When my parents were driving me up to college at CSUMB we made a stop at Hearst Castle in San Simeon. I was very excited about visiting Hearst Castle because the pictures that I saw online looked amazing. Hearst Castle is a place that a lot of high profile people, especially movie stars, were invited to by owner William Randolph Hearst long before I was born. Now this beautiful place is open for tours so that you can step back in time and see what the areas that Cary Grant and others got to enjoy. Hearst Castle sits on 127 acres and has 56 bedrooms and 61 bathrooms and is around four hours from Los Angeles and San Francisco. One of the most spectacular places at Hearst Castle is the Neptune Pool which is currently drained due to construction.
Hearst Castle offers a few different tours from the Grand Rooms Tour, Upstairs Suites Tour, Cottages and Kitchens Tour, and an evening tour. They also offer two tours that are wheelchair accessible. In doing research for this blog post I discovered that there is a holiday themed tour when Christmas time arrives which I think would be really magical. You will park at the visitors center and will take a bus to begin your tour. We took the Grand Rooms Tour which is recommended for first time guests. In addition to seeing the Neptune pool, pictured above, we also got to see the Roman pool which is indoor and equally as extravagant looking. I hope that one day they will open up the pools for swimming on the tours because I would love that.
The tour lasts for forty five minutes and takes you to popular areas of the property. You see the assembly room where Hearst and his guests would enjoy drinks and hang out. It has a grand feel to it which is a common theme through the rooms. The dining room has a medieval theme complete with a mural and flags. It was my least favorite room out of the ones that I saw but the walls and ceiling are filled with a lot of details so it is quite impressive. Guests visiting Hearst Castle had a lot of activities to chose from to occupy their time and I’m sure the billiards room was quite popular. This is probably the smallest room on the tour but just like every other stop it has something unique and special about it. I thought it was a relaxing room and was similar to how I imagined the common rooms at Hogwarts would be (yes I love Harry Potter).
As an actress and a movie lover I was thrilled to get to see the theatre. Hearst would show movies every night and I gladly would have taken a seat and watched a classic movie like Casablanca. That is another idea that I have for an addition to a tour, offer a movie in the theatre at the end. I love the idea of having a personal movie theatre and is something that I hope I can have in my home someday. Once the guided portion of your tour concludes you have time to stroll through the gardens and explore the beauty of the area. They have now added a new bus route on your return trip to the visitor center so you will get to see the bear pits from when Hearst had a his own zoo on site.
In order to find the best tour for you please visit the Hearst Castle website where you can look tour by tour at what you will see. It is a shame that the tours are so short because there is so much to see but I wouldn’t want to pay to take multiple tours while visiting there. Most of the tickets are $25 and I have not been able to find any information on discounts. Have you taken a tour at Hearst Castle and if so which one would you recommend?
Wow, I have never heard of the Hearst Castle before, but it’s lovely!
This looks amazing I love how beautiful it is! I would take as many pictures as I could haha
Wow, Hearst Castle looks beautiful! I would love to visit some time, thank you for sharing.
Never heard of Hearst Castle but if I am in the location would like to take a tour of a real castle sounds awesome.
That pool is so beautiful! I wish it was warm enough here for a swim!
wow what a wonderful place to visit looks very cool I agree that holiday tour would be magical
I have never been there. Would be cool to tour.
I would like a tour around this castle! The garden is so lovely!
I’d jump all over the opportunity to see that. I know I would enjoy that tour as much as you did.
Such a beautiful, Pictures of place, I want to travel in this lovely place with my family.
I wish i can go there. I love the pool looks peaceful and relaxing.
Very beautiful. Would love tyo spend an afternoon in the garden. :)
what a beautiful sight, given a chance i would love to visit it too
It looks beautiful here and who wouldn’t want to stay in a castle?
Its so lovely that you got to do this with your parents. Some of the best moments that I have had are with my family and I would never trade it for anything else in this world.
Wow this is truly a stunning place! I’m sure it’s even better when you see it in person!
It looks so beautiful there. A trip there would be really amazing for sure. Thanks for sharing!
Hearst Castle sounds like a wonderful place to visit. I hope I can go there someday.
We visited Hearst Castle 2 years ago and loved it!! We even saw some of his zebras on our way out!!
What a cool adventure!! I’m sure you had fun I wish I was there too, it’s really beautiful .
This looks gorgeous. Love it. Thanks for sharing.
How fun! I like to visit huge houses because they have so many crazy interesting features that I would have never thought about. Its a peek into the lives and interests of others like you would never see anywhere else.
I remember visiting Hearst Castle when I was a teenager! It was so cool… I have always wanted to get back there! Thanks for the great photos!
Gorgeous photos! I have never been to Hearst Castle and I would love to check it out someday.
Love Hearst Castle! It’s been a few years since my last trip but it’s just so gorgeous, and the history is so intriguing.
Such a gorgeous place! It is on my things to do before 40 bucket list, so we’ll be heading up that way soon.
I went here!!! Wasn’t it amazing! I could live in that pool!