A Byers’ Guide to Asheville, NC

In late October we took a trip to Asheville, North Carolina. My parents met us there and it was such a fun time! When we planned the trip, we had no clue yet that we would be moving to North Carolina in 2022. I have always wanted to visit Asheville because of the Biltmore Estate, so we finally booked a trip while we’re within driving distance. The drive is around 5.5 hours, which is about the farthest we’re fine with driving instead of flying. I kept the planning and picture taking to a minimum, and it was nice to have a laid back itinerary.

When to visit: If you could pick one time of year, I would recommend Christmas. It seems like they keep Christmas lights in Biltmore Village year round and they were starting to decorate the Biltmore Estate. I’m sure Christmas is magical there. We had went to hopefully see fall foliage, but we were slighly too early.

What We Did:

• Visit The Biltmore Estate: This was easily the highlight of our trip and why we decided to visit Asheville. We spent most of the day there touring the house, roaming the gardens/grounds, going to the petting zoo, and then wine tasting at the winery. I loved that they had a kid friendly activity like the petting zoo;  Scarlett had a blast! We did tour the actual Biltmore Estate main house and it’s stunning. They were just starting to decorate for Christmas.
• Shopping At Biltmore Village: There are a lot of cute boutiques like the Lilly Pulitzer Palm Village store and Dogwood Darling (an absolutely precious children’s boutique.)
• Fall Activities: Since we went in October, we decided to venture to Granddad’s Apples ’N Such (an apple orchard/pumpkin patch) in Hendersonville, NC. The apples were picked over, but you could still enjoy apple cider, apple donuts and other delicious apple treats. There was also a cute pumpkin patch and corn maze. Scarlett chugged a whole glass of cider on her own!
• See Fall Foliage: Once we got a little outside of town we were able to see some fall foliage. The Blue Ridge Parkway is supposed to have some pretty views with foliage.
• Breweries: Asheville is known for their breweries and we got to taste some yummy beer. We didn’t make it to Sierra Nevada (one of the ones that kept getting recommended) since it’s about 30 minutes from where we were staying, but we did try several of their tasty brews at restaurants around town.

Other ideas:

• Hiking: We are not outdoorsy people whatsoever, but I’ve heard the hiking is great.
• How long to stay: We stayed Monday-Friday, but would’ve been fine with a long weekend there. I think you need 1 day for the Biltmore and then 1-2 days for the rest of the city. I do hope to go back and visit around Christmas someday.
• Where to stay: We stayed near Biltmore Village and it was a perfect central location. We stayed in an Airbnb.

Where we ate:

• Wicked Weed: Good beer/food.
• Stada Italiano: This was easily the best spot we ate at. The pizza was honestly some of the best we have ever had anywhere.
• Mamacitas: yummy margaritas
• Tupelo Honey: Delicious southern food.

Other spots that came highly recommended:

Follow: