Insider View of the Vanderbilts in Asheville, North Carolina

Travel in North Carolina wouldn't be complete without at least one visit to Biltmore, the legendary 250-room French Renaissance home of George and Edith Vanderbilt located in Asheville. And this spring, visitors will have the unique opportunity to learn more through a new exhibit of rarely displayed treasures collected by the Vanderbilt family.

"The Vanderbilts at Home and Abroad" explores the personalities of this intriguing couple and their only child, Cornelia, through achival letters, documents, personal items and exotic treasures. From intimate details and descriptions of the Vanderbilt courtship and wedding to Cornelia's birth to grand parties at Biltmore and their various travels through Europe and the Far East, some of the family's cherished possessions that will be displayed include: a collection of Samurai armor and weapons; an intricate Cartier vanity and lipstick case; a 12-sided Tiffany & Co. coffee pot given to the Vanderbilts as a wedding gift from President Theodore Roosevelt's sister; and a set of gilded book volumes called The Holland House Books that contain letters, prints, etchings and drawings that span British history.

The exhibit opens April 7 in Antler Hill Village at Biltmore and is included in estate admission. Just one more reason that Biltmore tops our list of a North Carolina travel must-see.