North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains is home to Asheville, a city known for a lively arts scene and historic architecture, including the Basilica of Saint Lawrence. The huge 19th-century Biltmore Estate, the largest privately-owned house in the USA, showcases artwork by masters like Renoir. It should be on every antique-lover and collector's list as a must-see. The Downtown Art District is dotted with galleries and museums, and in the nearby River Arts District, industrial buildings house artists' studios open to the public.