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Activities in and around Asheville/Biltmore?

pierre smith

Well Known Member
Jenny wants to go visit the Biltmore/Asheville area in June.

What kinda sightseeing and other activities/must see/do places are nearby?

It'll be an overnighter.

Thanks,
 
Biltmore and the grounds/gardens will take most of a day to explore.

There is a little shopping village near the entrance of Biltmore that can keep women happy for some time.

Downtown Asheville is a different experience than one would expect :eek:
 
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Asheville

Make sure you stay at the Grove Park Inn. Truly historic place with great views and excellent food.
 
It was a nice place to visit, but the airport was somewhat expensive -

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If you like music and beer, this place was good -

http://www.jackofthewood.com/

Bluegrass jams and Celtic music.

A drive up to Mt Mitchell was also interesting, but the restaurant near the peak was VFR on Top when we were there...:)

The Blue Ridge Parway was a nice drive. One of these days I'll go back to see fall colors there...

http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/
 
We were just up at Biltmore a couple weekends ago. You could easily spend a full day there and not see everything.

The Parkway is a good recommendation; if you just want to get out and see the scenery, taking the Parkway from Asheville up by Mount Mitchell and back down to US 70 at Old Fort would burn a nice couple of hours.
 
We were just up at Biltmore a couple weekends ago. You could easily spend a full day there and not see everything.

The Parkway is a good recommendation; if you just want to get out and see the scenery, taking the Parkway from Asheville up by Mount Mitchell and back down to US 70 at Old Fort would burn a nice couple of hours.

Get a real map and don't trust the Chamber of Commerce maps for roads outside of town.

We took a "short cut" road on the CoC map to get to Black Mountain that kept getting smaller and smaller, and turned into dirt, as it went over a ridge... We were waiting for the duellin' banjoes...:eek:

Black Mountain was also another little nearby town worth a visit. I would make it a longer than overnight trip...:)
 
My experience mirrors Brantel's

When Jeanine and I went there we stayed at the Inn at the Biltmore. We had a rental car but focussed on the estate. The Inn was expensive, on the grounds (convenient) but I didn't feel anything special about it.

As far as the Biltmore itself is concerned, It would be easy to walk through any of the many tours in a semiconcious state then get out on the road and scout around on your own but I think this would be a mistake. There are certain homes and buildings to see in the United States that are worth focusing on and this is one of them.

We had toured the Breakers in Newport, RI which is another one well worth experiencing, when we got interested in visiting the Biltmore. We had visited Hearst Castle in California and the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan. There is something behind these great homes and hotels that make you stop and think about the people and the motivation to create something of lasting beauty in our country.

As far as restaurants are concerned we were not impressed with the on-property dining to warrant more than one meal there.

Bob Axsom
 
KAVL

My wife and I flew up to Asheville from Vero Beach last weekend to attend my nephew's college graduation. We had family from all over the country were there for the event. My sister rented a large cabin for the immediate family.
There's a good Mexican restaurant in town that serves huge portions. My brother and his sons went ziplining nearby. Sorry, I can't remember the name but Google probably can.
Landmark is the FBO. They're at the north end of airport. One runway - 16/34. Class C airspace. Strong crosswinds out of the west on my only 2 visits.
The cabins were reasonable and clean.
http://www.rvcoutdoors.com/mountain-springs/
 
Asheville

Ditto's on staying at Grove Park Inn.

It's a place that by itself has had so many famous people and presidents stay there that you can explore all the history on the grounds there too. Check out the display cases all over the hotel and then visit the shops at ground level. Car museum, crafts, lots of stuff. Golf course and Spa too.

Biltmore is a full day tour and either take the self guided tour or the Butlers tour which shows behind the scenes things not generally open to the self guided for obvious reasons.

Food at the restaurant in the old stables is usually great. Food depends on the season but for the day while you are there it beats driving out into town for lunch and coming back.

Nearby is Chimney Rock, a short 25 mile drive but worth the trip, lot so history and great views as well. The Last of the Mohicans was filmed there and they show you where. Its about a half day deal and there are lots of white water rafting places near there too.

Unless you are VERY into the Artsey stuff, then downtown would be a pass. It's pretty much art shops, coffee houses and about the only thing I liked there was there General Store that been there like 100 yrs plus.

The area is beautiful and this time of year not as many families so less crowded.

Enjoy, I love it there.
 
The contrary view...

I have a different perspective on the downtown area. I've always loved college towns for the outside the box thinking of the people, the music, arts (all kinds) and the huge variety of off-the-wall (weird) little shops to wander around in (& I hate shopping). Downtown Asheville has this vibe. If you don't like it, Asheville probably isn't your kind of place. I could easily live there, if I could afford to duplicate my current living situation up there (I can't).

If you're on a tighter budget & don't care about upscale hotels, PM me for a recommendation.

Charlie
 
If you go downtown I highly recommend White Duck Tacos. It isn't fancy, nor expensive, but the food is astounding. Best lunch or quick casual dinner I have had in a long time. Its definitely a local spot and its tough to beat.
 
Stagger through one of the beer tours downtown! They have several microbreweries and restaurants on the tour. Plan on eating dinner afterwards. Plenty of good food.
 
YOW!!
Ya'll like to spend money! Biltmore, Grove Park, Bohemian. Sheesh.. No wonder this crew runs autogas. No cash left after dinner and a room!

But seriously, for a bucket list trip, the Biltmore and Grove Park are top notch.

The NC Arboretum is also good but if you do Biltmore, those gardens will fill the bill.

There are multiple places to go tubing.

Somebody mentioned mexican in an earlier post but could not recall the name. I imagine it was "Papas and Beer". Its good tex/mex and the portions can't be believed.

There is music nearly every night at Jack of the Wood (restaurant already mentioned).

If you drive SOUTH on the parkway (not towards Mt Mitchell) you can come to the Pisgah Inn. It has a restaurant with an outstanding view and good chow that is reasonable price. Pisgah is nearly as tall as Mitchell.

Walking downtown is well worth it in the summer. There are plenty of shops. Nicknacks, books, beer, beads, crafts, chocolate, crafts, food, crafts, music, and more beer. Go into Mast General Store.

SO... My favorite spot is Tupelo Honey. Downtown, just off Patton.
 
I flew with my darling daughter (GSU physics major!) to Asheville a couple weeks ago. We tied down at Landmark and were charged 30 bucks. I didn't need fuel and I thought the fee was a bit much and said so. They did call the rental car place to come get us so I guess that's something. Hertz has a counter at Landmark but other companies are based at the terminal or in the hotel across the street. We used National and were charged $30 for the 5 hours or so we were there. When I fly there again I am going to try and tie down somewhere other than Landmark if I can.
Anyway, Biltmore is great and there was even a Model A Ford club driving around in some beautifully kept vintage cars. I am planning a trip there for Labor Day weekend with my mother.

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