Ultimate Asheville Travel Guide: Best Things to Do and See
Asheville is a great city to visit for a more relaxed trip. I usually pack my visits to cities with tons of activities or sightseeing. But, Asheville just doesn’t fit that vibe.
With tons of breweries, street art, history, and most importantly, food, Asheville truly feels like a getaway. You can go at your own leisure, and you can just escape from the high-pressure atmospheres that come with larger cities.
I’ll go through what I found when planning and visiting Asheville – where to stay, what to do, what to eat, and what to see. I went for about 3 full days and 4 nights. This might not be a typical guide to Asheville, but it worked for what we were looking for!
Where to Stay
While I’m sure there a ton of nice places closer to the city, we opted to stay in an Airbnb which happened to be an hour south of Asheville. This was perfect for us, because we were able to have a beautiful drive each day going into the city, but we could escape when we wanted.
The cabin was in Saluda, North Carolina, and it was amazing. There are plenty of other cabins or Airbnb’s around Asheville, too! You could probably find something a little closer if that works better for you.
Since Asheville is in the mountains, it just makes sense to get the best of both worlds when visiting. You can get two trips in one: escape to the mountains and a vibrant city getaway.
Our cabin had it all. It has an outside back deck that had a perfect clearing looking out at the mountains. There is a screened-in back porch that has a table and a hammock, making it perfect for taking in the cool mountain air while eating breakfast or relaxing after a day of exploring.
It also has a fire pit so you can make s’mores or cook a delicious campfire meal. Not to mention, it has a front porch with rocking chairs and a loft that looks into the kitchen. I highly recommend this Airbnb!
What to Do and See
I definitely had a harder time figuring out what to do or see in Asheville. It seemed like every guide either had outdoor sports-like activities or just food. I mean, I get it, the food scene is great. But we only have 3 meals a day, so what do you do between all the food?
Well, I have 3 main things to do. You can split them up between different days or even pack them into 1 or 2 days. It all depends on your pace. (And yes, I like to do fast travel, so I definitely think these could be all in 1 day if you are up for it!)
1. Biltmore
Tickets and Information
Located south of downtown Asheville is the massive Biltmore Estate. You can purchase tickets by going to Buy Tickets for the Biltmore and picking the option that works best for you. The cheapest option is $64 for all self-guided options!
You can also choose to pick up your tickets at “will call.” If you do this, you can print the tickets at a kiosk in the visitors center and receive an information packet with a map.
The Biltmore Estate is a massive property that has the Biltmore House, Antler Hill Village and Winery, and more. There are gardens to visit, shops, dining, and even hotels you can stay in. Most people recommend visiting for 4-6 hours, but if you get a ticket in the morning, you can stay as long as you want!
Visiting
Your ticket will be reserved for a specific time to enter the Biltmore House. Make sure to get there at least 15-30 minutes early so you can have enough time to print your tickets, drive to Biltmore House, park, and walk to it. You can stay in the house for as long as it takes you to complete the tour.
If you get there early, you can go to the shops, cafes, or the gardens until it’s time for your tour. The Biltmore is great because it has the beautiful outdoors, history, and experiences. There is a Christmas shop, a book shop, a toy shop, a gift shop, and plenty of cafes that are fun to walk around.
The Gardens sit on a beautiful property with numerous flowers, walking paths, and even a greenhouse. Grab a drink from the cafe and take a stroll around here!
After you get done at this area, you can drive over to Antler Hill Village and Winery. While we didn’t visit the winery, we had a great time walking around the little village and even grabbing food at Cedric’s Tavern, which I will mention in the “What to Eat” section.
2. Blue Ridge Parkway
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a must-do, in my opinion. You will need a car for this, and honestly, I was pretty confused about where to start or how to navigate it at first. I recommend starting at the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center. There is a giant map on the wall of the entire parkway, and it has information on all the stops along the way.
This is helpful, because if you are visiting Asheville, you will probably only be doing part of the Blue Ridge Parkway. You could easily spend a whole day here (although my bucket list item is to drive the whole thing as a road trip!). We just chose to start at the Visitor Center and make our way north.
Craggy Gardens and Mt. Mitchell
Going north on the Blue Ridge Parkway from Asheville means there are 2 really good stops plus overlooks! From the Visitor Center, the farthest stop we went was an hour away to Mount Mitchell. It has the highest peak in North Carolina, so you kind of have to go there.
Again, the Blue Ridge Parkway has a ton of overlooks along the drive. Always schedule more time than you think so you have plenty of time to stop when you feel like it! We just started driving north and stopped at almost every single one.
I wanted to take pictures everywhere. The views were incredible. On the day we went, the clouds were rolling over the mountains and eventually, we were in those clouds.
We stopped at Craggy Gardens Visitor Center and Mt. Mitchell. Craggy Gardens Visitor Center has a gift shop as well, and you can park and look at the views from there. Then, we drove further and stopped at Mt. Mitchell State Park. Once you make the turn off the Blue Ridge Parkway, it’s a long climb up the mountain.
Once there, you can drive into the park and hike the trails. I recommend just continuing up until you hit the Mt. Mitchell trail. You will notice it because there is a gift shop and lots of cars there! It is a short, but steep hike up to the highest peak in North Carolina, and it is well worth it.
There is a little viewing deck and although it was cloudy when we went, I’m sure on a sunny day, it has views for miles. We still loved getting to see the clouds move across the hills.
3. Downtown Asheville
Next, you obviously have to go into downtown Asheville. This is an easy town to create your own walking tour. There are really cute areas for shopping, eating, and drinking!
We did a lot of our DIY dessert tour here, which I explain further down. But, we also had fun just walking through the city. There is beautiful architecture and an overall relaxed, yet vibrant feel to the city.
First, we stopped at the Basilica of Saint Lawrence. This church is large and beautifully crafted. We didn’t go inside, but it is so pretty to at least look at and walk around outside.
Wall Street
Next, we parked on Battery Park Ave in a meter spot. Just bring quarters, and it is easy parking close to a lot! We got some chocolate, but then we headed to see the Asheville Iron Sculpture. There’s not much there, but it is funny to see!
Take a walk down Wall Street, and you will find little shops and dining on the cutest little street. This is where we stopped in at Asheville Emporium. Asheville Emporium is basically an Asheville gift shop, so we just browsed around, and I got an Asheville-themed sticker.
After this, we kept walking and were hoping to go to Well Played Board Game Cafe. They are only open later in the afternoon, so we didn’t get to go inside. But you should absolutely plan to stop here if you can! We looked inside and their board game selection is HUGE, and they serve food and beer. It’s a must-see next time I go back.
Biltmore Avenue
After this, we walked down Biltmore Ave. This street has a ton of restaurants and shopping. It’s easy to just casually stroll and walk in wherever your feel like.
You can walk around this city and just explore at your leisure. There are breweries close to each other, and there are vintage shops and art stores to walk through. We didn’t even get to see everything, but even driving past these stores, we knew we could spend a lot more time just exploring.
Come with an empty stomach so you can really appreciate all the food options downtown!
4. River Arts District
Lastly, make sure to check out the River Arts District. There are a few different areas around this, but the main spot is off of Lyman Street, where 12 Bones Smokehouse is. You can also go a little further up from the river onto Depot Street and walk around up there as well.
The River Arts District is a place with a lot of street art and a lot of art studios. Not surprisingly, there are also tons of coffee shops you can stop in at!
First, we stopped at French Broad River Park. This is a cute park that is perfect for an easy loop next to the river. It would also be a great spot for a picnic!
After that, we went over and parked at Summit Coffee Co. It is off Old Lyman Street and Foundy Street, and it is decorated just like the rest of the area.
We just simply got out and walked along Foundy Street to admire all of the graffiti and murals painted all over this area. Each store and restaurant in this little area is decorated to fit in here.
