| At a Glance
Daytime Celebration
November 6, 2009–January 3, 2010
Biltmore Estate is open Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Days. Estate is open 9:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. daily. Admissions Gate and Welcome Center 8:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m. Monday–Thursday, 8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Friday–Sunday. Biltmore House Front Door closes at 3:30 p.m. Monday–Thursday and at 4:30 p.m. Friday–Sunday. Hours on Christmas Day are 11 a.m-6 p.m.
One hundred fourteen years ago this Christmas Eve, George Washington Vanderbilt first opened Biltmore House to family and friends. Vanderbilt’s legacy for legendary hospitality lives on today and especially during the holiday season when Biltmore House is elaborately decorated for Christmas, offering guests a glimpse of what it may have been like to be one of his guests during that special holiday season in 1895. Known for being one of the largest holiday displays in the Southeast, Biltmore House and the surrounding 8,000 acres of the estate will celebrate its annual Christmas at Biltmore.
As in years past, the event will feature 100 decorated Christmas trees; hundreds of wreaths and bows; hundreds of poinsettias; 30,000 lights in the house with another 150,000 lights used around the estate; 10,000 feet of fresh garland; and more than 25,000 ornaments. Biltmore House’s holiday centerpiece, a 34-foot Fraser fir, spends the holidays in the 72-foot high Banquet Hall, adorned with lights and surrounded by hundreds of brightly packaged gift boxes. The Biltmore House front lawn will glow with a lighted 55-foot Norway spruce, surrounded by eight “islands” of smaller lighted trees and nursery shrubs.
Reservations are not required or available for the daytime celebration. TIP: Saturdays are the busiest day. If you can only visit on a weekend, arrive early Sunday morning. The estate welcomes about 275,000 visitors for the Christmas season.
Free Holiday How-To Seminars
The restoration and preservation of the magnificent Louis XV Suite in Biltmore House has inspired this year’s holiday décor theme. Guests who come to Biltmore before diving into their own holiday decorating can’t help but pick up tips and ideas. In fact, Biltmore staff will give free holiday seminars on how to create Vanderbilt-inspired decorations for their own homes. Reservations for the seminars are not required; however, space may be limited so guests should arrive early. Here is the seminar schedule:
• Deck the Halls, daily, Nov. 6-22: Biltmore’s Floral Displays staff will give decorating tips for the home. 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Biltmore House Library Den.
• Centerpieces for Holiday Entertaining, daily, Nov. 6-Jan. 2: 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at A Gardener’s Place in the Conservatory.
• Decorating a Christmas Wreath, daily, Nov. 6-Jan. 2: Learn how to turn an ordinary silk Christmas wreath into an elegant and interesting design. 1 and 3 p.m. at A Gardener’s Place in the Conservatory. Learn how to make a Ribbon Wreath
• Red Wine and Chocolate, daily, Nov. 6-Jan. 2: Discover why chocolate and red wine is a match made in heaven by pairing Biltmore Estate wine with several varieties of chocolate. 2, 3, 4 and 6 p.m. at the Winery.
 Candlelight Christmas Evenings
November 6, 2009–January 2, 2010
Candlelight Christmas Evenings, where luminaries and a brilliant display of twinkling lights on the Front Lawn set the tone for tours of Biltmore House, requires separate entry. New this year will be ballroom dancers in vintage costume gliding across the floor in the Winter Garden. A story teller will regale visitors with readings from traditional holiday tales such as “The Little Match Girl,” “The Gift of the Magi” and Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Choirs will perform European carols, with musicians providing seasonal music.
Candlelight Christmas Evenings tickets are available by reservation only (starting April 1), and include an evening self-guided candlelight tour of Biltmore House, next-day visit to the gardens and Biltmore Estate Winery. For Christmas reservations, call 800-413-9787 or 828-255-1319 and then press 3.
Ticket Information
Ticket prices vary. The estate is open on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Days. General tours are self-guided. In addition to Biltmore House, admission includes the grounds, Biltmore Estate Winery, the Farm Village, specialty gift shops and restaurants. Reservations required for Candlelight Evenings. Daytime tickets are available when you arrive.
Money Saving Tip: Save up to $10 on Christmas daytime tickets when you buy online for visits Sunday – Friday, in November. Online ticket purchase required. See ticket price list.
For more information and to purchase advance discounted tickets, go to the Biltmore Estate Web site.
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• On Christmas Eve 1895, George Washington Vanderbilt first opened Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina, to family and friends. The 250-room French Renaissance chateau took six years and one thousand men to build and is a National Historic Landmark open to the public today. Based on traditions from more than 100 years ago, Biltmore House is elaborately decorated every year for Christmas, offering today’s guests a glimpse of what it may have been like to be one of Vanderbilt’s guests during that special holiday season.
• 2009 marks the 35th year for Christmas at Biltmore as a seasonal attraction, and the 26th year for Candlelight Evenings at Biltmore.
• There are two ways to experience the holidays at Biltmore:
o Christmas at Biltmore during the daytime includes tours of Biltmore House, the Gardens, the Winery with complimentary wine tasting, River Bend Farm and Barnyard. Inside Biltmore House, the Banquet Hall organ will serenade guests with music of the season.
o Candlelight Christmas Evenings, where luminaries and a brilliant display of twinkling lights on the Front Lawn set the tone for tours of Biltmore House, requires separate entry. Guests tour through rooms lit by twinkling lights and firelight, reflected in thousands of ornaments. Live entertainment inside Biltmore House is included.
 • New this year: The restoration and preservation of the magnificent Louis XV Suite in Biltmore House has inspired this year’s holiday décor theme. The opening of the suite earlier this year revealed not only the ornate decorating style prevalent in George and Edith Vanderbilt’s time, it unlocked family memories and sentimentalities, for this suite served as the birthplace of two generations of the Vanderbilt family.
• The Louis XV Suite’s Christmas finery will include garlands and swags on mantels, fireplaces, doors, and windows to create focal points, including small tabletop trees in crystal and gold to reflect the surrounding décor.
• Ornaments featuring photographic images of George, Edith and Cornelia Vanderbilt, plus friends and extended family members, will be incorporated into the overall scheme throughout Biltmore House.
• Santa Claus rides onto the Estate on November 4 to help raise the grand 34-foot Christmas tree in the Banquet Hall. Mrs. Claus will be there from 9 a.m. to noon, too. Crews will begin raising the tree to its official holiday spot at 10 a.m.
• Holiday hospitality extends across the entire estate. Biltmore Winery offers self-guided tours, cooking demonstrations and complimentary wine tastings. Guests may enjoy a festive meal at Bistro, Deerpark Restaurant, Stable Café or The Dining Room. Guests looking to extend their stay at Biltmore, the four-star Inn on Biltmore Estate offers several packages for holidays.
• Biltmore boasts many retail shops, all perfect for holiday gift shopping. Other activities include taking a cozy horse and carriage ride (blankets provided) and exploring our 80 acres of landscaped gardens.
• Biltmore welcomes more than 1 million visitors a year, with approximately 300,000 visiting during the holiday season.
Ticket Information
Tickets for admission vary based on date and time. Please see Web site for details, including information on timed-entry days. The estate is open on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Days. General tours are self-guided. In addition to Biltmore House, admission includes the grounds, Biltmore Winery, River Bend Farm, specialty gift shops and restaurants. Special online rates are available. Tickets can be printed at home.
For more information, go to the Biltmore Estate Web site, including information on timed-entry days.
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