A towering Fraser fir is back in Biltmore House’s Banquet Hall, continuing a Christmas tradition that began with George Vanderbilt’s first holiday celebration at the Asheville, North Carolina, estate in 1895.
Biltmore staff raised the tree Monday, Nov. 2, ahead of the opening of Christmas at Biltmore on Nov. 3. This year’s season runs through Jan. 10.
The Banquet Hall tree is a centerpiece of the annual display.
Biltmore says the 35-foot fir is the tallest tree inside the house, and staff raise and decorate it by hand.
The first tree stood in the hall when Vanderbilt welcomed family and friends to Biltmore on Christmas Eve 1895.
The tree-raising marks the final stretch of preparations for the season. Biltmore’s house and grounds will be decorated for Christmas, with daytime visits and evening Candlelight Christmas experiences available during the season.
Visitors can find seasonal details and ticket options on Biltmore’s Christmas page.
Biltmore Estate has long served as a film location, and it has recently become the setting for two Hallmark Christmas movies.
“A Biltmore Christmas,” which premiered in 2023, follows a screenwriter who travels back in time while researching a movie filmed at the estate.
Its follow-up, “A Grand Biltmore Christmas,” was filmed there in January and premieres Dec. 5 on Hallmark Channel.
