Hearst Castle is a 90,000-square-foot estate containing artwork and furnishings from Hearst's "Grand Tour" abroad at a young age. Many of the impressive things he saw in Europe were included in this home, built over 28 years.

The castle is accessible by tour only. All the tours include the main house, Casa Grande, and both the outdoor Neptune pool and indoor Roman pool. For something unusual, we reserved an evening Living History tour of the castle.

The visitor center is located 26 miles north of Morro Bay on Highway 1. Allow time to view the museum displays and movie of the castle's construction.

A tour bus takes visitors up a long, narrow, private road to the top of the hill. Since this was an evening tour, viewing the surrounding scenery was not possible, but it sure was dark.

We were treated to a rare glimpse of the fog rolling in from the coast. It had a definite flair, but also made viewing more difficult. The evening tour emcompasses more rooms than any single day tour. The outdoor pool is lighted up at night and rather eerie with the fog. The uniqueness of the evening tour comes from the presence of period-costumed docent "guests" enjoying Hearst's hospitality throughout the castle. While in the kitchen, you can talk to the "chef." The "staff" and "guests" are always in character.

Reservations are highly recommended (via telephone or Internet), especially for the evening tour. Evening tours occur Fridays and Saturdays in spring and fall only. Day tours run all year long. Tickets for the evening tour are $24 for adults and $12 for ages 6 to 17. Allow about 3 to 4 hours, 2 1/4 hours for the house tour and the balance at the visitor center. Day tours are 1 3/4 hours. Day tours range from $12 to $18 for adults and $7 to $9 for children. There is a special tour designed with no steps for those with accessibility issues.

Because of the nature of the exhibit and the multitude of steps, the evening tour is not designed for small children or those unable to navigate the stairways on foot. Babies will need to be carried the entire time since strollers are not possible. Hand-holding of children is required at all times to assure they stay within the roped-off areas. Hearst Castle does not even list a price or mention children under 6 for the evening tour, since it is not really suitable for them.

For more information, you can check the informative website at www.hearstcastle.com or call 1/800/444-4445.

Since there is no flash photography allowed inside, take along high-speed film or a camera that does not require a flash.