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City in North Carolina, United States
Photo: via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
The city of Asheville is a liberal, artsy community nestled between the Blue Ridge Mountains and Great Smoky Mountains in Western North Carolina. A popular tourist destination, this "Paris of the South," has one of the most impressive, comprehensive collections of Art Deco architecture in the United States. In 2011 Asheville was picked as one of the “10 Most Beautiful Places in America” by Good Morning America.
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
A 14-story building faced with brick, limestone and terra cotta trim with a Mission Revival style roof, erected in 1924.
A French Renaissance-inspired chateau; with over 250 rooms, it is the largest single family home in the U.S. and the largest privately-owned house in the world, just a few minutes outside the city and should be on any visitor's itinerary. Basic admission includes access to the fabulous gardens, stables, expansive hiking trails, winery and self-guided house tour.
Completed in 1928, the outside features complex setbacks, window groupings and overlay of Neo-Classical Revival ornamentation. The Neo-Classical interior lobby contains a sweeping marble staircase, bronze and glass screens, a coffered ceiling with ornate plasterwork and a mosaic tile floor.
Designed by Art Deco architect Douglas Ellington and completed in 1927, the City Building is constructed out of Georgia Pink marble, brick, and terra cotta. The steeped, octagonal shaped roof is the logo of the City of Asheville.
The Drhumor (pronounced "drummer") is a boldly detailed, Romanesque Revival style building constructed in 1895.
Commissioned by Dr. E. W. Grove, the Grove Arcade is an elaborate Tudoresque building occupying an entire city block. It is particularly worth noting, as it was, when it was built in 1927 by architect Charles N. Parker, one of the nation's most unique and interesting buildings. On each side of this city landmark, four giant arches allow entrance into the building. On the main side facing the equally impressive Victorian Battery Park Hotel, are two monumental gryphons, guarding the entrance into the expansive interior, which features oak shopfronts, spiral staircases, and opulence around every corner. Today, it serves as an influential public market with several restaurants, vendors, and mountain craft shops.
Completed in 1913, this historic resort hotel is an important example of the Arts and Crafts style.
Bordered by South Market Street and South Pack Square, completed in 1925. A Neo-Gothic style skyscraper complete with gargoyles and a bell tower.
Features robust brickwork and a tall portico of paired Ionic columns. A three-story, blind arched window is on its Woodfin Street side.
Another Art Deco masterpiece designed by architect Douglas Ellington.
A sprawling frame Queen Anne-influenced house immortalized in the epic autobiographical novel Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe.
A simplified English Tudor Cottage style with pebble-dashed walls, red brick quoin trim, multi-pane windows and hipped roofs.
Designed and built in 1905, the Basilica is on the National Register of Historic Places and was elevated in status to a Minor Basilica in 1993 by Pope John Paul II. Features the largest freestanding elliptical dome in North America. This place is gorgeous and a must-see.
Erected in 1902, the imposing limestone church presents Romanesque Revival style massing and forms, but the detailing more closely reflects the Gothic Revival style. A five-bay loggia, set between two pinnacled towers, fronts the large, gable-roofed auditorium.
In Art Deco/Romantic style, Douglas Ellington's first big commission in Asheville. A beautiful distinctive dome with a copper cupola cap.
Commissioned in 1884, the Gothic Revival style brick nave and tower feature deep-corbelled cornices, hood-molded windows and blind arcading at the eaves.
A redbrick late Victorian Gothic church featuring a tin-shingled roof where three towers are topped by ornamental sheet-metal finials. A large number of Art Glass windows ornament the towers and walls. Built in 1919.
A Gothic-style building with a gable roof nave. The brick walls are laid with a darker shade of headers presenting a horizontal texture to the building's surface on every face. The interior contains a rich display of well maintained dark woodwork fashioned in various Gothic motifs. The pulpit, lectern, altar and other furnishings are all original to the church and are decorated with trefoil arch panels, quatrefoil incisions and other Gothic elements.
Designed in 1912, the Tudor Gothic Revival style brick building with granite trim features a simple, gable-roofed sanctuary with transepts and a short corner tower.
Contemporary Southern folk art, NC wood-fired pottery, and custom picture frames.
Authentic mountain handicrafts including pottery, face jugs, quilts, mountain-made toys and handmade rugs.
