Explore Asheville

Asheville offers an exciting array of activities for visitors of all ages and interests. Outdoor enthusiasts can explore the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains through hiking, mountain biking, or zip-lining adventures. Nature lovers can also relax and unwind at the charming Asheville Botanical Gardens or take a scenic drive along the iconic Blue Ridge Parkway. For art and culture enthusiasts, Asheville boasts a vibrant art scene, with numerous galleries, studios, and the renowned Asheville Art Museum showcasing a diverse range of contemporary and traditional artworks. History buffs can delve into the past with a visit to the famous Biltmore Estate, a magnificent French Renaissance château, or explore the historic landmarks in downtown Asheville, including the Art Deco City Hall and the Basilica of Saint Lawrence. Food lovers will find themselves in paradise as Asheville is known for its exceptional culinary scene, with farm-to-table restaurants, craft breweries, and food tours offering delicious and locally-sourced delights. With its unique blend of natural beauty, artistic charm, rich history, and incredible gastronomy, Asheville provides endless possibilities for unforgettable experiences.

Asheville has long been one of the most creatively charged cities in the South, and its art scene reflects that energy at every turn. The crown jewel is the River Arts District, a converted industrial corridor along the French Broad River where over 185 artists work in 25 buildings — visitors can watch painters, potters, glassblowers, and sculptors at work and buy directly from the creators. Downtown offers its own rich gallery circuit, anchored by the Asheville Art Museum, which houses an outstanding collection of American art from the 20th and 21st centuries with a special focus on Western North Carolina’s unique artistic heritage. Blue Spiral 1 is another downtown standout, considered one of the premier fine art galleries in the Southeast. Just north of downtown, Grovewood Gallery showcases exclusively American-made art and craft across two floors. Asheville’s creative roots also run deep historically — Black Mountain College, located nearby, was a legendary experimental school whose faculty and alumni included Josef Albers and Buckminster Fuller, and whose spirit still infuses the city’s artistic DNA today.

Thomas Wolfe (1900–1938) — The author most closely associated with Asheville, Wolfe was born and raised here and is buried in the city. His sweeping autobiographical novel Look Homeward, Angel (1929) put Asheville on the literary map — and caused no small controversy among locals who recognized themselves in its pages. His childhood home, a boarding house run by his mother at 52 N. Market Street, is now a historic site and museum. Wolfe’s lyrical, intensely emotional prose and his obsession with time, memory, and place made him one of the defining voices of American modernism.

F. Scott Fitzgerald — The author of The Great Gatsby had a complicated and poignant relationship with Asheville. Fitzgerald spent two summers at the Omni Grove Park Inn while his wife Zelda received psychiatric treatment at nearby Highland Hospital. He wrote during his time in the mountains, and the Grove Park Inn — where he stayed in Room 441 — still honors his memory today. Zelda herself was a writer and artist of considerable talent, and Highland Hospital in North Asheville remains a hauntingly beautiful site connected to her tragic story.

Ron Rash — One of the most celebrated contemporary voices writing from the American South, Ron Rash draws deeply from the Appalachian mountains of Western North Carolina in novels like Serena and One Foot in Eden. His writing captures the landscape, the history, and the people of this region with a darkness and precision that has earned him comparisons to Cormac McCarthy. He is widely considered one of the most important living Appalachian writers.