If you have an interest in French chateaus (castles) and European gardens, you don’t have to go as far as Europe. Just visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. There is even a farm and vineyard too! But you many just need to spend more then one day at this place.

The story behind the Biltmore Estate invokes a different era in American history known as the Gilded Age. George Washington Vanderbilt III was the youngest child of industrialist William Henry Vanderbilt and his wife Maria Louisa Kissam. When his father passed away, he was left with millions in inheritance money.

While on a short vacation to Asheville in 1888, he was touched by the area’s beauty. He felt inspired to create a country estate in the Blue Ridge Mountains for his family. It was to be modeled after the French Châteaux of the Loire Valley, with 250 rooms. It is now owned and operated by the Biltmore Company.

There are more photos from the Biltmore Estate pool at . This one being my favorite taken by gxster1 of flickr. The pink water lilies are huge and so healthy looking, imagine some lucky frogs that get to live here.

A little history about the chateau from the website:

“A New World Château: The celebrated architect Richard Morris Hunt modeled the house on three châteaux built in 16th-century France. It would feature 4 acres of floor space, 250 rooms, 34 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces. The basement alone would house a swimming pool, gymnasium and changing rooms, bowling alley, servants’ quarters, kitchens, and more.
An Environmental Wonder

The grounds of the 125,000-acre estate were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the creator of New York’s Central Park and the father of American landscape architecture. He not only developed acres of gardens and parkland, but in his efforts to protect the environment and reclaim over-farmed land, Olmsted established America’s first managed forest.”

“A True Family Home: George Vanderbilt officially opened the home to friends and family on Christmas Eve in 1895. He had created a country retreat where he could pursue his passion for art, literature, and horticulture. After marrying the American Edith Stuyvesant Dresser (1873–1958) in Paris during the summer of 1898, George and his new bride came to live at the estate. Their only child, Cornelia (1900–1976), was born and grew up at Biltmore.”

And of course the gardens. Which include the Italian garden, Azalea garden, and Spring Garden, amongst others. The Early April blooms include - Darwin Hybrid Tulip varieties begin blooming in the Walled Garden, Estate Entry, and Winery beds. Other estate blooms include early flowering shrubs and trees, forsythia, spirea, magnolia, and flowering cherries. I think that would be a good time to get the most blooms!

This looks really grand but inviting, especially with the potted flowers in terra cotta pots. Beautiful photo taken by Little Spooks from flickr.

Admission & Info:
Sunday–Friday:$33.00 online / $35.00 at gate
Saturday:$37.00 online / $39.00 at gate

And for the gardens admission, some are included with the estate admission. Or it’s $15.00 per guest, in addition to estate admission.

I think this would be a nice tour, but the admission ticket is just too expensive. In California, many of our estate gardens and museums have “Free Days” at least once a month. You just go online or call for free tickets. It would be great if the Biltmore did that, if only as a gift to the local community.

Image sources:

gxster1 of flickr

Little Spooks from flickr