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Activities

The Biltmore Estate

Of course one of the most iconic attractions in the Asheville area is the Biltmore Estate, built by George Vanderbilt III in 1895 in the style of French Renaissance chateaus. It really is jaw-dropping in its beauty and scale, featuring 250 rooms filled with thousands of pieces of elaborate furniture imported from Europe, 65 fireplaces, 43 bathrooms, 35 bedrooms, 3 kitchens, a 70,000 gallon indoor heated swimming pool, and a then-state-of-the-art gym. The estate also boasts exquisite formal gardens, cultivated farmland, vineyards, and a winery, providing you with plenty to stroll, bike, tour, munch, and imbibe! The Biltmore website recommends you devote a day (or even two) to experiencing it all, but you could fit in the highlights in around a half day.

Hiking

While the Blue Ridge Mountains and Appalachian Trail are nearby, I recommend you stick to just one gorgeous area: Pisgah National Forest. Much of this forest was originally part of the Biltmore Estate until the Vanderbilt family sold it to the federal government, stipulating that the land remain unaltered. Pisgah’s 500,000 acres consist of hardwood forests with whitewater rivers, waterfalls, and hundreds of miles of trails. Some short but strenuous hikes that offer views are the Looking Glass Rock, Devil’s Courthouse, Graveyard Fields, and Black Balsam Knob Trails. You can find all of them within a 5- to 45-minute drive of one another, or click this link for more Pisgah hiking ideas.

For a less strenuous hike just outside Downtown Asheville, try the 4.9-mile wooded Lunch Rocks Trail, culminating in beautiful 180 degree views of the surrounding mountains.

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Food

Asheville has become quite the foodie scene with countless restaurants scattered throughout its downtown and environs, and it is hard to find one that disappoints! While you may expect Southern food (which it executes extremely well), it also offers stellar international options. Here are some of my favorites of both kinds:

Southern

Biscuit Head

For breakfast or lunch, order a massive homemade biscuit stuffed or topped with your favorite items. Mine is The Filthy Animal, a buttermilk biscuit sandwiching fried chicken, pimento cheese, bacon, and scrambled egg all smothered in gravy. End with Biscuit Donuts, which are fried, fluffy biscuit balls tossed with cinnamon sugar and served with a sweet and sour lemon curd. Disclaimer: I never said this was a healthy option! But they do offer lighter items like quinoa and granola.

Tupelo Honey Cafe

Tupelo Honey has locations all over the country, but it is a chain for a good reason. Their made-from-scratch fare created with the best seasonal ingredients make for mouth-watering Southern dishes. Start with the crispy Brussels sprouts topped with fresh herbs, lemon zest, and chopped bacon and served with a tangy garlic buttermilk ranch dipping sauce. You won’t be able to get enough of those charred outer leaves! They claim their fried chicken is “famous,” and I must say their honey-dusted version is quite unusual and tasty. But the free range Country Catfish with spicy blackening seasoning tampered by creamy goat cheese grits made a meal to remember!

International

Zambra

This is a Spanish tapas bar, meaning you can order several different plates and not be judged for it! Choose from small snacks like Spanish olives or a Date Pinxto, regular-sized plates such as local trout or pan-roasted scallops, and hot or cold tapas. I recommend ordering several tapas to share – it’s just more fun that way! Spread bone marrow espuma on puffed beef tendon, or savor the spicy kick of stewed chickpeas with spinach, toasted garlic, lemon, and chili. In the unforgettable charred Spanish octopus with ink aioli, fingerling, fennel, and warm chorizo mojo, the salty ink aioili perfectly counters the subtle flavors of the octopus. Zambra also offers an extensive daily specials menu with items such as steamed Pei mussels and Dukkah crusted scallops, a changing dessert menu featuring delights such as cafe con leche flan, and an award-winning wine list, so be sure to take advantage of all three!

Red Ginger Dimsum & Tapas        

For Asian-styled tapas, head to Red Ginger to sample their many thoughtfully-created dishes. The seaweed salad offered a fresh and savory opener before steamy pork and shrimp dumplings arrived. Gua Bao, a Chinese pancake sandwich with slowly cooked pork belly, fresh cucumber, scallion, and cilantro, was unexpectedly delicious, but each dish we tried seemed better than the last! The smoked duck breast featured sweet and tangy accents of sweet potato, string beans, onions, ham, and orange miso sauce, and the grilled mountain trout with the chef’s seasoning produced bold, spicy notes. Since all the items were so expertly executed, we decided to be adventurous and order Foon Zao, or steamed chicken feet. I have to admit these were a challenge to eat but still tasty!

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Drink

Breweries

With 48 breweries in Asheville’s environs, including 33 in downtown itself, you are sure to find one that fits your taste. From micro-breweries that enjoy increasingly widespread fame such as Wicked Weed Brewing to the country’s second- and third-largest breweries’ moving in (California’s Sierra Nevada and Colorado’s New Belgium), the city is not wanting for beer. Why so many breweries, you ask? The main reason is a simple yet important one: water. Nearby Asheville in the Great Smoky Mountains is a 20,000-acre protected watershed that provides crisp water to quench this city’s hoppy thirst. So whether you want to while away an afternoon in Sierra Nevada’s huge taproom or support the smaller guys like my favorites, Green Man Brewery and Hi-Wire Brewing, Asheville has just what you need.

Distillery

Don’t like beer? Well, no one can say no to cocktails! And no one should at The Chemist Spirits in downtown Asheville. Specializing in gin and bierbrand, a classic German spirit, this distillery with elegant yet welcoming turn-of-the-century décor invites you to order classic cocktails, like the Italian Negroni Sbagliato, or to experiment with one of their creations, such as the Milk and Cookies Boilermaker, a concoction of Wicked Weed Milk and Cookies Stout and a shot of Milk and Cookies Bierbrand. Enjoy it at the swanky bar, on the laid-back upstairs balcony, or on the outdoor third-floor deck.

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Culture

Asheville also has a vibrant arts culture, evidenced by bright, beautiful street art scattered throughout the city. It is created by widely-recognized Asheville street artists, and more recently, by external artists drawn to Asheville by the city’s acceptance of this street art culture. These murals allow you to get your cultural fix without even stepping into a building.

Lexington Glassworks

But if you do want to enter a shop or gallery, you must check out Lexington Glassworks, a glass shop where you can sip a beer from their bar (this is Asheville, after all!) as you watch glassblowers in the adjacent studio employ centuries-old techniques and locally-sourced materials to craft exceptional pieces. After gaining an appreciation for the difficulty and creativity of this technique which the artists explain as they work, it will be hard to resist their unique creations for sale in the store. I certainly couldn’t!

River Arts District

Asheville even boasts an entire neighborhood showcasing artists’ creativity. You’ll find it at the River Arts District, which is a cluster of former industrial buildings situated along the French Broad River and a train line which was a major artery over a century ago. Beginning in the 1970s, artists began to move their businesses to this district so that today you can step into hundreds of working studios and galleries of painting, pottery, jewelry, glass, metal, wood, and even basketry and bookbinding. Come during the annual River Arts District Studio Stroll, where over 220 artists open their doors to visitors during the second full weekend in November.

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Asheville is becoming a vacation hot-spot for good reason; from hiking to history, brewery hopping to art demonstrations, this funky city caters to almost any interest and certainly has more than enough activities to fill a weekend! Visit for yourself and update me on what else you believe should be included in this weekend guide!

Thanks to my dear friend Sally Tucker of Tucked Away Florence for spot-on recommendations to her former city. You can book her for a fun and informative tour of her current home, Florence, Italy.