Asheville Archives - Wyze Traveler

Looking for something truly magical this Christmas season? Take a drive to Asheville and experience Christmas at the Biltmore.

This was our third trip to the Biltmore Estate, the first and third trip we toured the Biltmore House and the second trip we just enjoyed the grounds. The first time we visited they were not allowing photos during the home tour, but at this time they are allowing them on self- guided tours.

The Biltmore is approximately 180,000 square feet and is the largest privately owned home in the United States. It is truly breathtaking to see and pictures do not do it justice.

At Christmastime there is a 55-foot spruce tree on the front lawn decorated with thousands of twinkling lights. They do not turn the tree lights on until later in the day, near dusk.

If you visit for the candlelight evenings, the tree is lit and illuminates the whole front yard. They also place bags with tealights all the way around the drive for the evening tours.

Through January 6th there are two general ticket options to enter the Biltmore House, either Christmas Daytime Celebration or Candlelight Christmas Evenings. Since we have visited before during the day, we decided to buy Candlelight Christmas Evenings tickets.

When you book the candlelight evening tour you have to book an entry time, even on weekdays. We planned our trip for a Tuesday but waited to book our tickets until a few days prior. By waiting we only had our choice of entry times at 8:30 PM and later. This entry time was not terrible, as we did get to eat dinner before touring the house. The Biltmore closes about an hour and a half after the last assigned tour time. As a tip, try to book your tickets earlier to get the time you would like. Also, many weekends will sell out of the candlelight tour times.

Self guided tour of the Biltmore House- Candlelight Evenings

As you enter the home they have booklets you can take on your self- guided tour that provide a brief description and history of each room. You can also pay for an audio guide which will provide a more in depth verbal description of each room of the Biltmore for $12.99, the desk to rent these is located on the right once you walk in.

Most rooms will also have a knowledgeable employee who you can ask additional questions to, regarding the history of the home or the room you are currently in.

One reason we chose the Candlelight Evenings was to enjoy the choir and soloists playing within the house. This added to the magical experience. Most rooms had a fireplace that was lit and the sparkling Christmas lights made the night truly special. When you first walk into the house the Entrance Hall is beautifully decorated with garland. My absolute favorite rooms were the following:

Winter Garden

If you walk to the right when you enter the house you will see the beautiful Winter Garden. We spent a lot of time around this room. The choir was singing in the center and there were a few soloists here too. We enjoyed listening to the music as well as touring the rooms around the garden.

Banquet Hall

This room is truly royal and has ceilings that are seven- stories high. The real Christmas Tree is nearly 40 feet tall and adds to the splendor of the room.

Breakfast Room

This room features two paintings by Renoir: Child with an Orange and Young Algerian Girl.

Breakfast Room with two paintings by Renoir

Music Room

This room was completed in the 1970’s and includes 12 apostle figures and 12 candlesticks made in the mid 1700’s.

12 Porcelain Apostle Figures and 12 Candlesticks made in the mid 1700's — 12 Porcelain Apostle Figures and 12 Candlesticks made in the mid 1700’s

Library

There are thousands, upon thousands of books that encompass this room. It is about half of the original collection George Vanderbilt had. We stood in this room for several minutes enjoying the marvelous decor and number of books lining the shelves. It makes you want to take one of the myriad of books and sit by the fireplace to read.

These rooms were all located on the first floor, so be sure to take your time enjoying them. The other areas of the home were beautifully decorated too and it is amazing to think about how many staff it took to run this house back in the early 19th century when it was running.

George Vanderbilt’s bedroom

For the size of this home, we were surprised about the size of the bedrooms and closets. While his bedroom was not tiny, we would have expected a larger space and bed considering the square footage of the home.

Edith Vanderbilt’s bedroom

Louis XV Room

This room is decorated in french woven silk velvet wall coverings. Both Edith and Cornelia gave birth to their children in this room.

Main Kitchen

The copper pots hanging are the original.

As I mentioned before this was our second time actually touring the home. I feel like we saw more rooms this time and at the end there was an exhibit we had definitely not seen before.

Halloween Room

This was a very unique room that I do not remember seeing on our last visit. Cornelia Vanderbilt, her husband and other family and friends helped paint the walls in this room for a party. This room also housed various displays of pictures and history further describing the numerous individuals involved in building and designing the home. It’s amazing that George Vanderbilt built a railroad to run directly to the Biltmore for transportation of building materials, along with setting up building on site to produce materials. It’s amazing that in the late 1800’s it only took 6 years to build such a magnificent and beautiful home.

In addition to all of these rooms there are many, many more to see. Hard to believe right? I would allow at least a few hours to tour the home so you will not feel rushed and you can thoroughly enjoy and explore each room.

If you are doing only the evening tour take some time to enjoy the grounds and shops either the afternoon before your tour or the day following. While it is fall/ winter at the Biltmore, unfortunately missing their beautiful springtime gardens, the Conservatory sure is a sight to see! There are so many beautiful and colorful flowers and plants which truly bring life to the winter season.

Conservatory

If you are staying on the Biltmore Estate, which I strongly recommend, they have a shuttle that runs every 15 minutes from the hotels to the other areas on the Estate. The shuttles are great as the drivers are extremely knowledgeable. Every ride we took we learned a lot about the Biltmore history, feel free to ask them questions too! Plan to wait for the shuttle 30-45 minutes before your assigned time to allow time in case you miss the shuttle and have to wait an additional 15 minutes and to allow time for the stops on the way. You also cannot use any of the 43 bathrooms that are in the actual Biltmore house so you will want to use the public restrooms before entering the house.

Tickets for this special time of the year are more expensive than usual entry prices. If you book at least a week ahead of time you can get a discount on their website. Costco was also selling a two day pass (has to be consecutive days) for less than $65. This was for Daytime access, but you could pay an upgrade fee of around $25 to also visit during the Candlelight Evenings.

In addition to the house, Antler Village has restaurants, shops and the winery to visit. I will go into more detail on these activities in my next post. You also get a free wine tasting included with your entry ticket to the Biltmore.

If you have the chance I would visit the Biltmore in the spring to enjoy the gardens and the winter to enjoy Christmas at Biltmore. Merry Christmas!

I am adding a new section to my blog for pregnancy and first time Moms as I go through the same journey! My husband and I are pregnant for the first time with a baby girl! I am hoping to add some useful posts and share our experiences to help others going through a similar time in their life.

When I first took the pregnancy test and saw a double line, I told my husband who was then still asleep I “may” be pregnant! He wondered how I could “maybe” be pregnant. Ladies, as I am sure many of you are aware especially when trying to get pregnant and having those times where you almost imagine the second line showing, you don’t want to get your hopes up unless you for sure know you are pregnant! Well this test was one of those maybes… a faint second line.

I always chose the early result tests, so I could find out as soon as possible and adjust myself to the healthiest diet possible. Well, early result tests are more expensive and the ones that clearly lay our “Pregnant” or “Not Pregnant”, while still being early result are even more expensive. If trying to conceive for awhile this will make an impact on your wallet, which you don’t need when saving for the new baby. Long and short I went to the store and splurged on the more expensive, very clear test which sure enough verified we were indeed “Pregnant.”

When you first find out you are pregnant it is such an exciting yet nerve wrecking time. Many questions may race through your head…. Whose family should I tell first? When should we tell them? How should we tell them? When do I let my friends know? When do I tell my coworkers? What dietary restrictions do I need to follow? What do I need to stop doing? Can I continue to exercise? When should I schedule my first Doctor appointment? How can we be good parents? It can all become a blur, as you try to sort everything out. Over the next several posts I plan to go into more details on personal experience and suggestions.

Take a deep breath in and then out. Celebrate and enjoy this precious time! Try to relax and put aside some of the many questions bombarding your head. You will make great parents and you have plenty of time to make the many decisions in the next 9 months.

Tell your family in your own time. We chose to tell both of our families immediately as we wanted them to be a part of every moment, even taking the chance we could have some hard news to share later if anything unexpected happened.

Take your time telling friends and coworkers. We waited until about 15 weeks to tell friends and coworkers our exciting news. While this seemed like a long time, since it was our first pregnancy we wanted to wait awhile to be sure our baby made it through the first trimester and even a little beyond.

Talk to your Doctor about exercise and the activities you can continue to do. As long as you are having a healthy pregnancy they typically allow you to continue exercises/ activities (within reason) that you were doing before. Listen to your body, it will let you know when you need to slow down. I was an avid runner prior to pregnancy, running several races a year. I continued running beyond 30 weeks, however my pace and length dramatically slowed down by the end of those 30 weeks. I always spoke to my Doctor at each appointment just confirming I was good to go on anything I had upcoming, which I recommend to anyone pregnant. This week I am 33 weeks pregnant and I plan to walk a 5K on Thanksgiving. I plan to continue being as active as my body will allow until I give birth, hoping it will help make the labor easier… We shall see!

Call your Doctor as soon as you find out your pregnant, some practices have different guidelines for when they want to set up your first appointment. My practice wanted to wait until 8-9 weeks since my LMP, as they wanted to be sure the ultrasound would show the embryo. It was nerve wrecking waiting for those 4-5 weeks after I found out we were pregnant to have the confirmation of pregnancy visit. Try to relax and enjoy this time as your body adjusts to all the upcoming changes.

Finally, congratulations on your journey! It is truly a miracle!

Category: Asheville

Christmas at the Biltmore

When you find out you are Pregnant?!