COOL THINGS IN JAPAN YOU MUST SEE
At 178,926 square feet (four acres of floor space) and with 250 rooms, the Biltmore mansion is the largest privately owned house in the United States.
The mansion’s architectural design is Châteauesque, a style made popular by the home’s architect, Richard Morris Hunt using the Blois chateaux in France’s Loire Valley as a model.
All the rooms on the visit are impressive in their own way. Highlights include the Entrance Hall with its glass roof and the massive Banquet Room with its four-story high ceiling.
To keep such a mansion running smoothly legions of servants were needed, each with his or her own highly structured household responsibility. Their quarters and workspaces, like the massive kitchen, offer a peek into the lives of the servant class in the Gilded Age.
The Biltmore grounds contain a garden with seasonal floral displays, acres of managed forest, a pond, a conservatory with hothouse and miles of walking paths.
Winery tours are available for an additional fee but the wine tastings are included in the price of admission. The winery area includes a retail section with all things wine for sale.