Visiting Biltmore Estate with Kids

This past year, I couldn’t decide what to get my mom for Christmas.  Then I remember how she has always mentioned wanting to visit the Biltmore Estate at Christmastime.  We have heard that the Biltmore at Christmas is something worth traveling to see.

My brother and I came up with a plan to surprise her and take our entire families (5 adults and NINE children) to fulfill her Christmas wish.  Visiting Biltmore Estate with kids turned out to be much more fun than I expected.

With all of the children with ages from 12 all the way down to 3 months at that time, I was a little worried if it was going to be worth it.  In the end, I’m very glad that we all went.  Here are a few tips to hopefully make your trip to Biltmore Estate fun with children.

Children age 9 and under are FREE!

Yes, FREE!  Children ages 10-16 are discounted.  This ended up being a huge help to us because we only had to pay for one of out the nine kids!

Keep in mind that you do, however, still need to reserve a ticket for your child no matter their age.  Biltmore limits the number of visitors during peak times so the house doesn’t get too crowded.

You can also buy your tickets online so you don’t have to wait at the box office.

Bring your stroller, carrier, sling, wrap, etc to hold little ones.

For our crew, all the children were fully able to walk through the house with no problem.  I had the baby in his Ergo and my nephew was in a stroller.  There were some parts of the house with stairs and the stroller had to be folded to continue, but it didn’t cause much of a problem.

Plan for 2 days if possible.

With the Christmas tickets, we were able to visit the Biltmore House on one evening and then spend the next day exploring the grounds.  This worked out great for us!

There was so much more to see than just the house.  Lots of gardens, farm animals, playgrounds, and more.  It’s definitely not just for adults.

Take your kids to the winery.

Before you hesitate to take your kids to the winery, note that they offer grape juice and wafers for the kids while you get to sample all of the wines.

My kids thought that this was great!  You also get to walk down a long hallway with tons of history and information on wine making.

Consider the Children’s Audio Guide.

This fun and entertaining 90-minute tour is narrated by Cedric, the Vanderbilts’ Saint Bernard. Cedric guides young guests through amazing rooms in Biltmore House, sharing stories about the Vanderbilts and living in America’s largest home.

We didn’t personally try this but have heard it’s pretty interesting to hear all the facts from the house.

Read the signage throughout the house.

There were very interesting facts and tidbits that your kids will find fascinating.  My kids loved reading about the various rooms uses, how things were built, who stayed where, and so forth.

Bring the camera (but not in the house!)

The house rules do not allow for any photography inside the Biltmore House, however, you can take plenty outside.  The bright blue skies and mountain views made for some gorgeous backdrops and some memorable photos.  The gardens also are perfect for some photos with your family.

Take time to relax and play.

We found some benches near the Biltmore House gardens on the side of the house and just let the kids play for a bit in the fields.  This helped them unwind and gave the adults some time to talk and just soak in the beautiful views.

Christmas Lights are breathtaking!

With all of the decorations and lights at Christmastime, the house was beyond gorgeous!  You can encourage your children to count all the trees and see if they can find all of them!  Great way to make the tour into a game.

We had a great trip and are very glad that we went.

If you are looking for dining nearby, I highly recommend dining at The Moose Cafe.  That was by far some of the best country cooking I’ve ever had!  Almost worth driving from Athens to Ashville again just to eat there!