Coined the Portland of The South…Asheville is the perfect small city with an abundance of options for your trip! Surrounded by the beautiful blue ridge mountains get ready to have an amazing and relaxing day in Asheville with stunning views in every corner. If you’re looking for an adventurous accommodation in Asheville, I recommend checking out Asheville Glamping. I went Glamping for my birthday and loved it and wrote a post about it here.

To start the day off on the right foot, we have to eat the most important meal of the day…

Breakfast in Asheville:

Head on over to Biscuit Head but get there early because the line to get in is unpredictable. Biscuit Head has 3 different locations in Asheville and 1 location in Greenville, South Carolina. Biscuit Head has an array of biscuits and sides to choose from and a selection of home made jams. I decided to get the Mimosa Fried Chicken Biscuit which includes a biscuit with mimosa fried chicken, sweet potato butter, sriracha slaw, 
and a poached egg (I got my egg over easy). They also have… you guessed it MIMOSAS but we opted for the Bellini. The bellini was just alright and I would recommend trying the mimosa for your visit. Biscuit Head is also vegetarian and vegan friendly so that’s a plus. Prices are easy on the pocket and the decor inside is wacky and super cute!

Now that your stomach is full and your tastebuds are happy, you have a full day ahead of you to enjoy Western, NC. From hiking, exploring the arts district, touring the Biltmore, and more Asheville has something for everybody.

Great Craggy Mountain:

The Great Craggy Mountains or as some call them “the craggies” are located about 25 miles outside of Asheville but the drive there is worth because the scenery is everywhere. There are multiple viewpoints as well as actual hiking trails. I’m going to be honest, I couldn’t find the hiking trails so we stopped at multiple view points along the way. If you’re not a complete ditz like me maybe you’ll have a better attempt at finding the trails and the gardens. The gardens are the perfect spot for a picnic during the summer and fall months. Although it’s still Summer the weather where we were at was very cool. If you’re wearing a short sleeved shirt I’d recommend bringing a jacket or wearing a long sleeve. After about 30 minutes it started to get cloudy, foggy, and started to rain, this may happen on your trip but don’t worry as it won’t last long. Before we knew it, it was sunny again.

Biltmore Estate:

From Staten Island, George Vanderbilt chose Asheville, NC to build his country home. His purchase at the time was for over 125,000 acres of land. Today, the Biltmore Estate is considered America’s Largest Home and can also be seen on the movie “Richie Rich“. The Biltmore Estate allows guided and self-guided tours, ticket pricing depends on your choice. For an accurate pricing list for tours please visit their official website here. Along with the actual Biltmore house, the estate offers a winery tour and restaurants on site for extra activities.

The North Carolina Arboretum

Spend a beautiful afternoon here sure to fill all of your instagrammable desires with a vast opportunity of photographs. Explore the exhibits, gardens, go biking, and even take guided tours around the Arboretum. One of the best things about the Arboretum is that it is very family friendly and also contains a bistro and a gift shop for your souvenirs. For more information check out their website here.

Now that you’ve taken up a big chunk of your day filled with fun (and tiring) activities, it’s time to relax and unwind. Have yourself a beer or two! You could consider Asheville as the Napa Valley of Beer. There are as much breweries as there are beautiful scenery in this city so it’s hard to go wrong with one.

Asheville Breweries:

Check out the huge and popular Sierra Nevada brewery. Full of good beer and a busy atmosphere, you will find a beer that makes your tastebuds tap dance. Many of the beers on tap are brewed right at the brewery. Enjoy single beers or get a flight where you’re able to taste more than one beer at a time. I had a beer flight and my FAVORITE was the “Otra Vez” sample. It’s light and cider-ish. I’m not a beer person at all but I would definitely go back to Sierra Nevada solely for this drink.

Wicked Weed Brewery is a bit more fitting for the “Asheville crowd” – it’s hip, fun, and down to earth. At Wicked Weed you have the option of going to the pub where there are about 24 beers on tap or the actual brewery where you can see how they produce the beers they sell and take a tour of the brewery itself.

A new addition of wicked weed, is a new and hip restaurant and bar called Cultura. I didn’t get the chance to eat here but I checked out the bar and the drinks were delicious. Other fun facts about this place is that they have CBD cotton candy and the bathroom is glow in the dark. It’s a refreshing but expected touch in the heart of Asheville.

Green Man Brewery has been around for a while but officially came to Asheville in 1997. Green Man is one of the state’s oldest brewery. If you decide to check them out you’ll be pleasantly surprised with an indoor/outdoor taproom, a “brewtique”, and a brew house that overlooks the blue ridge mountains.

Mural Art:

Asheville is an artsy and hippie city – the city is full of art and color. There are a tons of murals to check out but the ultimate mural you have to check out during your 24 hours is the “Stay Weird” piece. The piece used to read “Good Vibes” but artists Ian Wilkinson and Ishmael have since updated the piece. More reason people call Asheville the Portland of the south.

Address: 388 Riverside Dr, Asheville, NC 28801

I hope you’re day in Asheville is spent as great as mine did. I will definitely be back and can’t wait to explore more in this charming little city. Until next time!

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