Not Nasheville Tennessee, but Asheville in North Carolina. The first time I heard about it was because 2 friends from France were doing a road trip from Florida to Washington DC. They loved their stay in Asheville, and the idea to go there stuck with me. I’ve kept the idea until this past 4th of July weekend, in the summer of 2017: we planned to go to Asheville and the national park next to it: the Smoky Mountains. I’ve written about this trip here
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To begin with, let’s start with a BBQ
We arrived for this long weekend at the Charlotte airport: Asheville’s airport was too small and not convenient enough. Once we rented a car, we drove to the Smoky Moutains. We wanted to camp, but the weather was supposed to be rainy- apparently it’s typical of July – so the day before leaving Boston we booked some nights in hotels. On the way to the mountains, we passed Asheville around 1pm: that was the perfect excuse to stop and go to a BBQ place.
We picked 12 Bones Smokehouse, thanks to the recommandation of a colleague of Manu: thanks Austin!
12 Bones Smokehouse, people are waiting in line!
12 Bones Smokehouse is located in the Arts District
Green Interlude in the Smoky Mountains National Park
So we spent the weekend in a national park, very green, very lushy, and also very touristic. But as soon as we walked past the parking lot, we were mostly on our own on the trails. Most of the small towns we drove through were… small, with US flags everywhere, sometimes even some confederate flags. We avoided the Bible museum and Dollywood. When we arrived in Asheville, we went right away to our Airbnb to change from our hiking gear to a more urban outfit; the ambiance in the streets was more about rainbow flags and democratic party stickers. Our Airbnb was at a walking distance from downtown, it felt good to walk after a day of road tripping sitting in the car. Unfortunately, we were caught up in the rain. We found a shelter in a bookstore where champagne was served at the bar! My kind of place.
Our cure AirBnb for 2 nights
Champagne + Books : oui, merci !
“Before I die”: what do you wish for?
Grove Arcade, 1929
The day after we arrived was July 4th but everything was open. We stopped by the visitor center where they gave us a map: we just had to follow the path to discover the history of Asheville through sculptures.
We followed the “Urban Trail & Public Art Walking Tour”
This flatiron represents a nearby building from 1926
A gorgeous Art Deco building that used to be a cafeteria. The mosaic was created in Venice, Italy
This bench is an hommage toElizabeth Blackwell, a doctor who worked on improving kids and women health // On the right side: the Drhumor Building (1895)
A super nice boutique with posters and postcards, we stayed there for a while
Downtown Asheville
A bronze that represents a young girl drinking from a horse fountain (replica)
There was a competition of “Ultimate Air Dogs”
Preparation for the 4th of July celebration
Contemporary Art Gallery
Asheville, on the River Arts District
In the afternoon, we left downtown to go in an old warehouse complex zone transformed in the Arts Districts. We strolled around studios. I love this kind of places! A few artists only were there, we talked to a certain Michael whose paintings really struck us. It is always so interesting to talk about how an artist works, what is his inspiration, craft, why does he pick a town to live in…
Wedge brewery
Creepy “Order Here”
A restaurant by the river
Sampling beers
Good Vibes in the Arts District
West Asheville
At the end of the day, we drove around some other neighborhoods, following Google Maps recommendations: we drove through West Asheville, an hipsterish place with tons of murals.
Last day in Asheville: let’s see the Biltmore
Morning coffee next to a yoga studio
The coffee shop has its own garden!
TheBiltmore is a huge house that was built in 1895 for the Vanderbilt family. It may reminds you of a French castle: and it’s on purpose, it was inspired by Renaissance castles along the Loire Valley. The ticket is pricy (about $70 with an audioguide) but we thought that was probably our only chance to visit this place. I didn’t regret it, the audioguide helped a lot to understand the many rooms we were able to go through: the winter garden, the dining room and the many rooms. It’s too much, but it’s not tacky. The gardens are gorgeous, and I love the greenhouse, we were there at a good time, when the summer kicks in!
Before flying back to Boston, we stopped in an indecent restaurant, serving biscuits. It was delish, and also una bomba calorica
Think about me when you’ll enjoy the biscuits at Biscuit Head, 417 Biltmore Ave.
▶ If you want to share your own recommandations in Asheville, please leave a comment below!
4 thoughts on “2 days 1/2 in Asheville, North Carolina”
Hello! I realize this post is three and a half years old. I just spent 4 hours searching for a photo of a mural, and I found it on your blog! The second image under Western Asheville. Do you happen to remember where you took it? Thank you so much 🙂
WOW! What hike is pictured in your photo caption “green interlude in smokey mountains”? I want to add it to my list!
It’s the AP in the Smoky Mountain NP !
I enjoyed all your photos, respect your great taste for art, food, architecture. Thanks for the tour!