A contemporary craft cooperative featuring handmade work of local artists. Original works in clay, fiber, furniture, glass, metal, jewelry and book arts.
A partnership of 29 professional, regional artists offering original two-dimensional works from representational to abstract.
A glassblowing school and gallery with daily demonstrations and workshops.
Premier studio glass gallery featuring a variety of glass disciplines by regional and national artists.
Explores the history and legacy of Black Mountain College.
Presents contemporary Southeastern fine art and crafts.
Seeks out art that is provocative, challenging, daring, relevant, and important.
Featuring more than 100 distinguished artists and craftspeople, all showcased in the historic Kress Building.
The Kress Emporium's sister gallery.
Featuring the work of over 80 Western North Carolina artisans.
Functional and sculptural work by national ceramic artists.
An exclusive members-only salon and fine art gallery.
More than 150 exhibiting artists and artisans selling and making jewelry, fine art, decorative art and crafts in nearly 20,000 square feet of air-conditioned, quality display and studio space.
Houses numerous exhibits, many dealing with the history of African Americans in Western North Carolina.
A collection of the very best of 20th and 21st century American art.
Asheville’s first mansion and oldest surviving structure.
A living museum exhibiting plants and animals that are native to the Southern Appalachians.
A glassblowing school, working glass studio, and glass gallery with demos and workshops daily.
Asheville is well-known for its scene in contra dance, an easy-to-learn social folk dance with mixed European origins. The main dance takes place at Warren Wilson College, a little outside the city proper.
A personalized tour and VIP treatment at three of Asheville's finest local microbreweries -- Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company, French Broad Brewing Company, and Highland Brewing Company.
Eating Asheville’s walking food tour leads you through an orchestration of the finest and most delicious sights and tastes that the city has to offer. Join us for a tour of the city’s unique food culture. Inquire about our walking brewery tours of downtown Asheville!
Pedal with ease to the Basilica of St. Lawrence, Botanical Gardens, Grove Park Inn, Pack Square, and more on this guided two-hour electric bike tour of Asheville. Also, check out the Bike n Brew Ride!
Ghost Hunters of Asheville offer three separate 90-minute ghost tours covering different aspects of historical, haunted Asheville. Guests enjoy free use of ghost-hunting tools and paranormal photographs are guaranteed.
Come hear tales of the famous, the infamous, and the unsung heroes of the female persuasion in engaging detail. This 90-minute walking tour covers the history of downtown while spotlighting the women who helped shape Asheville. Tours leave daily from The Old Kentucky Home, Julia Wolfe's former boarding house at Thomas Wolfe Memorial. Reservations required.
Sightsee Asheville aboard a vintage Trolley. Fully narrated, covers all major points of interest in Asheville including: the Grove Park Inn, Biltmore Village, the Grove Arcade, the Montford Historic District, the downtown shopping and restaurants district, the Thomas Wolfe Memorial, the Asheville Museum and Art Gallery district, the Asheville Chamber and Visitors Center.
LaZoom Comedy Tours is "A Tour with a Twist!" You'll get all of the facts plus loads of fun. Your costumed tour guide will take you and your family on a 90 minute adventure covering all of the points of interest. This isn't your grandma's tour (but she can still come).
A self-guided walking tour in downtown Asheville, tracing the footsteps of Asheville’s historic past. Twenty-seven "stations" are highlighted in this continuous 1.6-mile loop, from churches and buildings to streets and landmarks. Guided tours are available April through November on Saturdays at 3PM. Tours leave from the front desk inside Pack Place. Headsets and maps are available for self-guided tours.
A yearly tour of holiday decorated homes in Asheville's oldest historic neighborhood on the second Saturday of December. Enjoy Shakespearean actors and homemade baked goods during the tour. Located down the street from Asheville Visitors Center.
Twice each year, multicultural music and arts non-profit event held at scenic Camp Rockmont, in nearby Black Mountain.
Held annually at the end of January.
The largest herb festival in Southeast, offering herb plants, herbs, books, soaps, herbal crafts, vinegars, medicinal herbs, lotions, tinctures, teas, dried flowers, herbal baked goods, and herbal gifts. Held each May.
Held the third Friday of each month from May through September, featuring free outdoor local music and plenty of shopping and eating opportunities.
Music and dance traditions of Southern Appalachia. Held from the end of June through the beginning of September.
Mountain fiddlers, banjo pickers, dulcimer sweepers, and dancers. Held the first weekend in August.
An African-Caribbean style festival. Held each August.
A festive day of live music, organic food and drink, organic and green goods, and fun activities for kids of all ages.
Over 30 American breweries showcase more than 100 different beers, along with music from national and regional bluegrass musicians. Held each September.
Electronic music festival honoring the late innovator Bob Moog, inventor of the Moog synthesizer. Held on Halloween weekend.
A forum for building community and to honor the many facets of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender family.
The arena has a capacity of 7,654.
Has a capacity 550.
Standing capacity of 942, shows local and nationally touring acts. In 2008, Rolling Stone magazine named the Peel one of the top five rock clubs in America.
A hot spot for live music and dancing.
Has a capacity of 2,431.
A volunteer-driven community theatre.
Western North Carolina's first modern dance company. A diverse repertory reflects both traditional and experimental forms of modern dance.
Productions of opera, operetta, and musicals, performed in the company’s home, the Diana Wortham Theatre.
Presents seven full orchestra concerts a year at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in the Asheville Civic Center.
Located within the Pack Place Education Arts and Science Center on Pack Square, the theatre offers live performances of music, theatre and dance by nationally touring artists and professional regional arts groups.
Free Shakespeare and other classic plays held at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre in Montford.
Asheville's only professional theatre. Voted Best Local Theatre by readers of Mountain Xpress for four years running. Winner George A. Parides Award for Outstanding Professional Theatre, North Carolina Theatre Conference. NC Stage Company has something either in rehearsal or performance 49 out of 52 weeks.
Some of the most beautiful (and abundant) waterfalls can be reached via the Blue Ridge Parkway. Park your car on any Parkway overlook and there will most likely be a trail nearby. Popular spots include Mount Pisgah (15 miles south on the Parkway), Graveyard Fields (25 miles south on the Parkway), Craggy Gardens (24 miles north on the Parkway), and Mount Mitchell, the eastern United States highest mountain (35 miles/1 hour drive north on the Parkway). The Parkway intersects Asheville at US 25, US 70, US 74A & NC 191.
A half-mile loop across streams, through meadows, and over a woodland ridge to a wildflower cove with an authentic log cabin. Just three miles north of downtown beside the University of North Carolina at Asheville.
A 434-acre facility with a Visitor Education Center, state-of-the-art greenhouses, beautiful gardens, and walking trails.
Much of Western North Carolina is covered by national forest, making it a hiker’s paradise. For maps or information on great places to hike, call the National Forest Service.
Faith-based outdoor camp and conference center located between Asheville and Hendersonville. Lutheridge offers a variety of summer programs for elementary to high school aged youth and hosts retreats and conferences from fall to spring. Lutheridge is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
An indoor rock climbing gym in downtown Asheville.
Lessons, guided trail rides, shows, clinics, and camps. Must pay entrance fee to Biltmore estate.
An outdoor skateboarding park in downtown Asheville.
Come support Asheville's own minor league baseball team! The Tourists offer a full season running from May through early September, and every Thursday is 'Thirsty Thursday' where a cup of draft beer is only $1.
A professional minor league men's football team.
Women's flat-track roller derby league.
All sorts of yoga by various local teachers.
Offering all styles of Hatha yoga.
Traditional Japanese and sushi.
Authentic Indian food in a beautiful and exotic atmosphere. Full bar available.
Japanese restaurant and sushi bar.
Innovative "farm to table" cuisine.
New-American cuisine with a daily written menu.
Upscale fresh Mexican-Californian cuisine. Reservations recommended.
Fresh, made from scratch Mexican cuisine.
Mexican-Caribbean food.
French comfort food of the Lyon area of France and wine bar.
Traditional Italian. Reservations recommended.
Tapas and Spanish cuisine in a very romantic atmosphere.
Made-from-scratch Southern regional cuisine using local organic produce and free-range meats.
Check this out for some delicious New Southern cuisine.
Signature steakhouse.
A vegetarian/vegan restaurant with a variety of international-inspired unique dishes. Jungle-themed elegant indoor dining or great outdoor dining on Wall Street, the heart of downtown. The bar Jack of the Wood is downstairs.
Vegetarian/vegan (mostly organic) food in a very unique atmosphere. It's open until 3AM on most nights, and you're sure to find an assortment of interesting characters no matter the time of day.
Known to locals as the APBC or Brew n' View, is a good place to relax with a beer, pizza (available by the slice), and watch a movie for $3.
New York style pizza.
Serves acclaimed ice cream (vegan selections available) made on-site.
Menu changes daily.
A great brunch spot.
Delicious fried chicken as hot as you want it.
Employee-owned cafe with all vegan menu offering wraps, handmade pastries, and more exotic options. Unusual selection of progressive books, anarchist pamphlets, and free internet. Firestorms hosts community events and concerts on a regular basis.
Reservations recommended.
A brewpub with their own locally-brewed beers on tap and a full liquor bar, piles of board games, and a large outdoor covered patio with giant movie screen.
A popular destination with an expansive variety of beers, local, regional, and continental. 52 beers on tap. Small stage with live music 3-4 nights a week, no cover charge. Upstairs Billiard Room with four tables available by the hour.
Over 200 beers from around the world and a full liquor bar. For the sports fans, they have 16 televisions including a 15-foot screen.
Serves its own locally-brewed Green Man Ales on tap and a limited selection of bottled beers.
A huge gay-oriented nightclub with 3 dance floors and 4 bars.
Pub specializing in Belgian beers.
Tiki bar/restaurant serving lunch, dinner and a late night menu. Check out their specialty cocktails, particularly the 'Pain Killer', it's served on fire.
Locally brewed beer at $3.75 a pint.
Offers tastings, tours and live music five nights a week in a relaxed, intimate setting.
Home of the original sport of rootball (a cross between horseshoes and bocce)! Beer only.
Family-oriented bar with pub grub and live music.
Queen Ann style home, built in 1899 and authentically restored. It has ten rooms, a large three-bedroom carriage house, beautiful gardens and a much-photographed front porch.
An English-themed Colonial Revival home, a half-mile walk to downtown. Five rooms and three suites.
Built in 1912. Four rooms plus a suite and a cottage.
Beautifully restored historic home, all rooms with private baths and most with working fireplaces. Your hosts will offer you wine or beer upon your arrival and in the morning will cook you a wonderful breakfast, served with organic coffee. A half-mile walk to downtown.
Six rooms and a carriage house.
Beautifully maintained and decorated Arts & Crafts Home with 6 bedrooms and one cottage. Beautiful gardens, 1/2 mile from the center of Downtown Asheville.
Georgian mansion. Five rooms.
A 1905 English Tudor style home. Five rooms.
An historic Queen Anne Victorian built in 1894. Once the residence of Charlton Heston. Eleven rooms. Vegetarian & vegan friendly.
A grand Colonial Revival home with eight rooms.
Very comfortable. Most suites include small kitchen. Sixteen rooms. Available for longer stays.
Bed and breakfast. Pet friendly rooms available.
Six rooms.
An 1847 example of Italianate architecture with Gothic Revival influence. Five rooms and one suite.
Built in 1891, Queen Anne architecture. Ten rooms and two cottage rooms.
Six rooms.
Bed and Breakfast, Circa 1910, 1.5 miles north of the Biltmore Estate, Biltmore Village and 2 miles south of Pack Square. Spacious, family friendly two-room suites with a bit more space than your average B&B room. Cyclists welcome. Wireless internet access, complimentary on-site laundry facilities, on-site massage available, full breakfast each morning.
B&B north of downtown Asheville and only two miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway.
A 1915 Colonial Revival home in the Kenilworth neighborhood. Four rooms plus a suite and a carriage house.
An eco-friendly Victorian B&B 10 minutes north of downtown Asheville in Weaverville.
Elegant 1907 Greek Revival mansion. This AAA four-diamond inn features exceptionally spacious guest rooms with period furnishings, fluffy robes, flat screen televisions, wireless internet, private baths and on-site parking. Full breakfast and afternoon refreshments included in room rate.
The most budget-friendly place to stay in the city. Has a hot tub and foosball table.
Outdoor pool, complimentary breakfast buffet.
Private, comfortable, spacious, with kitchenette, PingPong.
Cheapest chain option. Free Wi-Fi, HBO, coffee and doughnuts.
Prices range from $28/bunk to $60/private. An interesting option is a 'pod,' which is basically a privatized bunk for $35. There is no lock out and the staff is knowledgeable.
Complimentary full breakfast, heated indoor pool.
Offers guests free breakfast and free wireless high-speed Internet access.
Free hot breakfast, free Wi-Fi, fitness center, outdoor pool, free parking, free weekday newspaper, and free cookies and coffee in the lobby.
Forty restaurants within four blocks, full breakfast buffet, indoor pool, hot tub and fitness center.
125 acre year-round resort. Amenities include a newly redesigned 9-hole golf course, 14 indoor and outdoor tennis courts, two outdoor swimming pools, 34,000 sq ft of meeting space, and a dining room/lounge on property.
Large outdoor pool, full service restaurant and bar. 2,400 sq ft of meeting space.
Free airport shuttle and on-site car rental desk, Christy's Cafe restaurant in lobby, and 2,400 sq ft of meeting space.
Complimentary breakfast, heated indoor pool and hot tub, free high speed internet.
Rooms include 55-inch TVs, USB ports, and free Wi-Fi.
A Spa Inn Asheville
Boutique Bed & Breakfast Spa. Breakfast served where and when you want it. 5 rooms: fireplaces, 2-person jacuzzi tubs, king beds. Finnish sauna, steam room, Massage Suite, Facial Suite with Eminence Organic skin products. Massages, facials, body wraps.
Probably the most famous hotel in Western North Carolina. It has a spa, several restaurants, a sports complex with weight rooms and fitness classes, indoor and outdoor pools, and two 2 retail promenades. In the winter months it houses the National Gingerbread House Competition & Display and entries range from the heartfelt efforts of elementary age children to fantastic creations that must have taken months to prepare. The hotel has its own ghost, the Pink Lady. Even if you don't stay here, stop by the bar and lounge for a cocktail or, in the winter, some delicious hot cocoa by the roaring fireplace. Wander outside for some of the finest views in Asheville.
Lavish rooms set on the grounds of the 8,000-acre Biltmore Estate. The inn also offers Land Rover excursions, horseback riding and fly-fishing.
A restored and exquisite building built by E.W. Grove, who also designed the Grove Park Inn in the 1920s. It is filled with specialty food markets, restaurants, and local mountain craft stores.
An independent bookstore with a good selection and an open mind. Great staff recommendations. Grab a book or bring your own and relax in the cafe with coffee and a pastry or bagel.
An artisan, local chocolate shop owned and operated by Dan and Jael Rattigan, dedicated to using organic ingredients and buying fairly traded goods.
A European-style chocolatier with some of the best truffles to be found anywhere. Although it's easy to spend a lot of money here, the pricing is quite reasonable given the quality and size of the chocolates.
Has an old-fashioned to modern day assortment of products. Old-time candy in barrels to hiking and camping equipment and apparel.
Probably the best collection of regional Arts and Crafts in Western North Carolina. The gallery features ceramics, glass, jewelry and furniture from local Appalachian artisans. It is in front of Bella Vista Art Gallery.
Glassblowing instruction and studio rentals and a glass gallery representing some of the regions finest glass artists.
Cutting-edge galleries, artists and a bio-diesel plant can be found if you wander around inside the old building. Jolene Mechanic, the owner, is a great resource for getting to know the area.
This used to be warehouse. Right after the Katrina Hurricane it was turned into a gallery by the owners of Bella Vista Art Gallery. After they left, Jonas Gerard, from Miami, took over the space. He was featured on 20/20 and has some eye-popping art on display, and for sale.
The Wedge
Filled with little art galleries, artists, a brewery, fine porcelain and mechanical dinosaurs is interesting but not for the timid.
By train
The closest Amtrak train station to Asheville is in Greenville, South Carolina or Spartanburg, South Carolina.
By car
Asheville is located at the junction of Interstate 26 and Interstate 40, with an I-240 connector that passes through downtown.
By bus
By taxi
40.
By bike
Self-guided tour routes, maps and guidebooks are available for bicycle rides on the area forest lands, on the Blue Ridge Parkway and around downtown Asheville.
By bus
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Asheville · Regional · AVL
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