Springtime at Biltmore

I recently went to Biltmore and it was so incredibly lovely! (You can watch my Youtube video here!) I have been once before on a family vacation and as a teenager I fell in love with the estate and how it made me feel like I was in Europe frolicking around a castle. It was one of my favorite family vacations. It was so nice to return and visit with my husband. I knew I wanted to plan our visit during spring/summer to see the gardens in full regalia. We decided to visit the gardens first and schedule the tour of the house around midday during the heat of the day as a slight respite from the heat. We walked the short distance from parking lot A and we were quickly greeted by the blooming tunnel of Mountain Laurel and rhododendron on our path to the estate. Soon we saw the estate peaking through the woods and we enjoyed a full view of the estate from the higher viewing point. Personally, I really liked the first view you get if you are coming from parking lot A compared to parking lot B. However, you can easily walk up the viewing area to get the view from a higher vantage point compared to being level with the estate. 

We then started walking around the Italian gardens. Then we made our way through the shrub garden, spring garden, bass pond and the boat house which was my favorite part of the garden area. Personally, I really enjoyed how grown up that area of the gardens is compared to the very pristine rose garden and Italian garden area. Those areas are still absolutely gorgeous though and smells so amazing. 

After we walked around the gardens we ate a little lunch we packed for a picnic. After lunch it was time for our house tour and it was so lovely to see again. The library is so gorgeous and I wish I could read a book in there and just really enjoy that room all day. I think the servants' rooms were one of my favorite areas as well. I know that sounds odd but I think they were more my style. They had beautiful hardwood floors and the wood furniture was simple but beautiful and the views of the mountains  from the rooms were absolutely stunning. I also thought the pool and the kitchen were also some of my favorite rooms. There was a lot of beautiful artwork in the house and there were two Monet paintings. 

After we toured the house we made our way to the Monet Immersive Experience and it was so lovely to see. I have been to the Van Gogh Immersive Exhibit that was so lovely. I remember thinking at the time how much I would also love to see some of Monets work like that as well. So I was excited to go and see it. I will say while it was really nice to see, I don’t think it was quite as “immersive” as the Van Gogh Immersive Exhibit mostly because the Van Gogh experience was so seamless there was no space in the venu that didn’t have the art projected on it. Even the floors had the artwork projected on it. However, the Monet experience had very large panels all around the room and some columns where the artwork was being projected and there were some panels on the floor where the art was projected but it was a few spots on the floor instead of all over the floor. Still, it was a really nice experience and I would go again. Also, I am not sure if the venue determines how the art is projected so it may vary on location.

My husband and I took a quick coffee break and then we decided to return back to the gardens and enjoy one more shorter stroll. It was so nice to end our visit to Biltmore with one more stroll through the garden area.