walk the breweries around downtown, but also consider making the drive to at least Highland and possibly Sierra Nevada (and New Belgium if it is open by that time) food wise, I had a great meal at a place called Chorizo. Get coffee at the double decker bus thing. try to eat at the admiral, make a reservation now
Go to Wicked Weed's tap room if you like sour beers. The Lobster Trap is a damn good seafood place. And there's some underground bar that has the most phenomenal pretzel bites and dipping sauce you've ever had drunk.
Asheville also does like a 3 brewery tour where they'll drive you around in a van and talk about it all. Pretty cool. No idea how much it was though because somebody else paid when I went.
if you're the least bit outdoorsy, make the trip to dupont forest. got several waterfalls that are an easy hike from the road including those used in last of the mohicans and the hunger games.
Asheville is nice, but it's nothing to call home about. Good beer, good food, but the city is ghost by midnight.
other stuff see who's playing at the orange peel. tons of cool art in the river arts district. biltmore house i suppose. malaprops is a cool local bookstore. green sage has good coffee, but holy fuck are they slow. there's a really good theatre company in nearby flat rock, the flat rock playhouse, which is also where the carl sandburg home is. pulitzer prize winning poet/abe lincoln biographer and husband of a goat raiser. so you can see goats there.
Great venue, saw Jack White there with Alabama Shakes, but the security is the worst. I was taking a shit in the stall and these faggots are looking over and into stalls looking for people doing blow. I mean, I was doing blow, but I was also shitting...
in a thread about asheville, you mention faggots looking in bathroom stalls, and i read it as they're looking for someone to blow.
Sunny Point Cafe for breakfast. Biscuit Head if you need an alternate. sit at Wicked Weed and drink all day, their food and bar snacks are great also Chai Pani is killer Indian supposedly Curate is highly touted and ok Tapas French Broad Chocolate has some of the best desserts in town but mostly sit at Wicked Weed, downstairs at the bar, and enjoy the beer splendor
Beer/Bars: Wicked Weed, Burial, Green Man, Thirsty Monk, Jack of the Wood Food: I like Zambra a lot, it's tapas and not crazy expensive. Curate, Table, Limone a little pricier but all great. One place I've been wanting to try and have heard great things about is Cucina 24.
Salsa's is really good Mexican (think it's actually Mexican-Caribbean) I like Early Girl Eatery for breakfast but there are a ton of great breakfast options there
What Lyrtch said, but I would add The Admiral for dinner. What ever you do, please don't go to the Orange Peel. I have been kicked out of the place twice because they said I was "stumbling" around. They are notorious for being Nazi's there.
I definitely agree, but RRE two NYE's ago did it in for me. Not only was I kicked out, my 45 year old cousin (who does not drink) was kicked out for standing too close to the soundboard. Just ludicrous stuff.
If you're a star wood guy the aloft is right downtown in the mix. Also, because I didn't see it mentioned above, the admiral in west Asheville has tremendous seafood but is a little bit out of the way from everything else and you will need reservations. Best meal we had all weekend.
Going to the Orange Peel for a comedy show in less than a month, be my first time there. Will have to not get too smashed. Also, Aloft is a great place to stay and if you get lucky can be had for not tooooo expensive. Have also done the Airbnb route, but make sure shit is walking distance.
went to DuPont State Forrest two weekends ago. triple falls was pretty awesome, aside from the mexicans having a picnic and trashing up the place.
That ride out to the casino is a bitch. All sorts of bumfuck back roads with absolutely nothing on them.
i should probably find a person to go to the biltmore with me. i have two free tickets that expire in july
i would say farmers only but no self respecting farming girl would be caught dead in a big city like asheville
I can't find any non-bedroom airbnb spots in a good location. I realize I'm being picky, but it's crazy how hard it is to find a place in DT asheville. The Renaissance is the only Marriott that's close and it's effing $370/night. The SpringHill Suites is also a Marriott, but I don't think the location is that good. Or is it? Residence Inn is $350/night, and in not as good of a location, so I'd rather just do the Renaissance.
I've never stayed off Tunnel Rd but I've been tempted to before because of how cheap it is, I go to that Ingles sometimes to start the trip to load up on waters and things and it's not far. For me it wouldn't be a big deal because we normally do breakfast then go hiking or something then do downtown, in that case we would only need a cab/Uber for the afternoon part, parking is pretty easy downtown from my experience.
Anything along tunnel road is awful location for things to do and just awful in general. Residence Inn might be a min longer but can walk to the village if you wanted. Had some guys come up and visit that stayed here http://www.vrbo.com/481067 if you had a group? Smack in the middle of everything and was pretty nice with a porch downtown. Have 5 new hotels coming online downtown in the next 24 months, so should be better shortly. Marriott putting in two. Edit:If you don't mine it looking like a stripmall across from where you stay, then tunnel road is good. Definitely isn't going to be cheaper anywhere else.
How shitty is this place, Asheville guys? It's the only hotel under $500/night available in DT. Airbnb has nothing but private rooms for both nights together :( http://www.fourpointsashevilledowntown.com/