I love areas like that. Each place adds to the entire vibe by creating their unique design but participating in the greater picture. It’s the same in Historic Biltmore Village, but with brick design!
Anyway, there are old buildings but also modern shops. You can stop in at these shops, and also see little kids riding around on bikes with their families! It may look run down, but it is part of this city, and it is definitely something special to see.
Honorable Mention: DIY Brewery Tour
You can’t go to Asheville and not go to a brewery. And yet, that’s exactly what we did. At the time of writing this, it is still the middle of the pandemic. We really wanted to hit Wicked Weed Brewing Pub and Sierra Nevada.
Wicked Weed Brewing Pub looked a little crowded for our liking, and Sierra Nevada was closed till at least the new year for tours and hanging out. Most places in the city are open still though!
If you can, on your walking tour of downtown, pop into some of these breweries and just hang out! Some of them have games, some have food, and all of them have what looks like delicious craft beer.
You can easily create a DIY brewery tour in this city! So many options, and they are all around the city. Let me know what the best ones are if you go!
Dessert Tour of Asheville
This is my favorite part, because I LOVE desserts. Even in Nashville, I make it a mission to try out all of the unique and fun dessert places. So, when I visit a city, I love to indulge and try out their unique spots.
When planning this trip, I saw that there were so many places to get sweets and treats. I just knew we had to go to as many as possible. It was no easy feat, because we got full pretty quickly. But, if you split them up throughout your trip, you can hit these and even more!
1. Baked Pie Company
YUM. This place has so many pie flavors, you won’t even believe it. When they are back open after the pandemic, they even have PIE FLIGHTS. Yes, that’s right. You can get three different pie slices with milk.
Pretty amazing, right? I had their chocolate fudge pie with M&Ms, and I wish it lasted way longer than it did.
2. Double D’s Coffee and Desserts
This is that famous double decker bus that sits casually in the middle of this city. It is parked off of Biltmore Ave, and it has a little courtyard where you can sit and sip your coffee or eat your dessert. Sometimes, you can even go in and eat on the bus!
It’s such a unique and fun spot. Besides coffee and regular drinks, they have dessert options like cookies, brownies, and ice cream. Definitely hit up this spot!
3. Kilwin’s Chocolates Fudge and Ice Cream
Located on Battery Park Ave, Kilwin’s is your classic chocolate and ice cream shop – but combined. Throughout the store, there are so many chocolates and fudge and desserts. But, they have a huge selection of individual chocolates that you can simply pick from and they will put in a cute little package.
They also have at least 25 ice cream flavors to choose from. I ended up getting the local Asheville Mud flavor I believe and also the Sea Salt Chocolate Caramel. That was only half a scoop for each flavor, and I was already full! It is so rich and creamy.
4. French Broad Chocolate Lounge
French Broad Chocolate Lounge is like a coffee shop vibe but serving up mostly desserts and chocolates. They have an assortment of chocolates, ice cream, cookies, chocolate mousse, or drink options available. We went with the chocolate mousse, a brownie, and a cookie.
It was delicious, but I was already so full from the other desserts, it was hard to finish! Come hungry to here. You can sit inside in areas with couches or comfy chairs as well as regular tables. This is a better spot to come if you need to sit and just enjoy your food.
5. Hole Doughnuts
I saw that there were a few different doughnut options in Asheville. We decided to try out Hole Doughnuts. I had the Cinnamon Sugar, and it was perfectly and subtly sweet. The doughnut itself was crispy, yet soft on the inside. It didn’t feel dense, but it filled me up nonetheless.
It has a cute little food truck sitting outside for decoration and a couple of tables as well. Hole Doughnuts has four doughnut options to choose from – one being a seasonal, weekly rotation. You can also get your morning beverage here as well! These doughnuts are known for not being perfectly round and the hole not being circular. Definitely recommend going here.
