Playing “I Spy” While Touring the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C.
Biltmore, the largest private home in America and a National Historic Landmark, was the home of George and Edith Vanderbilt and their daughter, Cornelia, in the early 20th century. A trip to the Asheville, North Carolina area in the late 1880s inspired George to have a home built so he could enjoy the beauty and tranquility of the Blue Ridge Mountains and escape the pressures of New York social society.

Vanderbilt commissioned Richard Morris Hunt to build the 250 room estate and famed architect Frederick Law Olmsted to design the gardens and conservatory. Construction started in January of 1890 and work was mostly completed in 1896, but did continue until 1898. George and Edith married in 1898 and their only child, Cornelia, was born at the estate in 1900. The Vanderbilts were popular members of the Asheville community, helping to bring recognition and prestige, as well as tourists, to the area. George Vanderbilt died unexpectedly in 1914. His daughter, Cornelia, married British diplomat John Cecil in 1925 and they had two sons, who continued the family legacy, by opening the house to the public in 1930 to help bring tourists to the area and generate revenue to help preserve the estate.


Today, the 8,000 acres estate includes the 250 room main house (with 43 working bathrooms, 2 working elevators, and 288 electric light fixtures), six gardens, a Conservatory, 20 miles of hiking and biking trails (that pass by the French Broad River and Deer Park, Antler Hill Village, two hotels, a dozen plus dining options, a dozen gift shops, and countless ways to enjoy the beauty of Asheville.
We spent Christmas 2024 at Biltmore and it was a magical time of year to visit. The house was beautiful decorated and there were several holiday themed activities throughout the estate. We’ll be sharing our adventures in several, separate posts, including this feature of Antler Hill Village. This week, we’re focusing on the tour of the main house. Note: the white bags that line the entrance to the Biltmore in the above photos are luminaries used in the nighttime holiday tours.

Travel Tips:
- The Biltmore House is open every day of the year; hours vary for the main house, gardens, and museum exhibits; check here for up to date information on dates and times
- Reservations are required to explore the estate; check here for information on ticket packages, which always include self guided house and grounds tours and complimentary wine tastings at reh Winery, but can also include guided tours and seasonal events.
- Driving throughout the estate, while beautiful, takes time. Check here for travel distances, and plan on driving under 30 miles an hour around the estate.
- House tours are self guided and all guests receive a hand held audio device, with narrations for each room.
- There are no restrooms inside the main house– restrooms are located to the right of the estate, along with gift shops and quick service dining options and lockers.
- Parking: We parked in lot B1 and it was an easy five minute walk to the estate. Lots A1-A5 are located above the main path (so great “aerial” shots of the estate) and then guests walk down stairs to meet with lots B path meets to the entrance. Lot A6 is all the way at the top of the with the farest back shot.
- There are shuttle trams that run on a continuous loop from all parking lots to (basically) the front door of the estate and are a great option for people who don’t want to walk a lot to the estate, and for guests who arrive later in the day and have to park in a farther lot. Shuttles are run to and from the hotels and to the Conservatory and Antler Hill Village– more info here.
- Strollers are allowed while touring the Biltmore; the first and second floors are handicap accessible via an elevator, but not accessible for the basement and fourth floors. However, guests may view a video tour of the fourth and basement floors. More information on accessibility here.
- There are plenty of dining options throughout the Biltmore Estate. If you’re on site to just tour the main estate, dining options adjacent to the Estate include The Bake Shop and Stable Café, which both offer quick service snacks, drinks, and lunch and dinner options. Antler Hill Village offer several full service restaurants.
- Shopping options closest to the Biltmore estate include A Christmas Past, A Gardener’s Place, Bookbinder’s, Carriage House, Confectionery, and Toymaker’s, all located to the right of the main house.
- Lodging on property: Both the Inn on Biltmore Estate and Village Hotel on Biltmore Estate are located near the Antler Farm Hill and offer luxurious accommodations- more information here.
- Make sure kids grab the Cedric’s Sniff-and-Seek Treasure Hunt to complete while on tour. Look for paw print symbols throughout the self guided tour rooms.
- Plan on two hours to fully tour all four floors open to the public and allow another 45 minutes from the entrance gate to the property to drive through the grounds, park, and walk to the entrance, pass through security. Links to estates maps here, here and here

