Art Excursions, Inc.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

Biltmore Estate and Gardens

Built between 1889-1895 for George Washington Vanderbilt II, Biltmore is America’s largest privately-owned home. Famed architect Richard Morris Hunt designed for Vanderbilt a French Chateau style mansion with numerous historical references.

Hunt’s other projects include The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and The Administration Building at the famed World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago.

The mansion’s 250 rooms awe visitors even to this day. Yet its impressive size incorporated progressive amenities such as indoor plumbing, fire alarms, forced-air heating, a bowling alley, and an intercom system.

The magnificent house is enhanced by stunning grounds and gardens designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Read on for more information about Olmsted’s contributions to Biltmore.

Our tour gives you two full days to experience all the estate has to offer. Enjoy the splendor of breathtaking spaces, antiques and artwork in the house. Take time to explore the grounds and gardens at your own pace.

We have included two private specialty tours to enhance your experience. One private tour enables you to go behind the scenes at Biltmore mansion. The other focuses on the gardens.

Still in the Vanderbilt family today, Biltmore opened to the public in 1930. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1964. Since then the Biltmore mansion and its remarkable setting have been featured on every list of must-see American sites.

Biltmore is an essential experience for anyone interested in American history and architecture.

Perfect timing: The Festival of Flowers and Biltmore’s spectacular grounds designed by Frederick Law Olmsted

Biltmore welcomes spring with a celebration of roses, tulips and other blooming plants in its 4-acre walled garden and its conservatory building. Throughout the estate azaleas, dogwoods and other blossoms will take your breath away. Six distinctive gardens provide a range of experiences...from the formal Italian garden to the naturalistic woodlands and ponds.

Olmsted began with over-farmed land with little to offer and created out of this an expansive landscape design that makes it appear that the plants, trees and shrubs have been in place for millennia. As with his design for New York’s Central Park, Olmsted also sculpted the terrain to offer intimate spots for reflection, and stunning vistas. He also created a dramatic approach to the Biltmore mansion itself.

To enhance your experience of Olmsted’s project at Biltmore we’ll enjoy a private guided tour of the gardens and grounds.

Special exhibition: Immersive Ancient Egypt and King Tut

Our tour features an immersive special exhibition at Biltmore Estate featuring narration, 3D models, and multiple screens with high resolution images of ancient Egyptian tombs, temples, monuments, statuary, wall paintings, artifacts, and more. Educational placards will illuminate the connections between Biltmore’s ties to British aristocracy and its role in and fascination with archaeology in Egypt.

Biltmore’s winery and Antler Hill Village

There is a great deal more to Biltmore than the house, gardens and grounds. In the two full days our itinerary devotes to the estate you’ll have the opportunity to experience the history and design of the home as well as take in some of the more casual experiences that make this destination so unique. Antler Hill Village features a gallery space with special exhibitions, a winery offering tastings and tours, and a village marketplace -- evidence of the working estate that Biltmore was and continues to be. A variety of shops offer local crafts, accessories, jams, jellies and the like.

A narrated driving tour highlighting Asheville’s unique history and extensive outdoor murals collection

Tucked among the Blue Ridge Mountains and the banks of the French Broad River, Asheville is a vibrant city with a dynamic art scene. Led by a local historian, our driving tour features an amazing collection of murals, sculpture, and art installations. You’ll learn about Asheville’s history as well as local artists and what inspires their work.

The North Carolina Arboretum

The North Carolina Arboretum is nestled in one of the most beautiful natural settings in America and is adjacent to the Blue Ridge Parkway. During our visit, your tour director will provide an introduction to some of the public art and installations that make this arboretum a worthy stop on our tour of Asheville’s art and architecture. Some highlights include:

1. -The Quilt Garden, a unique interpretation of traditional quilt block patterns with seasonal plants, consists of 24 in-ground beds divided by gravel and slate foot path walkways.
   

2. -The Stream Garden features trees, shrubs and perennials planted around an abstract representation of a mountain stream course.
   

