We just got back from a weekend in Asheville, NC and loved it! It's been on my list for a while as a weekend away and so that was what I planned for my husband's birthday trip this year. Our overall impression was really positive. It's a town based on tourism and they are well-equipped to do it and to make tourists feel welcome. It's a very dog-friendly city, too, even though we left our pup with a dogsitter.
What we did:
Tour Biltmore Estate - Off-season tickets were only $29 with an advance purchase so we spent Saturday, March 19th on a day pass to the Estate. We toured the house (the crowd was HUGE and it took about 2 hours to get through the whole house; most of which was viewed by snaking along in a slow line). The line to get into the house was even longer when we left there. We were probably foolish to go on a Saturday because friends have said they have gone and enjoyed it with no waiting.
After touring the house we went to the Antler Hill Farm area and checked out the old dairy which is now the wine cellar and we tasted wines. That was fun --we're not knowledgeable about wine but the wines seemed good if a bit overpriced (what isn't at Biltmore). We also watched the short video about the family estate and looked at the displays and the farm area.
Trolley Tour Asheville On Sunday we took the Gray Trolley Tour of ASheville. It's a narrated hop-on-hop-off tour for $20/pp. It was very informative about the neighborhoods and history of the city and we ended up just riding along the whole time to get the full tour. We never hopped off. We did not take advantage of the fact that you can then ride the trolley for the next day as well to get around. We also did not take advanatage of the fact that the ticket included admission to the Thomas Wolfe memorial (we skipped the house because we haven't ever read his books and, frankly, it didn't seem that interesting to us).
Walked through Grove Park Arcade -we initially skipped this since it's just a shopping area but once we had the background on it from the trolley tour it seemed like an interesting building and it was--glad we walked through.
Browsed Woolworth Walk and Soda Fountain We always like to check out local art. We didn't buy any but it was a nice place to view some local artwork for sale and the soda fountain was pretty cool.
Watched a Street Performer in Pritchard Park -He was a fantastic juggler. This is the location where there's a Friday night Drum Circle in the warm months. Other times it's a location for street performers.
Asheville Weekend trip report--Loved it!
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It sounds like a great trip. Thanks for a wonderful trip report. I've picked up some unique gifts at the Grove Park Arcade. Did you stop in Malaprops by any chance when you were downtown? It may be my very bookstore of all -
http://www.malaprops.com/
Where we stayed and ate:
Renaissance Hotel (Marriot) - Priceline hotel for $55/night. It was well-located for walking around downtown and had free parking. It fit our needs perfectly. It's not as charming as some of the non-chain options in Asheville but I have nothing negative to say about it.
As far as food--we never go out to eat except on trips or special occasions/events. It was a treat to try so many places. Our criteria are that I am vegetarian and prefer to eat in non-chains and places that make food I can't easily fix myself. Plus, Indian food is my favorite so we hit two Indian places.
Mela - In Indian Food. This was outstanding. Dh loved really spicy Indian food and his chicken vindaloo fit the bill. We also had yummy goat cheese and spinach stuffed naan, I ateveg curry and I had a mango lassi cocktail and Dh got a local beer. Total with tip was less than $60.
Boca Huge and tasty tex-mex breakfast. DH ate huevos rancheros. I had three gigantic pomegranate and green tea pancakes. I took the third home because they were too big and we still didn't eat lunch the day we ate here. I was barely hungry for dinner and I am a big eater. Just breakfast and juice/hot chocolate was just under $30 with tip (expensive but it stayed with us so long it really counted as lunch too).
Chai Pani -Lunched here on Sunday for another hit of Indian food. This time the place bills itself as "Indian Street Food." We loved it. DH had something involving showstring fries, cheese, and turkey hash all in a spicy sauce. I ate a veggie crepe. Delicious. And I thought their server's T-shirts were cute--they say "namaste y'all" on the back. Total for lunch with tip (and a beer for DH tea for me) was about $30.
Kubos - We ate dinner at this Japanese place Saturday night. It was blah. We both got noodle bowls and the broth was really bland. Dhs was seafood. Mine was veg. We also split dumplings which were also on the bland side. Their redeeming factor was a fun drink menu with 80s themed drink specials for $5. We had fun with those but the meal was unremarkable and came in with tip and drinks at just under $60. We were going to go to Doc Cheys or The Noodle Shop but both had long waits and with so many dining options in Asheville, it seemed silly to wait 25 min for a table.
World Coffee Sky Bar - Fun find. We didn't know about this place and read about it on World Coffee's sidewalk board. You walk into the building next to it, ring for the elevator and someone comes down (the elevator requires an operator, which we've never seen before!) and takes you to the fire escape/bar. We loved the view, the vibe, and the drinks were delicious. $10 for cocktails was high but you pay for the atmosphere so it was worth it to us. The servers were welcoming and friendly in a place that could have just as easily felt pretentious. Beer was cheaper.
Posana - We just went here for drinks. I had a great blueberry acai mojito and Dh had some local beer. It was a good stop. Drinks were about $7-$9; beer about $3.50.
Starrs- We didn't go into Malaprops. We're not book-buyers and don't get the enjoyment of simply browsing a bookstore that so many others do. It's a bit of a shame perhaps since we probably miss some fun finds.
We did like shopping, though and were thrilled with all the local and independent businesses we found downtown. I admit, we made fun of more than a few. Our running theme was to sing "Asheville Cats, been hipsters since they's babies" to the tune of "Nashville Cats" as well as making references to this photo blurb from "The Onion" :
http://www.theonion.com/articles/variety-of-unsustainable-business-models-make-up-e,19261/
But joking aside it was wonderful to see a vibrant, diverse shopping area. Loved it! Someone in another thread found Asheville too crunchy--I can see that but we loved the vibe. It felt more hipster than hippie but it's clearly a mix.
