Biltmore Estate

Visiting the Breathtaking Biltmore Estate in November

Biltmore Estate is the historical summer home of the George Vanderbilt family, located just outside of Asheville, North Carolina. It is the closest thing to a French chateau in the United States and a great way to taste the architecture and affluence of a bygone era without a flight over an ocean.

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I have family in the Carolinas, which means that I’ve had the opportunity to visit Biltmore Estate many times over the years in all seasons and weather. If you’ve already been and think you’ve seen it all, it is amazing how different the experience is from season-to-season. Changing decorations, exhibits, and garden plantings means there is always something new to see.

One of my favorite times of the year to visit Biltmore Estate is at Christmas. Although the gardens have expired their summer blooms, the upside is the artful holiday decorations on display throughout the estate grounds, as well as the orchid show in the conservatory.

Above photos: Biltmore Estate at Christmas

2023 – 2024 Christmas at Biltmore Dates are November 3rd through January 7th

Our last visit to Biltmore Estate was in mid-November just when the installation of the Christmas decorations was complete, yet the holiday traffic had not picked up. It is a magical time to witness nature’s last breath of autumn color with a few trees still hanging onto their leaves. Meanwhile, the strings of twinkling lights and shop windows full of gift ideas spurs on the anticipation of the upcoming holiday season.

In this post, I will share our experience visiting Biltmore Estate in November, where we stayed, what we did, highlights, and practical tips.

Above photos: The transition from Autumn to Christmas at Biltmore Estate

Where to stay

Most often, a visit to Biltmore Estate includes some time exploring the surrounding areas, such as Asheville, the North Carolina Highlands, Charlotte, or the Smoky Mountains. It isn’t critical to stay close to the estate because you can drive there easily enough from anywhere within a radius of a couple hours.

In the fall, a visit to Biltmore combined with a couple days in the Smoky Mountains and/or the North Carolina Highlands makes for a really nice trip. During the holiday season, the Gatlinburg area and/or Charlotte are nice options on either the front or back-end of your visit to Biltmore.

We drove over from Charlotte in the morning and spent the night at the Grand Bohemian Hotel right outside the Biltmore Estate main gate following our day exploring the grounds. This is a beautiful, luxury hotel property and a bit of a splurge for us. The hotel and on-site restaurant were impeccable.

On other occasions, we have also stayed at the Renaissance Asheville Downtown, which was also nice and within walking distance to our favorite Asheville brunch spot, Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen.

There is also The Village Hotel and The Inn located right on the estate property. Although we haven’t stayed here (due to it being fully booked), I’ve heard good things and it is on my radar for our next visit.

Tours and activities at Biltmore Estate

In addition to your regular visit to the Biltmore House and Gardens, there are also quite a few specialty tours offered as add-ons. These range from rooftop access, backstairs tours, tastings, and private guided tours. There are also some outdoor adventures such as boating, fishing, and horseback riding. But, before you sign up for a tour or activity, you may want to review the event and exhibit schedule so you can plan your time according to what you would most like to see.

Above photos: Late autumn views from Biltmore House Tiled Loggia

One of my favorite exhibits at Biltmore Estate was the Downton Abbey Exhibit featuring many of the filming sets, props, and wardrobe pieces from the PBS series. Touring the exhibit took up a good chunk of our day, so we didn’t have time for any additional tours.

Above photos: Downton Abbey Exhibit at Biltmore Estate

And, don’t forget about the Winery and Antler Hill Village. The village is an extension of the estate that has restaurants, shopping boutiques, exhibits, a Winery, a Farmyard, and an Outdoor Adventure Center. This is a nice place to grab lunch or a place to end your day with a glass of wine at the Winery.

Complete information about all of the tours, activities, exhibits, and events can be found on the official Biltmore Estate website, including more information about the Christmas candlelight tours and programming.

Personally, I would recommend enjoying your tour of Biltmore House with the Audio Guide so you can hear the fascinating history of the building of the estate and the lives of the Vanderbilt family members. Second, don’t skip the gardens and conservatory. This is always one of my favorite areas to see.

Above photos: Biltmore House architectural details

Biltmore House

Below are a handful of photos I took on our self-guided tour through the three floors and basement of Biltmore House. As lovely as it is to have these photos as memories of our visit, they pale in comparison to the real thing. The scale of the rooms and details throughout the home are hard to capture. Nonetheless, these may help provide you with an idea of what you can expect to see.

Above photos: Interior rooms at Biltmore House

Biltmore Gardens & Conservatory

As you can see in the following photos, our walk through the gardens in mid-November left little to be appreciated besides some vines and dwindling plantings. However, the garden structure is still there. The geometry of the flower beds, the trellises, and statues were there to prove an extensive and thoughtful landscape design.

Above photos: Biltmore Gardens

The Biltmore Conservatory, on the other hand, is a year-round highlight immune to the elements outside. During the cooler months, an incredible variety of exotic orchids are in full bloom.

Above photos: Blooms at Biltmore Conservatory

Practical Tips

For those of you who may be planning your first visit to Biltmore Estate, I’ve gathered some practical knowledge to help plan and prepare for the best experience.

• Purchase your tickets online and as early as possible to secure your date(s) and desired entry time. Ticket prices vary depending on the time of year and the access to various exhibits and parts of the estate.
• Parking is included in your admission and is so easy. There is a complete FAQ guide for directions and parking on the Biltmore Estate website that will answer every question you have. Every time I have visited, I have had zero issues driving in, finding a parking spot, and walking to the entrance.
• Arrive at the Biltmore main entrance gate at least one hour before the admission time printed on your ticket to allow time to drive in, park, and walk around a bit. There is an entire courtyard and carriage house of shops to the right of the main entrance if you have some extra time to fill.
• The audio guide is included in the admission ticket. I highly recommend it! It makes a big difference to have the rooms and history explained.
• The restaurants are not horribly pricey, but it can be hard to snag a table during peak periods. I’ve eaten at the Stable Café in the Carriage House and Cedric’s Tavern at Antler Hill Village. I strongly suggest making reservations ahead.
• If you have a reservation at Antler Hill or just want to get around the property, you don’t have to re-park. There are shuttles that run between areas for $15 per person per day. We timed our itinerary to avoid having to take the shuttle. Once we were completely done with our House & Garden tours, we drove up to Antler Village for our evening plans.

Above photos: Holiday decorations in Biltmore’s Confectionery

Asheville & Other Day Trip Ideas

Asheville is known as a hip, artsy town with a vibrant arts-and-crafts community, notable food scene, and nearby mountains. The center downtown area can be explored in an afternoon, ideally between brunch at Tupelo Honey and dinner at The Bull and Beggar.

If you are looking to venture out a bit, some of my favorite areas and things to do include:

Near Ashville:

• Appalacian Ridge Artisan Hard Cidery 
• North Carolina Arboretum

In North Carolina:

• Grandfather Mountain
• Linville Falls
• Hawks Nest
• Boone and Blowing Rock
• Valle Crucis (cabin rentals here)

In Tennessee:

• Great Smoky Mountain Railroad (read about our journey here)
• Great Smoky Mountain Park
• Gatlinburg (cabin rentals here)

To learn more about many of these nearby activities, read my post Autumn in the Smoky Mountains here. Although our Smoky Mountain adventure was in mid-October, these places can be visited year-round and are especially wonderful to visit at Christmas.