I just love Asheville so much, so I thought I’d share a few tips with you for exploring this cool mountain city:
- Where to Stay: If you want to splurge with a true, stately, historic beauty, there is no other option than the Grove Park Inn. It is now a part of the Omni family, but the lobby and views are pretty much unbeatable. That said, staying right downtown is probably wise, since it is such a cute and walkable center-ciy (there are several good, reasonable options just off 240). The third option would be to look down at Biltmore Village, or – if you REALLY want a Biltmore-themed visit, directly on the Biltmore property are now two hotels (one expensive, and one more reasonable). Biltmore village is cute, but is definitely a bit further from everything you’ll want to see in downtown.
- Where to Eat: I mean, how to narrow this down in a foodie city like Asheville??? There are SO many places, and most of them as SO good that it is really hard to choose. The aforementioned Curate is seriously a destination and almost reason to visit Asheville alone, but if it doesn’t float your boat, the nearby Nightbell is more of an american speakeasy option from the same chef. For brunch downtown, I’d avoid the crowds at Tupelo Honey Cafe (now expanded into other cities), and instead wait for Early Girl Eatery. Though the two rival “artisinal” donut options (Vortex and Hole) in cute & funky West Asheville are worth trying too… For lunch you can’t go wrong with some excellent BBQ options at 12 Bones down in the eclectic River Arts district (after all – Obama goes there any time he’s in town!).
- What to Do: I mean, I’ve already aluded to one of the best things to do in town – eat! – but there is PLENTY of other stuff. Of course one of the biggest draws is the fabulous Biltmore Estate, which is pretty much as close as we can get to a royal castle (or Downton-like estate) here in America. Breweries are now really big business in Asheville, so besides all the smaller craft breweries around town, it is also the east coast home to both Sierra Nevada (out by the airport) or New Belgium(down by the river). The beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway runs through town, and the ~2 hour drive up to Blowing Rock makes a really lovely day trip, especially if you stop for a short hike at the gorge and waterfalls at Linville. One place I haven’t tried but am now dying to is Navitat, apparently home to some amazing tree-top ziplines. So, yeah – there’s something for everyone in Asheville!