Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

In just one week, I toured three of the most visited homes in the United States, all of which belonged to extremely wealthy and powerful men.

Monticello

My first stop was just outside of Charlottesville, Virginia at the home Monticello, the home of President and amateur architect Thomas Jefferson. He spent forty years of his life (from 1769 to 1809) tinkering with this building, and the result is a beautiful and quirky house with such details as an annex bed bridging Jefferson's sitting room and his study so he could roll out of bed into either room, a french door that operates on a pulley system under the floor, a huge dome and numerous skylights, and an octagonal guest room (he just liked the shape).

Gardens at Monticello

Unfortunately, you aren't allowed to take photos inside the house, only outside in the equally charming gardens. But you can see a glimpse of each room on display by clicking through the floorplan here.

Biltmore

My second stop was the polar opposite of Monticello. Biltmore was the brainchild of George Washington Vanderbilt III. He, along with architect Richard Morris Hunt, trolled Europe looking for inspiration (and antiques), then built this mansion just outside of Asheville, North Carolina from 1889 to 1895. It has a staggering 225 rooms, including 43 bathrooms, and an indoor swimming pool, and one of the country's first private bowling alleys. Rooms like the banquet hall are jaw-droppingly huge and dripping with luxurious artifacts such as 16th century Flemish tapestries and Napoleaon's chess set. The house was modelled on the great French chateaux, but it struck me as faux and even noveau riche; a wealthy American mimicking European royalty. Whereas Monticello incorporated European design and often improved on it in a uniquely American way, Biltmore seemed to be a straight-up imitation, a Gilded Age monstrosity designed by a man with too much money and too little originality. But it is still a seriously impressive sight, if only for the sheer size of it. Just touring the house takes at least an hour and a half, then the gardens, another few hours. They were beautifully designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, the landscape genius behind Central Park.

Gardens at Biltmore

The only thing that Biltmore does have in common with Monticello? The fact that visitors can't take photos inside. You can see a selection of some of the rooms here though.

Graceland

And finally, how could I travel through this country without visiting the home of an actual American King? My third stop was at Elvis Presley's Graceland in Memphis Tennessee. Unlike the other two houses, you CAN take pictures inside, which is fortunate because while the outside looks like a fairly typical wealthy home, the inside is something else entirely. It is a truly stunning example of 70's hedonism, done in the tackiest possible way and all squeezed into a house that isn't that much bigger than your average McMansion today.

Kitchen

TV room

Pool Room

Jungle Room

And while Evis may have left the building, he's still on the premises. The King and his parents and grandmother are all buried in the backyard.