Playing “I Spy” While Touring the Biltmore:
- Search for seasonal decor and plants in the Winter Garden, the first stop on the tour. The Vanderbilts would welcome guests into their home in this bright, sunny space that had palm trees that could reach the glass ceiling!
- Count the deer, moose, bison, and elk heads mounted on the walls of the Billiard Room; and check out the two pool tables, each weighing over one ton.
- Count the chairs at the banquet table in the Banquet Hall (there are 24 chairs!)
- Check out the tapestries from the 1500s that tell the story of Venus, Volcan, and Mars (Greek Gods). Be sure to look up opposite the fireplaces (there are three!) to see the organ.
- See the two Pierre- Auguste Renoir paintings, portraits of children, in the Breakfast Room and the two Claude Monet paintings on display in the Salon (which was never finished during the time the Vanderbilt family lived in the estate). Be sure to look up at the ceiling.
- Find the piano forte in the Music Room, which was also never finished while the Vanderbilt family lived in the estate, but is now furnished in the likeness of how the family would have intended to use the room.
- Look carefully at the virtues of prudence, charity, and faith (three of the seven virtues) woven into the massive tapestries on display in the Tapestry Gallery. Find the concert piano on display in the room, which was frequently used for concerts as well as three portraits: George Vanderbilt’s mother, Maria Louisa Kissam Vanderbilt, George, and George’s wife, Edith.
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- Try to count the books on display in the Library (hint: there are 10,000 on display just in that one room- the total collection totals over 23,000 volumes). Look at the Chariot of Aurora mural on the ceiling, which was imported from England, and be sure to check out the huge globe in the corner of the room.
- Learn about all the members of the Vanderbilt families in the 2nd floor Living Hall 1991 painting of the descendants of the family (William Vanderbilt is in the center) and see the painting within a painting.
- Look for the hourglasses on the dressing table in George Vanderbilt’s Chamber, and the bed frame made in Portugal dating back to 1600.
- See the portrait of Cornelia, the Vanderbilts’ only daughter, in the Old Sitting Room, the space between the two main bedrooms.
- Choose your favorite guest room on the third floor (check out the artists’ suite of four bedrooms and a baby’s room with bassinet.
- Walk through the Building Biltmore exhibit in the basement and learn about the building of the estate. Check out the wall murals painted by Cornelia Vanderbilt and her friends late one night after a party at the estate.

- Check out the score on the board in the Bowling Alley. Servants had to manually reset the pins for players.
- Choose your favorite dressing room; women were not allowed to walk through the estate in their bathing/swimming attire. Count the number of dressing rooms and look for the call bell to ring for servants to help
- Check out the size of the swimming pool– The 70,000 gallon pool is 9.5 feet deep and had to be drained every time it was used (and was drained between men and women using it- they weren’t allowed to swim together).
- Choose your favorite type of gym equipment in the gymnasium adjacent to the pool.
- Find the dog gates used by the Head Housekeeper’s dog in the servants quarter. The servants had their own rooms and even their own dining room and living space, adjacent to the kitchen.
- Count the number of stock rooms next to the main kitchen (Biltmore has three kitchens!) and check out the size of the rotisserie kitchen.
- Check out the size of the motor that was used to drive the fan that provided air to the Banquet Hall pipe organ.
- Count the various sinks and drying racks in the Laundry Hallway. Check the early 20th century washing machines- most of the laundry for the estate came from linens, not clothes.


Bonus: Leave time to explore some of the gardens adjacent to the estate that span 75 acres, as well as the glass-ceilinged Conservatory, designed by Richard Morris Hunt. There are walled gardens, shrub gardens, a rose garden, an azalea garden, and an Italian garden, which has a pond with fish swimming in it year round, all designed by Frederick law Olmsted. When we visited during the holiday season 2024, the Conservatory was filled with festive decorations and hundreds of poinsettias.


Love, love, love this! I’ve read about the Vanderbilts, and their influence in the US and in UK. The Biltmore Estate looks fabulous and I can imagine how wonderfully festive it had been during your Christmas visit. I would love to discover the books in the library and the opulent drawing room. Saved it on Pinterest to read later when I visit.
Goodness this is crazy! What an amazing house and estate (it seems weird to think of it as a home as it is just so, well opulent!) That library is simply incredible eh!?
Playing I-Spy at the Biltmore Estate is such a creative idea! It’s a great way to keep kids entertained while exploring this incredible estate. Thanks for the helpful tips!
This was so helpful and the photos are absolutely gorgeous. I’d love to visit here and it looks like it’s particularly festive during Christmas time!
What a grand & stately home! I loved looking at all of your beautiful photos while trying to picture the family that used to live there.