Is anyone familiar with the Asheville area? I'm heading there this weekend to meet up with an old friend (she'll be traveling in from Durham). We'll be there Friday and Saturday, leaving Sunday morning. It's been a long time since we've seen each other and we'll have plenty of catching up to do, but it might be nice to have a couple of activities planned, too.

I went to Biltmore as a child and enjoyed it, but I'm not really excited about paying for the tour again.

Any other suggestions for places to go, walks to take, restaurants to eat at?

I'd love some guidance if you have any favorites you'd like to share. Thanks!

I have been to Asheville, and I loved it, but I couldn't really tell you anything about it except that I had fun. It was the only time I have ever been there, and only stayed for a night. But, there's always fun stuff to do it seems. We walked through town, and there were a number of great craft stores. I am a weaver and seamstress and so it was pure heaven in that respect. Anyway, I wish I could help more but rest assured that if you go in with a plan or no plan, you'll have fun either way. Have a great time!

This site looks as though it might be helpful. I check sites like this before planning visits -- I'm looking for concentrations of antique shops, usually.

http://www.exploreasheville.com/index.aspx


Any time I plan to go to a city, I check out the NY Times Travel archive for their "36 Hours" articles. They have two on Asheville.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/10/24...heville&st=nyt
(October 2010)

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/09/30...heville&st=nyt
(Summer 2007)

I'd probably visit Thomas Wolfe's boyhood home & Carl Sandburg's farm. Both of these writers are somewhat out of fashion but were still interesting people.

saef - Thanks! Those are very helpful articles.

fatferretfanatic - I'm not so crafty, but as long it's a walkable city I'm sure I'll have fun. Thanks!

Restaurants:

Rezaz in Biltmore Village
The Admiral in West Asheville
Downtown: Tupelo Honey cafe, The Laughing Seed (vegetarian)
Barbeque: 12 Bones. There is no other.

Sightseeing: The Biltmore Estate is lovely, also Biltmore Village has plenty of shops to explore. Downtown is very walkable, has a ton of cool galleries with items made by local artists.
If you have a car, driving up to the Grove Park Inn is a treat. Have a drink on the sunset terrace and enjoy the views of the mountains.
Also fun: Outdoorsy stuff! Drive the Blue Ridge Parkway and find a fun spot to picnic or hike. Mount Mitchell, Grandfather Mountain are two popular hiking destinations, but there are a ton of others.

The Highlands Craft Guild and Blue Ridge arts museum are beautiful and showcase local craftsmanship.

Asheville's live music scene is also amazing. Major venues are The Orange Peel, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium and a ton of smaller local pubs. Tressas is a fun jazz club if you're into the night life, or for a more down to earth feel Jack of the Wood pub is always fun.