Explore the castles of America – CBS Pittsburgh

Randy Yagi

It is often said that a man’s house is his castle. However, this old saying acquires special significance when describing the colossal mansions and legendary castles of America, some of which may occupy more than an urban quarter or even an entire quarter. While some of America’s most famous castles are just attractions of theme parks such as Dar Castle at Busch Gardens, Sleeping Beauty Castle of Disneyland and Hogwarts Castle at Universal, there are many others that can just as easily impress and delight visitors and their children. offer a more realistic look at the story behind it and the extraordinary people who helped build it. Below are five of America’s best castles to explore for your next great vacation.

Biltmore Estate
One Lodge St.
Asheville, NC 28803
(800) 411-3812
www.biltmore.com

Elegantly spread over more than 8,000 pastoral acres and with a magnificent getaway of a French Renaissance castle, the Biltmore Estate is the largest private residence in America. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina about six miles south of Asheville, the main attraction of this unusual estate is the castle known as Biltmore House, which occupies more than 175,000 square feet with 250 rooms, 65 fireplaces and three kitchens , and completed in 1895 under the direction of owner George Vanderbilt, a member of the famous Vanderbilt family, which was once one of the richest families in America. Open to the public since 1930, the Biltmore Estate is still owned by descendants of the Vanderbilt family and in addition to the huge house also has a famous Biltmore Gardensthree housing options including AAA Four Diamond Hotel on Biltmore Estate and historical, award-winning Biltmore Winery in the heart of Antler Hill village. The Biltmore Estate is open 365 days a year, and self-guided tours of the Biltmore House, Gardens and Antler Hill Village are available for day guests. Additional accommodation can be found in Asheville, with proposed locations such as AC Hotel Asheville Downtown, Grand Bohemian Hotel Asheville, Renaissance Asheville Hotel and Windsor Boutique.

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Castello di Amaroza
4045 St. Helena Highway
Callisto, California 94515
(707) 967-6272
www.castellodiamorosa.com

Located in the heart of the breathtaking Napa Valley, Castello di Amorosa (Castle of Love) is a stunning Tuscan-style medieval castle and 13th-century distillery. Open to the public since 2007, the castle covers an area of ​​136,000 square feet and has 107 rooms on eight levels, five defensive towers, a drawbridge and even a torture chamber that can be viewed as part of a specialized tour. The castle is open daily for premium wine tastings, and a number of special events are held throughout the year, including a medieval mid-summer festival on June 22, which will include a wine reception, a medieval-style dinner and a knight’s tournament. Several exceptional hotels with excellent gourmet restaurants are located very close to the Castello di Amaroza, for example Auberge du Soleil with a Michelin-starred restaurant run by chef Robert Curry, Charlie Palmer’s Harvest Karch with the Harvest Table restaurant run by rising star chef Spencer Wolf and Vesti Veras Napa, backed by the famous Michelin-starred La Toque restaurant, run by chef Ken Franco. Also nearby is the Inn Ranch Caymusthe recently opened boutique hotel, which is located next to many other wineries, including St. Supéry Estate, the world-famous winery of Robert Mondavi and famous Silver Oak Winery. The last important recommendation to enjoy the wine country of the Napa Valley is a tour of the Calistoga Sip N ‘Cycle bike and a wine tasting with Adventures on vacation.

Hearst Castle
750 Hearst Castle Road
San Simeon, CA 93452
(800) 444-7275
www.hearstcastle.org

Hearst Castle, perched on a hill overlooking the vast Central Coast of California, was the unusual estate of legendary media mogul William Randolph Hearst, the founder of what is now known as Hearst Communications. Designed by renowned American architect Julia Morgan and built between 1919 and 1947, the huge Spanish Renaissance site has several notable structures, but none more important and informative than Grand House, a tall, cathedral-like twin tower that served as Hearst’s main residence. This thoughtful mansion contains 38 bedrooms, 30 fireplaces, 42 bathrooms and 14 living rooms of 68,500 square feet, and visitors can view parts of the house through one or more of the available tours. Shortly after Hearst’s death in 1951, the property was donated by the then Hearst Corporation and is now managed by California State Parks as part of San Simeon State Historical Monument. Located near Highway 1 about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles near the city of San Simeon, most visitors should take Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway), then Highway 46 toward Cumbria toward Hearst Castle Road as much of the highway. 1 from the north is currently unavailable. Although Hearst Castle has no accommodation, in San Simeone and Cumbria you can find a number of hotels such as the Blue Dolphin Inn, Cavalier Oceanfront Resort and Morgan.

Lindhurst Mansion
635 S. Broadway
Taritown, New York 10591
(914) 631-4481
wwwlyndhurst.org

When PBS named Lindhurst one of the 10 homes that changed America, it is just one of several luxury mansions located along the Hudson River in upstate New York. Designed by Alexander Jackson Davis and completed in 1838, Lindhurst is one of the finest examples of Gothic Renaissance homes in the country, and for many years was home to former New York City Mayor William Polding, businessman George Merchant and railroad developer Jay Gould. . The entire property occupies 67 acres, and several rooms of the mansion can be considered as part A classic tour of the mansion, from April to September, in addition to holiday tours from October to December, in addition to special tours held on separate weekends from May to September. Lindhurst also takes a number special events, including his summer jazz concerts from July 5 to August 23 and Crafts at Lyndhurst featuring more than 275 artists and masters from September 14 to 16. Territown is located about half an hour from New York and has other notable attractions such as the historic five-star suite Castle Hotel and Spa, Manor of Philipsburg and The sunny sidethe former residence of the famous American writer Washington Irving, who wrote such timeless classics as “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Login”, whose true village is a short drive to Mount Pleasant.

Smithsonian Institution Building
1000 Jefferson Dr. SW
Washington, DC 20560
(202) 633-1000
www.si.edu/smithsonianinstitutionbuilding

Perhaps the most familiar of the many Smithsonian Institution buildings located along the National Mall, the Smithsonian Institution building may be better known simply as the Castle. Completed in 1885, the castle was the first of Smithsonian’s buildings and was designed in the Gothic Renaissance style by renowned architect James Renwick Jr., among other notable projects of which were the Smithsonian Ranwick Gallery on Pennsylvania Avenue and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. Smithsonian Castle, easily recognizable by its distinctive red sandstone, now houses the administrative offices of the Smithsonian Institution and is a major center for visitors to the Smithsonian Museum and the National Zoo. Located behind the Arthur Sackler Gallery, the National Museum of African Art and the Hirschhorn Museum, Smithsonian Castle is just one of several castle-like structures in the Washington area. Other places of interest are the Blue Castle, the Gibbons Hall Brewery Castle, the residence of the French ambassador and Warder Castle. Several hotels can be found in the area south of the National Mall, such as the Holiday Inn Washington-Capitol, Hyatt Place Washington DC-National Mall and Intercontinental Washington DC-The Wharf, with additional accommodation offered in nearby cities Arlington and Alexandria. While Arlington is a particularly interesting place to visit as a home Arlington National Cemetery and iconic Marine War Memoriall, Alexandria is also a must-visit place, with leading facilities such as the Old Town, Carlisle House, Christ Church and Gadsby Tavern, in addition to a truly memorable trip to George Washington’s house Mount Vernon.

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