Biltmore House and Gardens / Biltmore Estate, Biltmore-Asheville North Carolina

Approached from the Biltmore Lodge Gate of Biltmore Estate, along a three-mile drive of paved roads which wind their way through plantations of flowering shrubs and forests of pine, hemlock and hardwood, Biltmore House, for nearly half a century unique among the great country houses of America, comes into view with almost startling suddenness. A sharp turn through the wrought iron gates of the north entrance gives one the first view of the magnificent mansion completed by George W. Vanderbilt in 1895.