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A Royal Getaway
Visiting Biltmore – an American Castle
By Lyn Mettler
Besides the house, which amazingly takes no longer than two hours to explore (only part of the house is open to tours), there are a world of other activities on Biltmore Estate, just as romantic, for a visiting couple.
After visiting the house, walk down to the adjacent gardens created for Vanderbilt by Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of New York's Central Park. The grounds feature six gardens, including a formal Italian garden with reflecting pools, a walled English garden, a rose garden and an azalea garden featuring more than 1,000 of the flowering plants. At the bottom of the rose garden is a beautiful glass-roofed conservatory that houses a collection of exotic palms, ferns and orchids.
The estate also contains numerous walking and biking trails, and Explore Biltmore Estate Outdoor Center can help you choose a path or, for a fee, provide naturalist-led hikes. There you can also rent bikes, sign up for a kayaking adventure down the French Broad River bordering the estate or take a carriage ride. At the Biltmore Estate Equestrian Center you can also take a guided trail ride on horseback, the way Vanderbilt and his guests once explored the property.
If you're a wine connoisseur, you'll want to be sure and visit the Biltmore Estate Winery, the most visited winery in the United States. A tour of the facilities and a wine tasting are included in your admission ticket to the house. Then stroll over to the winery shop where you can purchase any of the estate's many wines, which range in price from $8 to $60 per bottle – a perfect souvenir of your trip.
