How to Spend a Weekend in Asheville

MLE Travel Diary — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 14:00:00 +0000

Sometimes, for better or for worse, I get a very random travel idea in my head and impulsively book a trip. That’s how I ended up spending a weekend in Asheville this past December. I happened to see the Omni Park Grove Inn Spa in North Carolina on Pinterest, and decided I wanted to go. Plot twist – I did not even end up going to this spa. Did a bit more research on Asheville and saw that that is where the Biltmore Estate is located. And that it gets very nicely decorated for Christmas!

We saw so many cool, unique spots and ate literally the best food maybe ever. All of the people we met were SO nice as well, the Southern hospitality felt so real here. Check out my travel bookmarks for the complete Google Maps guide to all of the spots mentioned and more!

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Day 1

Breakfast at The Med

We stumbled upon this cute little diner our first morning in Asheville! The food was delicious, especially the biscuits, and you actually cannot beat the prices!

Explore Downtown Asheville

Firstly, I would recommend just walking around yourself and not trying to just knock out all these places I list. I think one of the most fun things to do on vacation is to get lost (in a safe way) in the new city. There are a ton of cute shops you can wander into, and a lot of unique small businesses. That being said, I would definitely be sure to stop by the following spots:

Grab some local honey at the Asheville Bee Charmer. We got SO many little goodies from here – beeswax paper, wooden spoons, and jars of local honey. Looking back, I regret not getting more jars of honey. They let you sample all of the flavors, which is really fun. Blackberry was beyond my favorite and luckily you can order more online, but I wish I got more while I was there to bring back!

Sip a hot chocolate at French Broad Chocolate Lounge. They have lots of yummy chocolates as well, for all my chocolate lovers out there. This is 100% the destination for you!
Snack on a croissant at Old Europe Pastries. I can’t eat dairy and we were recommended this place for their vegan chocolate cupcakes. Ummm yes please – they were incredible and again I wish I got more to take back home!

Lunch at Curate

Very well-known restaurant that serves Spanish tapas. This is the perfect light lunch meal. Since there is so much good food in Asheville, you really don’t want to miss any of the spots!

Dinner at Corner Kitchen

So, we actually almost left this restaurant before ordering because we were so hungry and the menu seemed too fancy. That would have been the BIGGEST mistake. This was our favorite meal of the whole trip, which is actually difficult to say, considering they were all incredible. We shared a bunch of different plates, which I think is the best way to go. The flavor of everything we ordered was insane, just so good.

For dessert, Felicia got the Maple Sundae, which our waitress recommended to us. It was incredible (per her review, again, I cannot have the dairy so had to skip out on this one).

Winter Lights at the North Carolina Arboretum

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From mid-November through the end of December, the Arboretum puts on Winter Lights at night – an open-air walk-through light show. If you are here during these months, definitely see the light show. If you are here any other time, make sure to check out the Arboretum during the day, though during the winter it is not as lush. I think it would really be more of a spring/summer/fall activity.

Day 2

Breakfast at Biscuit Head

You have GOT to start your day out strong at Biscuit Head. OMG. I would eat here every morning if I could. They have a large assortment of different jams, all to go with their freshly baked biscuits. We actually came here two days in a row because it was that good. And tried all of the flavors; personally, I loved the berry bomb (the most popular) and the strawberry jam.

I would advise getting here as early as you can. It is a very popular breakfast spot, and the line really starts to grow by 9am, especially on weekends. If there is a line though, do not worry, it moves pretty quickly. And your food comes out in less than 10 minutes after you order it.

Biltmore Estate Tour

Main Dining Hall

Entrance Room

Main Dining Hall

Triple Fireplace

George Vanderbilt's Room

Kitchen

Library

Billiards Room

Visiting the Biltmore Estate is a MUST-do in Asheville. Make sure to book your tickets well in advance! I advise heading to the Biltmore Estate as soon as possible. Our hotel front desk told us that sometimes it takes people an hour to make it down the 3 mile long driveway. Our reservation was at 11:45am, and they let us in early.

They say to give yourself 4-5 hours to explore the entire estate. We took about 1.5 hours in the mansion itself, then another 1 hour exploring the gardens and conservatory.

Lunch at Stable Cafe

Make sure to make your reservation for lunch well in advance. All of the Biltmore restaurants book up quickly, and it just makes sense to get lunch on-site since you are already there! Stable Cafe was really cool, because we were actually eating in what used to be the horse stables. Hence, the name. The food was delicious, yet again. There are also a lot of cute shops right outside of the restaurant you can explore for souvenirs.

Omni Park Grove Inn

Depending on what time you wrap up, this an option for your afternoon activity. From the end of November through mid-December, the Omni Park Grove Inn Hotel allows the public to view their Gingerbread Competition. Prizes have already been awarded, and all of the submitted gingerbread houses are on display.

They also have a really nice festive outdoor set up. As well as a pop-up holiday drinks bar in the lobby. There are also a lot of good restaurants at the Omni Park Grove Inn. If you’re interested I recommend booking a reservation over a month in advance. You don’t need to be a hotel guest to do any of the above activities.

Cider at TreeRock Social

If you would like to just stop by the hotel, and then get back to local activities, go grab a cider at TreeRock Social. Asheville is known for their cider culture, and this is a local favorite.

Dinner at Hillman Beer

To continue your night, grab dinner at Hillman Beer. This is a brewery down the street that has good food and these yummy pretzels. It’s a really nice family-owned business that has a wide variety of options on tap.

As you can probably tell, the majority of the itinerary includes food and eating. There is SO much good food in Asheville. I would definitely love to come back to this town and can’t recommend it enough. Drop any questions in the comments below, or send me a message!

mariss

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