Oh, forgot a couple "foods"
Chocolate Fetish - I thought I had walked into heaven. Their truffles were amazing. The dark chocolate sin one was like eating chocolate ecstasy (not the drug).
Green Sage Coffee shop where we ate Sunday morning. Very green/local oriented and I had a lovely muffin and DH enjoyed grits and a sausage biscuit. I would be in there all the time if it were in my town and I had the money.
Asheville is one of my favorite weekend getaways! Glad you enjoyed your time there!
Glad you had fun. Sounds like you got a great taste of A'ville.
If you're vegetarian and don't like chain restaurants, you must've been VERY happy with this small city's selection!
Never heard of World Coffee Sky Bar OR Green Sage, so thanks for the tips!
One of my best friends finds Asheville "too crunchy" - but I love it. Coming from Charleston, SC it's such a relief to be in a town where even in the nicest restaurants there are adults wearing jeans and fleece vests! So relaxed.
Thanks for the report
Just dug this up as we are going to asheville in Sept and now are planning.
Won't be too crunchy for us as we are the queens of crunchy.
Thanks for this.
Schlegal, I think you might like Look Homeward Angel ( Thomas Wolfe)
Ah the Chocolate Fetish, a favorite spot of mine. Love Asheville, but next time include a little visit to Biltmore Village, some gorgeous crafts (Bellagio!!!!). Also check out the Highland Crafts on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
And come on back, North Carolina loves visitors!
jubilada, are you flying in? I'm assuming you are. Let us know how long you'll be there so we can offer suggestions. You'll be there at a beautiful time of year.
Hey, cmcfong, feel like driving cross country next September?
yes we will fly. trying to decide whether to fly into Charlotte , Asheville, or Greeenville ( so we can use Southwest miles). I'd probably rather drive from Charlotte than sit in the airport waiting for a flight to Asheville. We'll see how fares/timing etc work out. We'll have a week, maybe early Sept, maybe later in the month. Any and all suggestions welcome. We love good food ( though not fancy), art, especially folk art, and nature.
We were just in Asheville for a few days in October...such a charming town. really like all the indedendent little stores. We loved a lunch at Chai Pani. Some of the best Indian food we've ever had. ate dinner at Admirals and Limone. both were quite good. on a previous visit went to the Thomas Wolfe House and it was very interesting and cost all of a dollar to visit. ENjoy your trip!
Greenville is a very easy drive and downtown Greenville is small and delightful (believe it or not). That's an option if you get in late at night but Asheville is not much more than an hour's drive. I would prefer that drive than from Charlotte. Depending on how long you plan to be there you may want to split your time between Brevard (delightful) and Asheville. There's so much to see and do in western NC.
A friend splits her time between ira's town (one of the most beautiful towns in the US) and Brevard and I think she found another one of the prettiest ones around. We ate here the last time we met in Brevard -
http://hobnobrestaurant.com/
We'll send you all sorts of ideas for Asheville. It's a bit granola but very artsy. A fabulous place. I always thought I'd live there one day. A very good friend (and former boss) does - and loves it.
The later in the month, the prettier the leaves will be.
Starrs, already have two trips in Sept....it would be kind of fun to go annoy the creep at that place Dayle stayed though, wouldn't it?
I would love it
Any chance you're headed back to Montana? I am in July.
And I still have to get to Mt Airy for that milkshake
starrs, we are researching places to maybe live one day, hence the trip. Thanks for info about greenville.
We're not going to Montana this year, although it stayed in the mix of places we were considering right up to the last vote. If you will be in Western Montana I found a couple of spots around Darby. Let me know if you want that info.
The milkshake offer stands.
How nice to see a trip report being useful.
Yestravel: I swear one day we are going to meet and it's going to be like long-lost identical-traveling-twins or something. We obviously have the same taste in travel.
Jubilada: I read You Can't go Home Again after our visit and enjoyed it but not so much that I thought I would read another Wolfe. But if Look Homeward Angel is good I may circle back to it in a few months. Hope you have a fantastic trip. Asheville looks like a wonderful place to live; apparently it is very popular for people to move there as it is often voted one of the best cities to live.
schlegal1 - yes, funny, isn't it? R u following the flood situation in Thailand? awful...
The situation is Thailand is horrible, I feel so bad for all the people who have lost their businesses and homes.
jubilada, Asheville is a great town. If you want to consider additional options the north Georgia mountains are a good option as well. There are several Fodorites who have places there with the intention of moving full time after retirement. That opens up the beauty and peace of the mountains with the option of theater, arts, etc. of Atlanta. If you are interested in some specific suggestions, feel free to email me at starrsvillega/at/yahoo. I'm visiting with one such Fodorite and his mom this weekend. Another used my place as a base for house-hunting. A lot of people from Florida and the NE/Midwest have chosen the area.
starrs, I have some questions for you about GA. Would it be okay if I sent you an email?
Sure!
Here are some aerial photos of fall color in the North Georgia mountains -
http://vt.realbiz360.com/MLS-867349.html
starrs is this the peak of the leaf viewing season right now?
Where? Peak is over at 3000' elevation and higher, but the colors are still pretty as long as the leaves stay on. Not many yellows but pretty browns and reds at the higher elevations. I did a lot of driving in middle GA this week and it's pretty close to peak right now in the lowlands. The drive was GORGEOUS! I have a massive native magnolia and I missed it completely this year - but going back up this weekend. Usually by now most everything is gone, but it's been a late year - probably due to the drought. That video was taken right in the middle of peak - on 10/29 at about 3400' elevation.