Visiting Biltmore On A Workday

If you didn’t know already, the Biltmore is Asheville’s most iconic attraction.

Here’s some facts:

➣ Biltmore is the largest privately owned home in the United States

➣ Originally owned by George Vanderbilt, the Vanderbilt’s wealth derived from the railroad industry

➣ The house is an immense 175,000 square feet with 33 bedrooms, 65 fireplaces, and 43 bathrooms. Almost 10 million pounds of limestone was used to build it. The entire estate originally covered 125,000 acres (now it’s a modest 8,000 acres).

Okay so I had originally visited the Biltmore before when I was younger, and I remember being so mesmerized by it. It actually pushed me to want to become a historic preservationist. While I didn’t end up going that route, I still think that would be a very cool occupation.

I wanted to take Winnie to see the big house but my schedule was tight and the estate didn’t stay open as late as usual due to COVID. I took a risk and booked a weekday excursion during the day. And yes, I was working remotely at the time so I had to bring along my backpack and laptop and cross my fingers that I wouldn’t be bothered too much on this visit. Unfortunately, my boss called a random meeting on his week of vacation so I was stuck on a bench for a couple of hours rather than getting to see the whole grounds.

We did get to walk the gardens a bit and we did walk through the house. Since we picked the last time entry slot in the house, I feel as if the visit was a bit rushed which is a bummer considering we each dropped $60 on tickets. I think the most disappointing thing for me at least was the fact that we missed the wine tasting at Antler Hill Village.

As a lesson, you definitely should not try to visit Biltmore on a workday. You will definitely need to dedicate a day to really appreciate the estate and its history.