Honorable Mention: Sunshine Sammies
After already eating what felt like only desserts, we didn’t get a chance to go here, but it is definitely on the list for next time. This is an ice cream sandwich shop.
You get to choose your cookie flavor and combine it with your chosen ice cream flavor for what looks like the perfect ice cream sandwich. Let me know if you go here, and please send pictures!
Where to Eat
I’m definitely not a foodie. Yes, I definitely like to find classic spots in cities or find a nice local spot that ends up feeling more like home. But, for the most part, food isn’t at the top of my list when planning a trip (desserts being the exception).
The list below of things to eat is very short, but it kind of hits a few different areas around town, so if you’re near there, it wouldn’t hurt to check them out!
1. 12 Bones Smokehouse
If you have read any other travel guide about Asheville, it probably mentions 12 Bones. They’re not wrong. It was seriously delicious. I mean, mouth-watering-just-thinking-about-it delicious. The pulled pork is juicy and tender, the cornbread is sweet but pairs perfectly.
The sides are so southern. I got the Mac and cheese and the baked beans. After making sure I finished up that pulled pork because it was so delicious, I had to take a mid-meal break and go right back to finishing up those sides. That’s how good it was. You HAVE to eat there. Or, get it to go like we did.
2. The Cantina at Biltmore Village
Before going into the Biltmore, we had a little bit of time and we wanted to grab lunch before our ticket reservation. We stopped over at Biltmore Village and decided to just wander around to see what was there.
Let’s just say this area is all designed to match. The McDonald’s here is beautiful and even has a grand piano. It’s often dubbed the fanciest McDonald’s in the world. Even the Hardee’s is hard to spot, because it’s designed to match the area!
Anyway, we stopped in a The Cantina. A vibrant, fresh-Mex restaurant, The Cantina has a bar inside and a fun outdoor dining area.
The chips and guacamole are so delicious, and I even shared my mom’s chicken fajitas, because the portions are huge! Definitely check this place out for some delicious Mexican food and probably a great marg.
3. Cedric’s at the Biltmore
We needed a quick snack and I wanted to try out some local beer, so we stopped in at Cedric’s Tavern while we were at the Biltmore. It’s in the Antler Hill Village section of the Biltmore Estate. More of a finer dining option, we opted to just get a couple of the appetizers.
We ended up ordering the house-made pretzel rolls as well as a side of fries. I was shocked at how delicious these were. They came out so warm. The pretzel rolls were crunchy on the outside and soft, yet dense on the inside. The fries were crispy and hot, and they were gone all too fast.
I ordered the flight of beer and got to choose from a good selection of local craft beer. I pretty much loved all of them, but my favorite was Cedric’s Brown Ale.
4. Waffle House
I have never gone to Asheville without eating at Waffle House. I don’t know why, but for some reason, this town just makes me want it. Also, it was my mom’s first time eating at a Waffle House (crazy, right?!). If you have never been to Waffle House, make sure you find one in Asheville.
You have to order the cheesy scrambled eggs, and you have to eat hash browns. Just trust me, they are amazing. Waffle House just has that southern charm, and it’s perfect at any time of the day.
Honorable Mention: Wicked Weed Brewing Pub
Like I mentioned earlier, Wicked Weed Brewing Pub was a little too crowded for out liking since it’s still the time of the pandemic. But, it looked like a lot of fun, and it was definitely at the top of the list!
Next time I go back to Asheville, I’m going to make it a point to go here. A large selection of craft beer and also a food menu, this would make for the perfect stop when visiting Asheville.
Thanks for reading my Asheville travel guide! I hope this has inspired you to visit Asheville or at least helped you plan a trip to Asheville! There is so much to do around this area of the United States. From the Smoky Mountains to the East Coast, Asheville is a place you have to stop if you’re around there.
To read more on the last time I visited Asheville and other great places to visit in the Southeast, read:
Southeast Road Trip: 9 Cities in 10 Days
To read more about one of my favorite trips I’ve taken near me, read:
