Urban exploration by day. Gourmet cuisine by night. Unscripted adventures when least expected. Asheville's unlimited potential lets you shape a vacation on your terms. Discover new worlds of art and music, revel in breathtaking beauty, soak up bohemian culture or relax at a sidewalk café and enjoy the sunbeams as you watch the world go by. It won't take long to see why Asheville is high on everyone's list of places to visit.
Asheville. Yours to experience. Any way you like it.
DAY 1. Hip and Happening Downtown Asheville
Arrive in Asheville, Western North Carolina's most progressive, hip and happening city. Start at the Asheville Visitor Center. The Center sells tickets for many area attractions and tours including guided trolley and theatre tours, a downtown Segway tour and more. Also sold is the Go Blue Ridge Card, a special all-access pass to over 25 area attractions. Close to Asheville Visitor Center is downtown Asheville. Known for the many art galleries and museums, music venues, interesting architecture, sidewalk performers and outdoor cafés, downtown Asheville is an area you will want to visit again and again during your stay.
www.exploreasheville.com
While at the Asheville Visitor Center, pick up the Asheville Urban Trail brochure, a 1.7-mile self-guided walking tour through downtown. The trail includes approximately 30 sculptures depicting the area's history, winding throughout the central district. Along the route, stop at the Asheville Art Museum to view the very best of 20th and 21st century American art. Or, if you're interested in the experiential art movement, stop at the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center. Albert Einstein and poet William Carlos Williams were on the board of directors. Geodesic dome designer Buckminster Fuller was an outspoken professor. And when Black Mountain College finally closed its doors in 1956, this wonderfully experiential school left in its wake a bold new order for academia as well as art, architecture and design (limited hours of operation).
When it comes to food, the city's diverse population is reflected in an equally intriguing restaurant scene. Here you will find more than 70 independent restaurants that have contributed to Asheville's growing culinary reputation. Enjoy a meal or just a cappuccino – it is up to you – and engage in the favorite pastime of people watching while seated at one of the many outdoor cafes.
www.FoodtopianSociety.com
www.airasheville.org
As a fun evening event, take an Asheville Brews Cruise tour and get an insider's take on some of the great local beers being crafted in Asheville. As part of the tour, you will stop at several local breweries, learn how beer is made and sample each brewery's unique products.
If your visit includes a Friday night, be sure to take in the Drum Circle (seasonal) at downtown Pritchard Park, an Asheville tradition for more than 10 years.
DAY 2. The Finer Things in Life
Start the day touring the awe-inspiring, 255-room Biltmore mansion, known as America's largest private residence. Filled with immense collections of art and the furnishings of its original owner, George Vanderbilt, the mansion may be the centerpiece of the 8,000-acre estate, but there is so much more to explore. The beauty of this grand home extends out-of-doors to its acres of fragrant gardens. Sample award-winning wines at the winery and enjoy farm-fresh cuisine at the restaurants. Then get a sense of what life was like in at Biltmore in the 1900's at interpretive River Bend Farm. Admission includes access to the house, gardens, winery, shops, conservatory and more. Once on the estate, you can enjoy a variety of specialty tours ($) ranging from a guided Rooftop Tour to the Legacy of the Land tour highlighting the agricultural portion of the estate. Recreational opportunities ($) include a float trip on the French Broad River to mountain or leisure biking on special trails to the memorable Land Rover Experience & Driving School experience.
Special events throughout the year include Festival of Flowers (April-early May), Summer Evening Concerts (July-August), Fall at Biltmore (October), Christmas at Biltmore and Candlelight Christmas Evenings (early November-early January).
Top off a truly great day with live theatre at one of the many venues in the area. Or, if traditional mountain music is more your taste, plan to attend Shindig on the Green, a free outdoor celebration of traditional music and dance held most Saturdays from July 4th to September 3rd.
DAY 3. The Great Outdoors
Western North Carolina is the most botanically diverse spot in North America. Experience it for yourself at the North Carolina Arboretum, located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. This 426-acre public garden is a feast for the senses. Don't miss the Bonsai Exhibition Garden which showcases part of the largest Bonsai collection in the Southeast. Called "small wonders," bonsai is the horticultural art form that recreates nature in miniature through special pruning and training of plants in pots. The "unique twist" is that the NC Arboretum cultivates "Appalachian style" Bonsai, meaning they use native plants and trees to create the art forms. Other display gardens include the Quilt Garden, featuring a variable quilt pattern in blooming flowers and the Heritage Garden. Hiking and biking trails abound. Tour options include self-guided or the special ($) "Glide Through Nature Segway Tour." Admission fee.
Adjacent to the entrance of the NC Arboretum is the Blue Ridge Parkway, the most visited unit of America's National Park System. Travel south along the Parkway, stopping at Mount Pisgah and Craggy Gardens, for stunning views and fabulous hiking for all skill levels. The Blue Ridge Parkway 75th anniversary will be celebrated in 2010 with a host of special events. Make plans now to join in the celebration.
Just a short drive from Asheville on the Blue Ridge Parkway is the home of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. You can experience 10,000 years of artifacts and history at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian or amble through Oconaluftee Indian Village (seasonal), to see what life was like among the Cherokee in 1750.
DAY 4. Whistles, Rails and Rafts
Hear the conductor cry "All aboard," just before the wheels start rolling on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. Ride over miles of track, through scenic tunnels and across bridges dazzled by the beauty of the surrounding mountains. Choose from a variety of half to full-day excursions. Enjoy exciting special events that draw you into the action, like the "who done it" Murder Mystery Dinner Train.
What a little adventure? Add a Raft and Rail or Rapid Transit component to the train ride. Perfect for first-timers or seasoned paddlers, teens or boomers, travel 22 miles by rail along the foothills of the Smokies and up the Nantahala River Gorge. At the top-of-the-line join the professional teams of Wildwater Ltd. Rafting or Nantahala Outdoor Center for a two-hour whitewater trip down the eight miles of the Nantahala River. A picnic lunch and transportation back to the depot are all included. This full day of excitement blends two of the most popular activities in the Smokies. (Seasonal).
For your final evening in town, take advantage of one of the dozen creative events that fill the area's cultural calendar. Offerings range from the 31st Annual Bele Chere, the Southeast's largest free, outdoor street festival, held in July to the 2009 downtown Art Walks hosted by Asheville Downtown Gallery Association.
With so much to choose from, you will have to return again. Visit www.exploreasheville.com for more information.