Asheville: Small City, Big Flavors

Most people who visit Asheville dedicate at least a day to visiting the Châteauesque-style, Gilded-Age mansion of the late George Washington Vanderbilt II, also known as the Biltmore. However, we weren’t interested in paying upwards of $60 to see a rich guy’s house. So on our second day in Asheville we decided to get a lay of the land by walking the urban trail. The relatively short, 1.7 miles-long self-guided walking trail takes you on a tour of the city’s most popular destinations. Here were just a few of our favorite must see attractions and restaurants we stumbled into on the urban trail:

• Mayfels – Sitting at their patio dining area we listened to a street sing while playing both piano and guitar while eating jambalaya, seafood etouffee and the fluffiest beignet ever.

• Pritchard Park – even though this cute park is surrounded by fine dining restaurants, chess tables, and picnic benches, it’s packed with panhandlers and camping tents. 

•  Asheville Art Museum – For only $15 you’re exposed to a really wide variety of locally produced art from sculptures to abstract paintings. 

• White Duck Taco Shop – Amazing crazy taco combinations. You have to try their Bangkok shrimp, Thai chicken, mole duck, and Korean Beef Bulgogi tacos.

• Woolworth Walk – This historic Woolworth was restored as a gallery for local artists. If you only have time for one art gallery in the city, pick this one (entrance is free and it also has a 1950’s style soda bar.) 

• Cultivated Cocktails – A quint looking vintage bar and distillery with gin and rum so smooth they go down like whiskey. 

• Kilwins – While they’re not unique to Asheville (we’ve frequented their Arlington location multiple times), Kilwins is never a bad choice for premium ice cream on a sunny day. 

• Crave dessert bar  – A super cute café with outdoor seating, firepits, and boozy cupcakes. The white velvet and carrot cake with baileys and rum squeeze bottles were our favorite. 

• Early Girl Eatery – Imagine the classic southern chicken and waffles breakfast, but the waffle is made from biscuits! Hands down our favorite biscuits in town!

• Hemingway’s Cuba Restaurant & Bar The rooftop here is just on the edge of town, making it one of the best places to watch the sunset in the city while drinking cocktails near a fire pit.

• Pinball Museum – For only $16 you have all day access to tons of classic arcade games and pinball machines. A few of the higher end games require an additional quarter to play, but to play on Game of thrones, Star Wars and Jurassic Park machines, 25-cents is a reasonable price. During COVID-19 some machines are turned off to allow for safe social distancing, and the entrance fee allows all day in-and-out privileges.

Hiking in Asheville

After exploring the city for two days straight we were ready to see some nature. Luckily for us, Asheville is situated in the middle of the blue ridge mountains, so there’s plenty of gorgeous trails and breathtaking vistas just outside of the city.  

For our first hike, we decided to wake up super early and go to Mount Mitchell State Park for a sunrise hike. The mountain is just over an hour drive outside the city, but as the highest point east of the Mississippi River (6,684 feet) the view was spectacular. As we walked the summit trail and the Balsam Nature Trail and breathed in the crisp morning air we watched in awe as the clouds drifted through the mountain tops below us. 

Asheville Botanical Garden. While this location includes free parking and entrance, we were disappointed by the park’s tiny size and poor upkeep. After about 15 minutes we jumped back in our car and decided to drive further and visit the North Carolina Arboretum. While the Arboretum is 15-mins from downtown Asheville, and parking is $16, the larger lusher park is well worth the cost. The numerous trails throughout the park were isolated and the flower gardens were in spectacular bloom (even in fall). We especially like the sculptures scattered throughout the Arboretum which featured peacocks, hummingbirds, spiders and more, that were made entirely of legos. If you only have time for one, skip the botanical gardens and go to the arboretum.

Final Verdict

We adored Asheville, (probably even more than Charlotte) but it was just a pit-stop towards our final destination, a secluded cabin getaway tucked in the hills of Canton, North Carolina. 

As we left we grabbed some groceries for our trip and stumbled upon a real hidden gem. It’s probably bad form to squeeze in another restaurant in the final paragraph of a blog, Baked Pie Company deserves an exception. We bought a few slices to take with us to the cabin, and even though they were sold out of their famous apple pie, we were more than pleased with their German chocolate and chocolate walnut pie. They also offer a “pie flight” – 3 slices of pie and a scoop of ice cream. It’s clear, whether you’re coming  or going to Ashville there’s no shortage of things to try and places to go