Any advice or recs for biltmore and Asheville ? Never been there but will be driving up there from Atlanta this week. Thinking about playing golf w some club rentals at the omni spa n resort course too. Is that a good idea ?

I will ask my brother tomorrow. He lives there for a few years.

Question for you. If you live in Atlanta, what is there to do on a Friday? We go every year for a family reunion in Royston. We've done the aquarium, World of Coke, the zoo, centennial park, Stone Mountain, etc. Wife doesn't care for football, so CFHoF is out. We may take in Ty Cobb and Shoeless Joe museums, since the extended family is from Royston and my immediate family lived in Greenville.

AggieMD95 said:

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Any advice or recs for biltmore and Asheville ? Never been there but will be driving up there from Atlanta this week. Thinking about playing golf w some club rentals at the omni spa n resort course too. Is that a good idea ?

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Tour of the Biltmore is certainly worth it. Tupelo Honey is a good place to eat. They bring to the table shortly after being seated hot biscuits some preserves. Great way to start a meal.

Depends on what you're looking for. The Biltmore is neat to visit. But how big of group are you? I haven't golfed in Asheville but have been there multiple times.

Thanks for the feedback

Just my wife and I staying at the biltmore estate grounds. Live in Texas but will be visiting our son who attends GTech in Atlanta later in the week for the Boston college football game. Going up to Asheville while he's busy with his weekday routine.

Since he's been there we have visited the Coke museum, aquarium, CF HofF, stone Mtn, and sampled some restaurants. Took a drive up to Savannah once.

May get a chance to see the Jimmy Carter museum sometime. Or maybe check out the zoo there when the new pandas are on exhibit.

Chipotlemonger said:

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Depends on what you're looking for. The Biltmore is neat to visit. But how big of group are you? I haven't golfed in Asheville but have been there multiple times.

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Any good hikes ? With low to medium effort but rewarding ? Restaurant or bar recs ?

Curate for tapas and Sangria, New Belgium Brewery on the River, Hole Donuts.

Go to the Grove Park Inn and have a walk around the lobby then have a libation on the back porch. The view is amazing. If you time it right, and it would probably require reservations, you can get a sunset view.

Kool said:

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Go to the Grove Park Inn and have a walk around the lobby then have a libation on the back porch. The view is amazing. If you time it right, and it would probably require reservations, you can get a sunset view.

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Yes, yes it is.

For hiking - download the AllTrails app. Also, I would recommend you take the Blue Ridge Parkway from Asheville west and get off at Hwy 276 and head south through the Pisgah National Forest. Lots of great overlooks on the BRPkwy and some nice very easy waterfalls to see in Pisgah.

The NC Arboretum near the airport is very nice with some short trails. It's also very close to Sierra Nevada brewery for a great stop after a few short hikes.

Finally - there are lots of walks to do on the Biltmore Estate.

If you enjoy craft beer, there are a ton of great smaller breweries in Asheville, too, not just the big ones. DSSOLVR and Burial were two of my favorites when I was there in June.

Kyle98 said:

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If you enjoy craft beer, there are a ton of great smaller breweries in Asheville, too, not just the big ones. DSSOLVR and Burial were two of my favorites when I was there in June.

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Wicked Weed is another smaller brewery we liked.

Thanks everyone

AggieMD95 said:

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Thanks for the feedback

Just my wife and I staying at the biltmore estate grounds. Live in Texas but will be visiting our son who attends GTech in Atlanta later in the week for the Boston college football game. Going up to Asheville while he's busy with his weekday routine.

Since he's been there we have visited the Coke museum, aquarium, CF HofF, stone Mtn, and sampled some restaurants. Took a drive up to Savannah once.

May get a chance to see the Jimmy Carter museum sometime. Or maybe check out the zoo there when the new pandas are on exhibit.

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Stay away from The Varsity Inn unless a bathroom is very handy.

AgOutsideAustin said:

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Kyle98 said:

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If you enjoy craft beer, there are a ton of great smaller breweries in Asheville, too, not just the big ones. DSSOLVR and Burial were two of my favorites when I was there in June.

