Biltmore Estate
Historic House · Asheville, North Carolina
The largest privately owned house in the United States, at 178,926 square feet, built for George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895 in the Chateauesque style by Richard Morris Hunt, with grounds by Frederick Law Olmsted - his last major commission. Vanderbilt assembled 125,000 acres around it. Most of that land is now Pisgah National Forest, sold to the federal government in the 1910s. The family still owns the house, which opened to the public in March 1930 at the request of the City of Asheville, to bring money into a town flattened by the Depression.
1 Lodge Street, Asheville, North Carolina, 28803, United States
Open daily year round, with the house generally admitting from around 9 or 10 AM to mid-afternoon and the grounds, winery and shops open later. TIMED ENTRY TO THE HOUSE IS REQUIRED and is assigned when you buy. Hours shift substantially by season, and Christmas at Biltmore - roughly November to early January - runs an extended programme with candlelight evening tours. Book ahead in every season; this is not a walk-up attraction.