Hi, everyone - we're interested in touring Biltmore - estate, house, gardens, etc. There are a lot of different tours listed on their website - some behind-the-scenes, rooftop, guided audio; it's a little confusing. Just curious which tours you all took - is there a certain tour that's a don't miss? Thanks for any help you can provide.

I have never taken the behind the scenes or rooftop tours, although I would like to. However, I will say DO rent one of the audio tours. They add so much to the tour, because the booklet they give you has about three sentences worth of information for each room. The audio tour has much more information and really adds to the experience, plus they let you go at your own pace. The first time we visited, we tried to skip the audio tour, but after going through about 3 rooms, I looked at my husband and said, "I have no idea what we're looking at. Let's go get the audio headsets!" They really made a huge difference.

If this is your first visit to Biltmore, I don't think you need any of the "extra tours" other than the audio. Save the extras for subsequent visits.

Agreed with Xrae - you'll spend most of the day on the basic tour.

With that said, since I live in Asheville, I've probably been to the Biltmore Estate ten times and the Behind the Scenes tour is my favorite. Given the polish of the standard tour, I really liked seeing unfinished rooms and the sub basement.

Mike Honeycutt

Thanks, guys - I will definitely get the audio part of the tour. I do think those add a lot of information. About how long would you allow to do the basic audio tour? And is there a place onsite where we could have lunch?

There is a restaurant adjacent to the house itself -- I think it's the former stables? And there are other restaurants on property but away from the main house.

Wow, that's beautiful; I had no idea the gardens were so gorgeous or extensive. I saw that they have picnics for sale too - that might be fun if the weather is nice. Thanks again, everyone for all this great info.

I'm so happy to find that I'll be in Asheville during the Festival of Flowers! We're going there for a girl cousins' weekend from May 16 - 19. Does anyone have suggestions for places to see in Asheville in addition to the Biltmore?

Grove Park Inn -- you can have lunch or dinner in one of the restaurants or just drinks in the lobby lounge. The lobby is *impressive*.

There is a lot to do in Asheville. Do some searching here in the forum, you'll come up with great suggestions. There are great drives, shopping, handicrafts, hiking, waterfalls, rafting, all kinds of things.

Second the recommendation for the Behind the Scenes tour after the regular audio tour - different info and areas. I also heard the Rooftop Tour was really interesting, but I didn't have time...seems like I took a Servants' Tour which I enjoyed. There is a Garden Tour in season if you're interested. Enjoyed lunch in the stables in a stall.

Thanks to everyone who recommended different tours for us. We ended up doing the audio tour and loved it. The gardens were beautiful too. My husband loved the bowling alley and indoor pool. There were some kind of crazy locusts/cicadas in the trees by the parking lot; I've never heard such a racket! We were there for a couple of hours and feel like we just scratched the surface. Hope we can make it back again someday to do the behind-the-scenes, rooftop, etc. I think the audio added so much information to our tour, so thanks for the great recommendation. Has anyone stayed at the Inn there?

Have not stayed at the Inn, but enjoyed lunch in the restaurant in the winery area (I think, it was sort of a bistro) on our visit last November. The house was already decorated for Christmas, and if we return at that time of year I would want to do one of the evening candlelight tours.

marilyn, I imagine it's even more beautiful at Christmastime.

I do not recall taking any special tours. I remember taking a basic tour. It is a beautiful place.