Explore The Blue Ridge Parkway: “America’s Favorite Drive”

The Southern Appalachians are the result of ancient rivers and streams that carve through deep gorges, cascade over high cliffs and tumble down mountainsides into wide valleys. The National Park Service describes The Blue Ridge Parkway as “America's Favorite Drive, a slow-paced and relaxing drive revealing stunning long-range vistas and close-up views of the rugged mountains and pastoral landscapes of the Appalachian Highlands.” We’ll enjoy a scenic drive along a stunning portion of the parkway with photo stops at several overlooks and culminating with a lunch at The Pisgah Inn, “the peak of the parkway.”

Accommodations in Asheville’s Biltmore Village neighborhood

Art Excursions understands that our choice of accommodations contributes to the overall experience of the boutique tours we design and lead. Consequently, our clients have come to expect a high standard of hotel as well as an in-town location that is convenient to shops, galleries, museums, restaurants, theaters and concert venues.

For this tour, we have selected a hotel located one block away from the entrance to Biltmore Estate and Biltmore Village. George Vanderbilt established Biltmore Village as a residential community and town for architects, craftsman, engineers and builders who worked on his home for six years during its construction. Today the “Village” is an upscale setting for great shops and restaurants.

Tour study leader and host

Art historian Jeff Mishur, co-owner of Art Excursions, hosts this tour. In a recent article about “Top Private Art Guides,” The Wall Street Journal referred to Jeff as an expert armed with an advanced degree and “equipped to give the most veteran aesthete the thrill of a new perspective.“

Jeff is a sought-after guide for private tours of architecture, public sculpture and museum collections. He is also a very popular lecturer on art and architecture. On this tour, Jeff will provide an illustrated presentation about Biltmore and its history. Learn about the European homes that inspired the Biltmore mansion, Olmsted’s vision for the estate, and how George Vanderbilt came to live in Asheville.

TOUR INCLUDES

1. ‣Accommodations for three nights in Asheville’s Biltmore Village district
   

2. ‣Fully guided itinerary
   

3. ‣Welcome dinner
   

4. ‣A private illustrated presentation from Jeff Mishur
   

5. ‣Admissions, special exhibitions and tours as highlighted above
   

6. ‣Full breakfast daily
   

7. ‣Lunch daily
   

8. ‣Private guided tours at all venues including two private guided tours at Biltmore Estate
   

9. ‣Independent time to take in what you like at each event on the itinerary
   

10. ‣Opportunity to add on nights at a special rate
    

11. ‣Transportation to and from itinerary elements
    

12. ‣Driver gratuities
    

13. ‣Tour design, planning, hosting, commentaries and handouts provided by Art Excursions
    

TOUR DOES NOT INCLUDE

Gratuities for tour director, tour guides and hotel staff; incidentals at hotel; costs for items not specified above; Airfare and airport transfers. We can book airfare on your behalf if you prefer not to make your own arrangements.  We do charge a $45 per ticket booking fee for this service.

TOUR PRICING

$2,125 per person in a room with 1 king bed (based on double occupancy)

$2,145 per person in a room with 2 queen beds (based on double occupancy)

$295 single supplement

QUESTIONS? NEW TO ART EXCURSIONS? TRAVELING AS A SINGLE?

Our boutique tours are ideal for anyone who enjoys art, architecture, travel and culture in a small group environment, including single travelers, singles traveling together, and couples. We typically have a mix of these types of travelers. If you are new to Art Excursions, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page to learn more about us. Feel free to explore our website as well.

TOUR RESERVATIONS

Group size is limited. Reservations accepted first-come, first-served. For more details please email artexcursions@yahoo.com or call 630/671-9745.

READY TO SIGN UP?

Great! Just email us at ae-news@artexcursions.com or artexcursions@yahoo.com and we’ll follow up with a tour application. Our phone number is 630.671.9745

Biltmore Festival of Flowers in Asheville: Art, Architecture and Gardens -- Featuring an Immersive Ancient Egypt and King Tut special exhibition

April 7-10, 2025