Asheville, located in western North Carolina’s Blue Ridge mountains, is a destination that should be on everyone’s bucket list. The city and surrounding region has become a mecca for outdoor adventure, fine dining, luxury hotels, arts and crafts, museums, and craft breweries, all surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery in America.
I was only 14 years old the first time I visited Asheville, the City of Land and Sky. On that trip, my family was bound for our summer vacation in Hilton Head Island, and we made an overnight stop in Asheville. Our primary reason was to visit the historic Biltmore Estate, an opulent summer chateau built for George Vanderbilt II. I was amazed walking through the palatial estate. In the enormous Banquet Hall, I gazed at the triple fireplace, the mammoth chandeliers that dropped from the 70 foot high ceiling, and the beautiful tapestries that lined the wall.
The Biltmore was the main tourist attraction at that time, and there wasn’t much else that the city had to offer. The downtown was in major decline. Since then, Asheville has reinvented itself as a hip and trendy city and a major tourist destination, hosting over 12 million visitors a year. Since that youthful trip, I’ve visited Asheville a few more times, and it has become one of my favorite cities. It’s small enough to easily navigate, yet offers world class attractions, James Beard Award-winning restaurants, eclectic shopping, craft breweries, and breathtaking natural scenery.
Exploring Downtown Asheville
Downtown Asheville is attractive, compact, walkable, and full of things to do. Elegant buildings designed in the Art Nouveau, Beaux-Art and Art Deco styles line the narrow shaded streets. There are dozens of national and independent shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, craft breweries, museums, and hotels to suit every interest. You can also explore the Asheville Art Museum and the Asheville Museum of Science. Scattered throughout are numerous plazas and parks that are popular gathering spots used to host numerous events and concerts, such as Shindig on the Green held each summer.
Grove Arcade – The Grove Arcade is a downtown gem and architectural landmark, built by developer Edwin Wiley Grove in 1929, who also built the Grove Park Inn. Grove envisioned the large commercial building to be the most elegant building in America, with a five story base and 14 story tower. Grove passed away two years before the building’s completion, and only the base was completed. Nevertheless, the arcade is a beautiful landmark that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It includes an ornate three level linear corridor with a glass ceiling. The arcade was renovated in 2002 to include a mixture of shops, restaurants, galleries and apartments. Outside, the Portico Market features a rotating selection of artists, farmers and craftspeople selling their wares, including local crafts, food, jewelry, handmade soaps and more.
Farmers market – The Asheville City Market is a farmers market held each Saturday morning on North Market Street, hosting nearly 50 vendors selling everything from produce, baked goods, crafts, soaps, and more.
Asheville Pinball Museum – The Asheville Pinball Museum has 35 pinball machines and 35 classic video games. Visitors can play as many games as long as they like for a set price of $15. The museum also includes vintage machines from the 1930’s (for display only).
Thomas Wolfe Memorial – The Thomas Wolfe Memorial, located on North Market Street, preserves the childhood home of the 20th century American novelist, famous for his most notable novel, Look Homeward, Angel.
Dining – Downtown Asheville has plenty of dining options to choose from, with numerous cuisines serving a variety of budgets. Try classic Spanish tapas at the James Beard award winning restaurant Curate, or Indian at Chai Pani, recipient of the 2022 Outstanding Restaurant Award. Southern food enthusiasts will love Tupelo Honey, famous for its honey dusted fried chicken, sriracha honey chicken and waffles, homemade biscuits, fried green tomatoes and more. For Middle Eastern cuisine, try the Jerusalem Garden Café. I’ve dined here twice, where I enjoyed the pistachio encrusted lamb chops served with pomegranate molasses. For dessert, try the kanafa, a sweet creamy cheese enveloped in crunchy shredded phyllo dough, and drizzled with rosewater syrup and pistachios.
The Biltmore Estate and Surrounding Area
The Biltmore Estate, completed by George Vanderbilt II in 1895 and nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains south of Asheville, is one of the most prominent examples of Gilded Age mansions in the United States. As you approach the estate, you almost feel as if you’ve landed at a massive chateaux in the French countryside. In fact, the estate’s lead architect, Richard Morris Hunt, modeled it on three early 16th century chateaux in the Loire Valley, using characteristics such as steeply pitched roofs, and a grand stair tower. Today, while open to the public, the estate is the largest privately owned house in the US, still owned by George Vanderbilt’s descendants.
Construction of the estate took six years and over 1,000 workers at a cost of $5 million (equivalent to $180 million today). The 175,000 square foot home includes 250 rooms, including 33 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms and 65 fireplaces. The interior is filled with 16th century tapestries, and furnishings and art collected from throughout Europe and Asia. Ironically, Vanderbilt called the Biltmore his “little mountain escape” but the home is far from little.
The breathtaking surrounding landscape was designed by famous designer Frederick Law Olmsted who designed masterpieces such as New York’s Central Park. He designed the estate to offer four seasons of beauty. The original estate covered 125,000 acres, yet today, it only has 8,000 acres. The grounds include six formal and informal gardens including a Roman style garden and rose garden, a conservatory, 20 miles of trails, a horse stable, pond and lagoon, and vast woodlands. Seasonal events are held each year, such as Christmas at Biltmore, when the home is tastefully decked for the holidays.
The estate comprises the nearby Antler Hill Village, which includes the Biltmore winery, the Village Hotel, dining and shopping. Here, visitors can also attend scheduled events such as wine tastings, craft demonstrations, and a winter holiday illumination display.
