I Visited The Largest Home In America

The Biltmore Estate is overwhelming

The Biltmore Estate, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Asheville North Carolina, is on 8,000 acres. How much floor space does your house have? This mansion, built for George Vanderbilt II in the late 1800s, has nearly 179,000 square feet of floor space. It’s still owned by decedents of the Vanderbilt family, making it the largest privately owned house in the United States.

There are 250 rooms in the house. Including 35 bedrooms and 43 bathrooms.

There are 75 acres of maintained gardens on the estate. Unfortunately at this time of year they are pretty barren. However, the conservatory is flourishing and well worth a stop on the visit.

As you can see, there’s a Christmas horticulture theme this time of the year.

Visitors relax outside the Traditions apparel shop in Biltmore Estate’s Antler Hill Village.

No trip to the Biltmore Estate would be complete without a visit to the winery for a tasting. According to Forbes this is the most visited winery in the United States. However, WineTourism.com gives that honor to Napa Valley’s Robert Mondavi Winery.

Visiting the Biltmore Estate isn’t cheap. Biltmore House admission starts at $110 a person. Although I opted for admission to just the grounds at $85. They say you should allot four hours just for the house. And if you opt to enjoy the gardens and the village as well, you’d best expect to spend the better part of the day. And here’s a major pro tip. If you decide to visit the mansion, use the public restrooms before you enter. Yes, as I mentioned above, there are dozens of bathrooms. But none are open to public use!

All photos copyright Gary Baumgarten.

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