While European countries like Scotland and Ireland might be the first places that come to mind when you hear the word “castle,” we actually have a castle of our own much closer to home in Central California. And this summer, you can see Hearst Castle in a new light through its new “Designing the Dream” tour, offered through Labor Day Weekend.
The “Designing the Dream” tour offers a personal, in-depth look at the evolution of newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst’s picturesque castle atop La Cuesta Encantada, or the Enchanted Hill. The 15-person tour includes interpretations of the grand Neptune Pool, a turquoise outdoor pool surrounded by crisp white columns in true Roman-style and statues of Neptune and sea nymphs. Inside, the mosaic tile-adorned Roman Pool is reminiscent of a Roman bath, decorated with eight statues of Roman gods and goddesses and gold and blue tiles. The tour includes both the Roman Pool and its dressing rooms.
Other highlights of the “Designing the Dream” tour include the opulent Casa del Sol guesthouse, the largest guesthouse on the property at 18 rooms, and the North Wing of Casa Grande, the castle’s main house with 38 bedrooms.
After the tour, you can stroll through the lush gardens, enjoying the terraces, ocean views, sculptures and year-round blooms. The “Designing the Dream” tour also includes a screening of the “Building the Dream” film, complete with vintage construction footage from the 1920s and 1930s, at the visitor’s center.
Tickets for the 75-minute tour of this California castle are $30 for adults and $15 for children between 5 and 12-years old.
If you’re planning on visiting Hearst Castle after Labor Day, four permanent tours offer a look at the various rooms, guesthouses and pools of Hearst Castle. The Grand Rooms tour shows you how Hollywood’s elite experienced the castle, from the grand Billiard Room and Theater to the Neptune Pool and Refectory. For a look at how Hearst and his guests lived in this grand mansion, opt for the Upstairs Suite Tour, which includes the Library, Gothic Suite and Duplex Bedrooms. Or travel back in time with the Evening Tour, when guests and staff dressed in their finest 1930s wardrobes show you what it was like to be a guest of Mr. Hearst in the castle’s heyday.
(Main image: Averain)
