If you’ve ever wondered what it would feel like to be American Royalty, turn your tires towards Asheville, North Carolina and discover the magnificent Biltmore Estate…

This 250-room French Renaissance chateau was built to fulfill George Vanderbilt’s dream of a country home in the Blue Ridge Mountains. A Daytime Ticket is a princely sum – $65 7 days in advance $75 on the day – but if you allot a full day (opening hours are 9am-til-dusk) and take your time exploring the 8,000 acre estate it will be worth every cent.

And I guarantee your dog will be impressed!

Although your pup is not allowed into the main house (circa 1895) there is the option of utilizing one of the outdoor kennels if you want to nip inside for a peek at the vintage clothing displays, 16th century tapestries, 10,000-volume library and bowling alley! Kennels are self-service and offered on a first come first served basis.

Or you can follow our lead and enjoy an al fresco coffee from The Bake Shop, located in the Stables beside the main building, and then gaze upon the lily pads in The Italian Garden… (Do watch for your dog mistaking this for a leafy paddling pool!)

The Walled Garden reminded us of English National Trust properties with its brickwork, blooms and wrought iron benches…

One of the prettiest aspects is the the wisteria-draped colonnade…

Photo – The Biltmore Collection

With Greco-Roman busts lining the interior wall…

Bodie rather liked the idea of being immortalized in white marble…

And this statue of Diana the Huntress has the best vantage point of the estate…

Lord of all he surveys…

There is a wooded area alongside the ‘statue with a view’ and then from there you can cruise towards Antler Hill Village and discover fields of sunflowers…

We watched families biking by and then lay beneath the shade of a tree and contemplated layer upon layer of green before heading to Antler Hill Village (pictured below.) This is a perfectly-manicured mock village offers lunch, snacks and dairy treats, as well as cutesy arts and crafts shopping at The Barn Door.

Photo – The Biltmore Collection

Named for George Vanderbilt’s beloved St Bernard, Cedric’s Tavern offers outdoor seating set with bright red parasols and live music in the evenings. I was a total British cliché and ordered the Fish & Chips, not quite bold enough to brave the exceedingly American Jack & Coke Wings! (Next time I’m saving room for the Cherry Knickerbocker dessert with bourbon ice-cream!)

Come the end of the day it feels a genuine wrench to leave this enchanted world and head back to reality. So we paused and took one last lingering look…

BILTMORE ESTATE WEBSITE: www.biltmore.com

PHONE: 800-411-3812

ADDRESS: One Lodge Street, Asheville, NC 28803

ESTATE MAP: www.biltmore.com/estate