California
Hearst Castle San Simeon (9/25/2012) – Hearst Castle in San Simeon was a highlight of our driving trip of
California’s Central Coast and an amazing must-visit place.
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| Famous Neptune Pool - Hearst Castle, California |
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| Hearst Castle - San Simeon, California |
Hearst built the never-completed Hearst Castle on a 240,000-acre ranch at San Simeon, California, which he furnished with art, antiques, and entire rooms brought from Europe. He also used the ranch for an Arabian horse breeding operation.
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| Main House from Garden - Hearst Castle, California |
During
its heyday in the 1920s and '30s, invitations to Hearst Castle were highly
desired. The Hollywood and political elite often visited, usually flying into
the estate's airfield or taking a private Hearst-owned train car from Los
Angeles. Hearst’s A-list guests included Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, the Marx
Brothers, Charles Lindbergh, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, James Stewart, Bob
Hope, Calvin Coolidge, and Franklin Roosevelt. While guests were expected to
attend the formal dinners each evening, they were normally left on their own
during the day while Hearst directed his business affairs. At night, the
theater at the Hearst Castle showed films from Hearst's own movie studio,
Cosmopolitan Productions.
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| Pat at Neptune Pool - Hearst Castle, California |
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| Neptune Pool - Hearst Castle, California |
In addition to our tour, it was wonderful spending time wandering the grounds and beautiful gardens. The outdoor Neptune Pool was certainly a highlight of our visit to Hearst Castle (see photos). The Neptune Pool patio features an ancient Roman temple front, transported from Europe and reconstructed at the site. It also includes fountains, ornamental pools, sculptures, marble pavilions, alabaster lanterns, dressing rooms, and an ancient temple facade. It was rebuilt three times to suit Hearst’s tastes. The indoor Roman Pool is also beautiful (see photo).
Located
near the California coastal community of San
Simeon, Hearst Castle is half way between Los Angeles and San Francisco,
approximately 250 miles from both. Despite its rather remote location, Hearst
Castle attracts about one million visitors per year. Hearst Castle is a
National Historic Landmark mansion.
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| Dining Room - Hearst Castle |
Recommended
for first time visitors to Hearst Castle, we did the "Grand Rooms" museum tour for $25/person lasting about 45
minutes. The tour included a ticket to the entertaining and informative
40-minute film located at the visitor center. Tour guides were very
knowledgeable and encouraged questions. Other tours are offered such as:
“Upstairs Suites”, “Cottages & Kitchen”, and “Evening”.
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| Indoor Roman Pool - Hearst Castle, California |
Important Tips for visiting Hearst Castle: Order tickets ahead of time because
tours book out especially during summer – order tickets. Allow about 2 hours to also enjoy the pools and beautiful grounds and gardens.
Go early for less crowds. A nice food café is located in the visitors center.
Free parking on site. Watch the included 40-minute movie before you go up to
the house - it gives good context for better appreciation of your tour. Tour
time is the time the bus leaves the visitor center, not the time the tour
starts at the house. Even if it is foggy at the visitor center, it may be clear
up at the house.
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| Beautiful Gardens - Hearst Castle, California |
You can stay close by Hearst Castle in San Simeon or Cambria. Better yet, we stayed in Morro Bay, about 20 minutes south, offering more lodging options and a nice harbor restaurant area.
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| Guest House - Hearst Castle, California |
Some
history... William
Randolph Hearst built the largest newspaper chain and magazine empire in the
world. Named La Cuesta Encantada (The Enchanted Hill) by Hearst, the Hearst
Castle was designed by architect Julia Morgan between 1919 and 1947. Hearst’s
father owned the land and the family vacationed in tents many years before
Randolph decided to build. William Randolph Hearst died in 1951 and in 1957,
the Hearst Corporation donated the property to the state of California. Since
that time Hearst Castle has been maintained as a state historic park where the
estate and its considerable collection of art and antiques is open for public
tours.
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| Nude Statue |
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| Nude Statue |
Click on these links to see our other blog posts on beautiful California:
California Driving Trip of the Northern Coast and Wine Country – Highway 101, Napa, Sonoma, & Mendocino
Hollywood Walk of Fame - Hollywood, California
Del Mar & Torrey Pines, California (Our Home Town)
Coronado Marriott Resort - Coronado, California
Laguna Beach, California
Hollywood Walk of Fame - Hollywood, California
Del Mar & Torrey Pines, California (Our Home Town)
Coronado Marriott Resort - Coronado, California
Laguna Beach, California
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I've never been there before but since I'm planning a trip out west next summer I will definitely look it up.
ReplyDeleteRea more 10 Most Affordable Cities to Live in California
I've never been there before but since I'm planning a trip out west next summer I will definitely look it up.
ReplyDeleteRead more 10 Most Affordable Cities to Live in California