Tips For Visiting The Biltmore With Kids

Located in Asheville, NC, amidst the Blue Ridge Mountains, The Biltmore House, Gardens and Estate are beautiful, full of history and fun to visit — even with kids! Built by the Vanderbilts and completed in 1895, the estate is perfect for a day-long adventure or several days of activities. Considered an “American Castle,” the Biltmore House and Gardens were modeled after the castles that George Vanderbilt visited in France.

My 3 girls and I recently visited the Biltmore together for a full day of exploration. While I had visited the Biltmore as a kid and several times as an adult, this was the first time I brought my girls..and we can’t wait to go back! The kid-friendly activities, food and resources are plentiful and best of all – kids are free during the summer months.

Here is what we did and all of our tips for visiting the Biltmore with kids!

Tips as you Prepare for your Visit:

• Where to stay: There are three lodging options on the estate ranging from moderate to luxury prices. We, however, stayed at a hotel in downtown Asheville which was a short 5-minute drive to the Biltmore.
• Parking: There are plenty of clear directions and roads to both the “Park & Ride” and “Park & Walk” lots. There are free shuttles to the front of the Biltmore House through the “Park & Ride.” We opted for the “Park & Walk” lot that requires a 5- to 10-minute walk to the front of Biltmore House. Then, you will have to drive to Antler Hill Village which is about 2 miles away from the Biltmore House and Gardens and has tons of parking.
• Arrive early to avoid crowds and for shorter lines — ticketing opens at 8:30am and the house opens at 9:00am.
• You can buy tickets online to avoid some lines too. (Kids 16 and under are free during the summer — check online to make sure this is always the case — the rest of the year, kids 9 and younger are free.)
• Strollers and baby carriers are welcome. You will want to stick with a carrier in the house since some of the areas are difficult to navigate with a stroller.
• There is no air conditioning in the house — but lots of fans — and it can get crowded. In the summer, dress light and comfortably.
• Make sure everyone wears comfy walking shoes and apply sunscreen as exploring the grounds is one of the best parts!
• There is so much to see and do! Don’t feel like you have to do it all in one trip. Save some things for your next visit or spread it our over a few days. We can’t wait to rent bikes next time and visit the winery.
• We listened to the audio version of Seraphina and the Black Cloak — a middle grade series about a fictional young girl who lives secretly in the basement of the grand Biltmore Estate — on our drive from Nashville. The girls commented on Seraphina many times while wandering through the basement. The book is a fun introduction to the house and history.

The Kids Audio Tour

The kids audio tour is well worth the splurge! For $15 per person, the tour is narrated by the Vanderbilt’s dog, Cedric, and it kept my kids engaged and laughing about some of the kids tour discoveries. They loved hearing kid-friendly fun facts about each room and discovering hidden features as they looked around. Plus, there are lots of pictures of Cedric (the beloved Saint Bernard) to be found!

Note: We purchased 2 audio tours for 4 of us, which worked out ok. My oldest and youngest used the tours and then told my middle and me the best/favorite facts about each room. We could have traded the tour devices, but we found it was easier and more time efficient to just get the highlights. Next time, however, I will purchase one for each kid.

The Kids Treasure Hunt 

There is also a kids treasure hunt that you can either download online or simply ask the front desk for a paper copy when entering the Biltmore House. Since we had the audio tour, we didn’t use this as much, but it was a nice souvenir and there is a coupon in the scavenger hunt for $1 off ice cream at The Creamery in Antler Hill Village or a purchase in the toy shop located next to the house. We used ours for ice cream, of course!

Explore the Gardens

The grounds and gardens of the Biltmore Estate are exquisite and provide plenty of room for running and playing. The girls and I explored the paths and checked out the amazing and colorful gardens outside the house with incredible views of the surrounding mountains. You can also drive or take a free shuttle to the garden conservatory.

Visit Antler Hill Village

After a long day of touring the Biltmore House and Gardens, Antler Hill Village was our last stop. It’s located separately from the house, so you’ll need to drive or take a shuttle there. The Village has several restaurants, a winery, and a petting zoo and playground. We got ice cream at the Creamery (with our treasure hunt coupon) and then made a beeline for the petting zoo, which was a highlight for sure! Chickens and goats were plentiful and friendly – we almost brought a few new chicks home! While we didn’t make it to the winery this trip, they offer free wine tastings and free grape juice to kids while adults sample the wine.

Where to Eat

All of the restaurants and eateries throughout the property are very kid-friendly with wonderfully helpful servers and staff.  We ate lunch at The Stable Cafe just outside the Biltmore House. We sat in a booth that was once a horse stable (try asking the server for the horses names that stayed in the stable – if they’re good, they’ll make something up 😉 and the girls inhaled their lunch while I sipped on a Biltmore glass of wine. Over lunch, we talked about our favorite rooms in the house: mine was the kitchen and bowling alley, Grace loved the library, Lila liked Mrs. Vanderbilt’s oval shaped bedroom and June adored it all — even the indoor swimming pool! All of the restaurants on the estate come highly recommended for kids and families.

We had a short wait for a table, but the restaurant is located right next to the Toymaker’s shop, The Confectionary, and clean public restrooms which kept them occupied while we waited.

Have you been to the Biltmore with your kids? We can’t wait to go back!