Biltmore Village – Biltmore Village is located a few miles north of the Biltmore Estate off Highway 25. It was created by George Vanderbilt II as a company town for the estate workers. The community was designed to resemble an English country village, containing a mixture of homes, a church, post office, hospital, shops, school, and train station. Today, the village is a commercial district with an eclectic collection of nearly a dozen restaurants, over 20 shops, hotels and other services. A focal point is the Cathedral of All Souls, a Romanesque revival-style Episcopal church built by Vanderbilt for the community.
North Asheville
The North Asheville area, located just north of downtown, comprises a number of beautiful and historic neighborhoods, such as historic Montford, Albermarle Park, where beautiful homes of a variety of architectural styles line leafy winding streets.
Grove Park Inn – The Omni Grove Park Inn is located in North Asheville, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The beautiful but rustic appearing hotel, built in 1913, is a perfect place to stay during a visit to Asheville. It has hosted ten US presidents, diplomats and celebrities such as F. Scott Fitzgerald. Designed in the Arts and Crafts style, the hotel is built of large granite stones and a red tile roof. The hotel has seven restaurants and four bars. Blue Ridge offers farm-to-table Southern cuisine and breathtaking mountain views. The Sunset Terrace features hand cut steaks, premiere chops and fresh seafood. The resort grounds include a subterranean spa with mineral pools, an 18 hole championship golf course, tennis courts, and indoor and outdoor pools.
Grovewood Village – Adjacent to the Grove Park Inn is historic Grovewood Village that once housed the weaving and woodworking operations of Biltmore Industries. Today the village is an arts and crafts destination, featuring Grovewood Gallery, a furniture studio, eight working artist studios, an antique car museum, live craft demonstrations, a sculpture garden and the Homespun Museum. Regular events include craft demonstrations, wine tastings, and studio tours. The village is also home to Eldr restaurant featuring new American cuisine, and serving brunch, lunch and dinner.
River Arts District
The River Arts District, along the east side of the French Broad River, comprises over 20 working studios housed within former industrial and historic buildings, hosting over 240 artists and working studios. One of the largest, Marquee, is a former warehouse converted to an art gallery and marketplace. Other artist venues include Riverview Station, and Northlight Studios. In addition, craft breweries, coffee houses and restaurants are scattered throughout the district. A weekly farmers market is held year round, offering produce, baked goods, dairy products, specialty foods and more.
West Asheville
Just across the French Broad River is West Asheville, a funky neighborhood full of craftsman cottages and a variety of shops, boutiques, restaurants and breweries lining Haywood Road. Here you can visit a number of vintage clothing stores, purchase vinyl records and comic books, play with cats and buy magic themed goods at the House of Black Cat Magic, or try some down home biscuits at Biscuit Head.
Craft Breweries
Over the last decade, Asheville has established itself as a craft beer town. With nearly 50 breweries, Asheville has more breweries per capita than any other city in the United States, earning it the nickname Beer City USA. There are plenty of options, from producers like Hi-Wire and Wicked Weed that have earned acclaim for their mouth-puckering sours, to small-batch breweries bringing fresh creativity to the craft beer scene.
In addition to beer, there are a numerous local wineries and distilleries, such as Chemist Spirits which uses indigenous Appalachian plants for creating world-class gin for visitors to sample. Other offerings include single malt whiskey, chocolate orange gin liqueur, and Bierbrand, a distillate made from beer.
Majestic Mountain Scenery
Asheville is blessed with having some of the country’s most stunning scenery right in its backyard. Nature lovers will enjoy an abundance of mountains, rivers and waterfalls accessed by scenic roadways and trails. Easily accessible parks include Pisgah National Forest and Great Smoky Mountains National Park, America’s most visited national park known for the beautiful ancient mountain chain and diversity of plant and animal life. Northeast of Asheville is Mount Mitchell State Park. The summit, at 6,684 feet, is the highest point east of the Mississippi River. An observation deck provides spectacular views.
Chimney Rock State Park – Just 25 miles southeast of Asheville is Chimney Rock State Park, known for its interesting 315 foot tall freestanding rock formation that overlooks Hickory Nut Gorge. Within the park is the 404 foot tall Hickory Nut Falls, one of the highest waterfalls east of the Mississippi. The waterfall was featured in the 1992 film The Last of the Mohicans. Other nearby beautiful waterfalls worth exploring include High Falls (an hour south of Asheville), and Toms Creek Falls (50 minutes east of Asheville).
Trails – Notable trails such as the Mountains to Sea Trail, and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail are within an easy drive of Asheville, offering opportunities for day hikes or longer thru hikes while exploring the diverse and beautiful surroundings.
Blue Ridge Parkway –The scenic 469 mile long Blue Ridge Parkway, known as America’s Favorite Drive, winds through the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina and Virginia. The parkway is operated by the National Park System, and provides access to some of the most spectacular scenery on the east coast. It can be accessed along the southeastern outskirts of Asheville at Hendersonville Road. The striking beauty along the parkway can be captured all year long, but especially during Autumn, when the leaves show off their vibrant colors. Beautiful Crabtree Falls is located off Milepost 340
Right off the parkway in east Asheville is the Southern Highland Craft Guild, where visitors can view, learn about and purchase folk art and handmade crafts built from over 800 makers in North Carolina and the Southeast.