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Wicked Weed is another smaller brewery we liked.

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Went to their Funkatorium and enjoyed it. Also had several Perni-Haze at a Tourists game on Thirsty Thursday! It is owned by ABInBev now, though, which is a turnoff for some people. I don't really care as long as they still make good beer. I always hit their tap room at the Charlotte airport whenever I'm there on a longer layover.

Just got back from a week in Asheville.

Monday:
Biltmore. Cool place. Plan to spend the day. The grounds and gardens are very nice and the house tour is pretty cool. Would do again. Do dinner at the bistro. I did a reservation and said it was my wife's birthday and they have her a signed card and with the dessert we ordered they put a birthday message on it. Definitely worth spending a day.

Tuesday we drove up to blowing rock and did the blue ridge parkway down from there... Great views and the leaves were starting to turn. That evening we stopped at Zillicoa brewing.... really good beers there and a nice river view.

Wednesday we checked out of our hotel and spent the morning in downtown Asheville, had coffee then wondered around a bit before l7nch at Curitas (sp?)... food was good, the sangria was great.... downtown wasn't something we would go back to though... then we went to our Asheville River front Cabins for the rest of the stay... checking in there (would stay again) and then up to Burial Brewing forestry campus... best beer and good food.

Thursday was winery (stone ash winery) at noon followed by an evening at the cabin.

Friday was driving the blue ridge parkway from asheville up to Mt. Mitchell and doing all the steps along the way... the tree were really changing by then, great drive.
Stopped in downtown asheville again to maybe try some brewing, but decided to just pick up more burial beer and retreat to the cabin for fire and hotter.


Overall great time outside of downtown Asheville.

Scruffy said:

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Just got back from a week in Asheville.

Monday:
Biltmore. Cool place. Plan to spend the day. The grounds and gardens are very nice and the house tour is pretty cool. Would do again. Do dinner at the bistro. I did a reservation and said it was my wife's birthday and they have her a signed card and with the dessert we ordered they put a birthday message on it. Definitely worth spending a day.

Tuesday we drove up to blowing rock and did the blue ridge parkway down from there... Great views and the leaves were starting to turn. That evening we stopped at Zillicoa brewing.... really good beers there and a nice river view.

Wednesday we checked out of our hotel and spent the morning in downtown Asheville, had coffee then wondered around a bit before l7nch at Curitas (sp?)... food was good, the sangria was great.... downtown wasn't something we would go back to though... then we went to our Asheville River front Cabins for the rest of the stay... checking in there (would stay again) and then up to Burial Brewing forestry campus... best beer and good food.

Thursday was winery (stone ash winery) at noon followed by an evening at the cabin.

Friday was driving the blue ridge parkway from asheville up to Mt. Mitchell and doing all the steps along the way... the tree were really changing by then, great drive.
Stopped in downtown asheville again to maybe try some brewing, but decided to just pick up more burial beer and retreat to the cabin for fire and hotter.


Overall great time outside of downtown Asheville.

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Since our first trip to Asheville in 2004, downtown Asheville has gotten pretty bad. Lots of homeless people. Dirty. Now reminds me of downtown Austin.

Been a while since I've gone to Asheville, about 9 years. Lot of good info on this thread for OP. One thing I'd add is that we really enjoyed the Sierra Nevada experience. Beautiful grounds, very good food, and a great tour.

So many good hikes along the Blue Ridge parkway. There is also a neat hike that felt somewhat off the beaten path to Rattlesnake Lodge if I remember the name right. If you're into history that's a neat visit.

All Trails is great and can be helpful, I use it a lot now, but something that a local turned us onto during our first visit over a decade ago was a website called romanticasheville. They said yes it's a corny as heck neck but it had great information on hikes, etc.

Other things I'd recommend people have already mentioned: Burial, Zillacoah, Funkatorium.

Fun Fact..... we painted the Biltmore Hotel when it was "bilt" LOL