What is the right age to slow down in life for a man? Would you slow down if you still have an unfulfilled dream? Would you quit if your dream is so grand in proportion that others would call it close to impossible? Well many of us would I guess…many of us do, everyday. But not, William Randolph Hearst. The dream that he built was the Hearst castle which still stands in grandeur with its 165 rooms and 127 acres of gardens, terraces, pools and walkways. It took him nearly 28 years to realize this dream and he started building his dream in association with the architect Julia Morgan, when he was in his 50s. Hearst Castle is today a State Historical Monument, run by the state park service.
This place is a great weekend getaway for couples and families equally. It has a great collection of artifacts in terms of furniture, paintings, huge tapestries, mosaic work both on walls and floors, statues, artistic ceilings, candle stands etc. Mr Hearst collected most of them from various parts of Europe (the place which he got awed by when he was a child). The interesting part is that all these different artifacts have been very artistically and tastefully blended in to the whole set-up. The castle has some exquisite views of nature from various points and some amazing pools.
There are 5 tours available. I would recommend the Tour One called the “The Experience Tour” for the people visiting the first time. The first tour includes a 40 min National Geographic movie called “Hearst Castle Building the Dream”. It is a good movie and gives a history of how Hearst Castle came into being. But it does focus a little more on Mr. Hearst than giving details of the interiors of Hearst Castle. The whole tour involves half a mile walk and about 150 steps to climb. I would also recommend the tour five which is a special evening tour that allows visitors to experience the Castle at night as one of Hearst’s own visitors might have. But this is open only in Spring and Fall.
I would highly recommend anyone who lives in or visiting San Francisco or Los Angeles to make a trip to Hearst Castle. I got the chance to do it last weekend. I am so glad that I did it finally.
Location:
It is located in the central cost of California in the hills at San Simeon halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles (approximately 250 miles).
How to get there:
From Los Angeles:
Take U.S. Highway 101 north to San Luis Obispo, then California Highway 1 north about 39 miles. (Approximately 4.5 hours).
From San Francisco:
Take U.S. 101 south to California Highway 46, then west on 46 to California Highway 1 and north about 13 miles (250 miles total, approximately 5 hours).
Food and Lodging:
Lodging is available in the areas around Hearst Castle like Paso Robles, Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo, San Simeon. I stayed at Courtesy Inn (https://courtesyinns.com/) at San Simeon. I found it to be very nice and economical too. There are some real nice restaurants in Cambria which is only few miles away and near the vicinity of the castle.
Link to Heart Castle Website:
https://hearstcastle.org
© Roshan Thomas