This NC landmark ranks as the nation’s most beautiful building. Why tourists love it
Tourists can’t get enough of the views at one North Carolina landmark.
So much so, the building now ranks as the most beautiful in the nation. The Biltmore House in Asheville topped the list after thousands of travelers praised the appearance of the massive structure, according to results published on Dec. 8.
To create the rankings, the home repair service site Angi said it studied online travel reviews in each state. Using data collected from the website Tripadvisor in August, analysts looked at reviews that most often contained the word “beautiful.”
“We narrowed our analysis to buildings in the following categories: architectural buildings, churches and cathedrals, government buildings, religious sites, historic sites and points of interest,” Angi wrote in its report.
The Biltmore House made its mark after garnering 9,609 beauty-related comments. It beat out the busy Grand Central Terminal in New York, which came in second place with 8,270 comments.
The Biltmore House, located in the mountain tourist destination of Asheville, started to take shape in 1889. At the time, George Vanderbilt, the grandson of a railroad mogul, wanted a country home.
“This palatial mansion in Asheville, North Carolina, was built in the Châteauesque style in the late 1800s and is the largest privately owned home in the country,” Angi wrote in its report.
These days, several Tripadvisor users said they were fans of the home’s grand architecture and interior decorations, helping it earn more than four out of five stars. The house, which boasts 250 rooms, is nestled on an 8,000-acre property with gardens, a winery and other attractions, according to its website.
It’s not the first time the Biltmore has made it into the national spotlight. In January, it earned a spot on a list of most beautiful U.S. landmarks to visit, McClatchy News reported.
This time around, other buildings that landed in the top five were:
- Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist in Savannah, Georgia
- St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York
- St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans
On a separate international list, the No. 1 spot went to the Sagrada Família basilica in Barcelona, Spain. The Biltmore House was found to have the third-most fans worldwide.
