtY

We stayed in the Inn on Builtmore on the grounds a few years ago and enjpoyed it very much . . we did the Segways' for the first time . . their instructor was very good! We were there three days and found something interesting to do all of them.

The wine is mediocre, but not the worst we have encountered.

We spent the last day wandering about Ashville and enjoyed that also

No Spiro,

Poster P_M is going to Biltmore too.

I visited a few years ago and hit unrelentingly rainy weather over my 10 day vacation. I drove the Blueridge Parkway on the only sunny day and went home 4 days early.

My visit to Biltmore was on a day when it was pouring down rain almost the entire day. When I got to the top of the parking lot and saw the house, my first thought was "oh, he built a mini-Chambourd." I was a bit disillusioned.

Very unfortunatley for me, it was a school holiday (I had no clue) and the place was jam-packed with families doing the Biltmore as a rainy day holiday activity. The first floor was so crowded (and I was there at opening) that you actually could not move. You were sucked along a pre-determined path that lead you to a spot where you were herded to have your picture taken with people in period costumes (which of course you could buy later). I said NO THANKS, I just want to get out of here!

I headed up to the other floors and saw the indoor swimming pool using my audio guide. Audio guide was good. Other floors were interesting, but not as spectacular as the main floor. Too bad you couldn't see the main floor past all the heads.

Went to the winery and waited an hour in line to taste. I thought I might be in trouble when the "host" answering questions as people waited, explained that most of their grapes are grown out of state and the wine is made in a factory in Oakland, CA. Uhoh.

It was quite poor and extremely overpriced for what it was.

The acreage of the estate looked absolutely gorgeous and if the weather had allowed I would have enjoyed a hike and horseback or bike riding.

Personally I like Hearst Castle much much better. So much more interesting to me.

Hopefully you will have a better experience!

I did have a fabulous Italian meal in Asheville. I'll see if I can find the name of the restaurant for you.

The Grove Park Inn is worth a visit. It is an attractive historic hotel that is supposed to have some nice dining options.

If you go at Christmas, note that the National Gingerbread House Competition & Display will be in progress November 17 through January 2. Some of them are quite elaborate.

Dayle, you confirm my fears about this place. I'll give it a pass when we "do" Asheville.

Yes, give the wine a pass. Jubilada,are you giving Biltmore House a pass. So Dayle hit a bad time. Too bad.
Give Asheville a pass then==interesting little town but...

Dayle. My last name is Redwine. I was thinking you knew me. Lol

Spiro,
After all these years in Fodorville, I think I know you a little!

Jubilada, I didn't mean to give the impression you should skip the Biltmore Estate. Just check for state/school holidays, make your res the 7 days ahead to get the lower price (I did think the admission was very high) and DON'T DRINK THE WINE!

I'll be the first to admit my experience was far from an ideal day. Even so, I wouldn't make the effort to return.

Ashville is a little out of our way when we make the twice yearly trek up North, but we will likely visit again. We did not get to see the gardens in bloom and would like to do that sometime. The inn is a great hotel and there is a lot to do.

I was just at Biltmore a month ago and as a Californian, I agree with the suggestions to skip the wine for the most part. They do actually grow and make the Chardonnay there, but none of the reds. The Chard is OK, but overpriced.
Also it's good advice above to get your ticket at least 7 days in advance. Even 1 day in advance will save you some money.
I thought the food at the Bistro, next to the winery was pretty good. They have non-Biltmore wines on the list as well, but again on the pricey side.
The estate is worth the visit if you have the time, but Hearst Castle it is not.

Hmm, from the website it seems far more impressive than Hearst(i've been to Hearst). So, I'm going to be disappointed? I was thinking I needed a full day or even more to see it.

We went at Christmas time 3 years ago. We got the tickets where you get in for a night tour (with everything lit up, etc. ) and then you are able to go in the next day as well (on the same ticket)and do the audio tour. We liked it very much, even though it is expensive. We ate at the restaurant right there that is in the old stables and it was good.

Could it be you are comparing apples to oranges with the Hearst.

They are two totally different experiences . .

I'm thinking it would be better in spring than over Christmas.
So, I'm thinking just do the regular house tour with audio.
Possibly doing an Architect or Butler Tour? also available is family and friends tour. The audio is an extra $10 and the other tours are $17 for anywhere from 1-2 hours.

I might consider doing one of the segway tours as you get to see a couple of hours worth of the grounds. The description doesn't give that much detail about each one though.

Finally, it seems Stable Cafe is close to the house.

We would not be interested in any of the wine tasting/tours anyway. But thanks for the info on that.

We don't plan on seeing any of Asheville during this visit. Just the Biltmore.

If you are experienced with the Segway, you just rent it and go off on your own . . if not, they have a hour lesson before takeing you on a guided tour of the grounds . .

There is a "Behind the sceane" tour that we did not take that gets a lot of good reports.

Spirobulldog, I have been to both Biltmore and Hearst. They are each impressive in very different ways - I think Biltmore is much more grand. IMO Biltmore does take a full day to take it all in - I would encourage you to eat on the grounds. You don't have to do the wine tasting to eat down in that area and it is an easy walk from the house. I would choose one of the tours and not just rely on the audio. I have only done the candlelight tour and the audio tour - the personal information given is so much better in the special tour groups than just the audio. There was an exhibition of Tiffany glass the last time I went - I would encourage you to see if any special exhibits are being shown.
I would recommend that you go to the greenhouse and see the gardens - they are wonderful in the spring. I think the Segway tour would be a great way to see the grounds. I ran a race there one year (Biltmore 15K) and I couldn't believe how beautiful some of the grounds were that I had never seen. Don't just do the house.
Have fun!

Thanx, we have been on a segway before.

That will alow you more time to see the grounds than we had . . there is some stunning sceanery