Biltmore Estate is Ready for a Brilliant Autumn Season

After a long hot summer, the cool nights and bright days of Fall are a welcome arrival. Fall enthusiasts can experience the season in one place with Biltmore’s beautiful array of everything autumn.

Brilliant colors of purple and gold – Biltmore’s Fall gardens

This summer’s above-average heat gives way to more temperate weather, making it the perfect time to meander through one of the Southeast’s most extensive fall garden displays. Biltmore’s landscaping team has nurtured thousands of mums to bloom in colors of purple and gold, filling the estate’s Walled Garden. The Shrub Garden boasts more color in the Fall than any other time of year, with bright leaves ranging from yellows to purples. Whether guests visit in September when the Beautyberries and Dogwoods flourish or in November while Red Oaks in the Deerpark finish out the year, Biltmore presents several options for taking in brilliant Fall color throughout the season.

Special views and special tours

Biltmore’s Specialty Guided Tours allow visitors to see the estate in full Fall regalia. The Rooftop Tour of Biltmore House gives unlimited sight lines in every direction, with peeks into rooms not open to guests. The Legacy of the Land Tour sweeps passengers along quiet roadways via motorcoach to explore the history of the land, structures and former residents. Visit areas not usually open to guests.

Antler Hill Village

At Biltmore’s new Antler Hill Village, guests may relax, listen to live music and escape, while the area’s Outdoor Center offers several activities to experience the crisp fall air. The Farm in Antler Hill Village welcomes curiosities and gives guests the chance to step into the everyday lives of families who lived on the estate raising livestock, tending crops, and working at Biltmore Dairy in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Barn, once the social and work center for these families, is alive with blacksmiths, woodworkers, craft demonstrations and turn-of-the-century games. At the Farmyard, interpreters introduce a variety of family-friendly animals. Be sure to plan time to tour through Legacy, which features exhibits on Edith Vanderbilt’s love of entertaining; George Vanderbilt’s relationships with the men who helped him build Biltmore, Richard Morris Hunt and Frederick Law Olmsted; and a short film that explores Biltmore’s future.

Winery

Fall is harvest time at Biltmore’s award-winning Winery, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year with updated tours, seminars and tasting areas. The estate’s six restaurants will also offer seasonal cuisine inspired by the property’s field-to-table production garden and fresh locally-sourced ingredients.

Music under the stars

Under a crisp night sky, with the Blue Ridge Mountains and Biltmore House as the backdrop, guests may enjoy live music on two occasions as part of Biltmore’s annual concert series, wrapping up this Fall. Singer-songwriter Christopher Cross performs on Sept. 24, and country-bluegrass great Kathy Mattea performs on Oct. 1. Learn more about the concerts, and ticket pricing, at BiltmoreConcerts.com, or call 866.336.1255

Flower Carpet

There’s still time to catch Biltmore’s Flower Carpet, on display through Sept. 12. This is the third year that showcases the 14,400 square-foot “living” carpet made of more than 150,000 plants on the South Terrace of Biltmore House. This year’s carpet features a design inspired by stained glass windows created by artist and interior designer John La Farge in the 1880s. Three La Farge windows, part of George Vanderbilt’s vast art collection, are now on display in Biltmore’s new Antler Hill Village. Flower Carpet visits are included in daytime admission to Biltmore. Special Flower Carpet Evenings feature live jazz in the Tea House on the terrace, candlelight tours of Biltmore House, and require separate admission.

For more information you can call 800-411-3812 or visit Biltmore’s website.

Attractions