Two weeks ago we spent a 3 day weekend in Asheville, North Carolina! We picked Asheville because it’s 4.5 hours from Lexington and it was such a great long weekend.
Sometimes mini-trips are even better than longer vacations because they don’t require as much planning and you don’t have to take as much time off work! My husband only gets 2 weeks off this intern year, and his program picks which months he can use a week – both of which have passed. So now any time off will have to be 3 days he doesn’t have shifts! And that’s just what he did to make our Asheville weekend happen.
Ok so keep reading to see all the details – enjoy!
where we stayed
Asheville has tons of AirBnBs to choose from, but we planned this trip last-minute (only a few weeks before) so there weren’t many options. I decided to look for a hotel and we picked the Westgate Country Inn & Suites. It might not sound like the most glamorous spot but it’s really new and in an amazing location! It’s just across 240 from downtown and we could get to places like Wicked Weed in 3 minutes (for real). And parking was free AND it had breakfast – a requirement for my husband!
You don’t need a car if you stay in downtown and plan on just hitting breweries and restaurants, but we knew we would want to use our car for hiking and exploring the city. So if you want more flexibility I would look for a place with parking, but if you just want to enjoy downtown you don’t need to use your car!
what we did
Asheville is known for being very hipster and outdoorsy – and even though we didn’t have sunny weather we spent a lot of time outside! We drove and walked on the Blue Ridge Parkway our first day there which was beautiful. Parts of the Parkway close in the winter to cars and are only open for bikers and walkers – it was so nice to walk on the road and not have to worry about your footing.
We also made the last minute decision to visit the Biltmore – which was 100% worth it! The cheapest time of the year is March (who knew) and the weekdays are only $40 a person. It goes all the way up to $70 a person in the busy season so I would just confirm prices before you go. They have a limited number of tickets online but we were able to get it immediately by buying tickets at the visitor center. Also be sure to get the audio guide because there aren’t any signs – and the audio was super interesting and informative!
The scale of the Biltmore is crazy and hard to understand until you’re inside. The tour takes 90 minutes and you see a small fraction of the house! I can’t even comprehend living there and I would seriously consider a visit if you’re in Asheville. We don’t know if we will visit Asheville again, so we figured we might as well visit – and that was a good choice!
where we ate & drank
Asheville is a foodie’s dream – there are so many places to eat and drink! So I’ll share everywhere we ate and drank, in no particular order!
- Thirsty Monk – we got lunch here after we hiked and watched UK basketball. I had their nachos and they were super delicious! They had over 20 of their own beers on tap to choose from.
- Catawba Brewing – we hung out here watching the UK game Sunday (see a theme?) and loved how light and airy their space was. It was super low key which we appreciated – and not crowded like some other spots in Asheville.
- Buxton Hall BBQ – this is in the same building as Catawba and we takeout from here for lunch. The barbecue is Carolina-style which is vinegar based, so slightly different that the St Louis BBQ we’re used to. But it’s been rated one of the top BBQ restaurants in the US so we had to try it!
- Tupelo Honey – this was hands down the best meal of our trip. And one of the best meals we’ve had in recent memory! I wish there was a Tupelo Honey in Lexington because it was that amazing. We started with the brussel sprout appetizer – delicious! Both of us had the fried chicken for dinner and it is some of the best fried chicken I’ve ever had. Highly highly recommend! Be sure to make reservations because it’s an extremely popular spot.
- Farmburger – Talk about amazing build-your-own burgers! They only use local grass-fed beef and it is so delicious. The line can get really long but worth the wait!
- Wicked Weed – one of the most iconic breweries in Asheville and a super cool building! We just got beers and hung outside and experienced some amazing people watching. From a wedding party to multiple bachelorette parties it was a fun spot to watch the world go by! This is definitely the heart of Saturday nights in Asheville.
- Hole Donuts – so Sunday turned into donut day and we started here! All the donuts are made to order and it was so cool to watch them fry them – WARM DONUTS ARE AMAZING. You must go here! They only had 2 types – glazed and chocolate glazed – but they were delicious.
- Vortex Donuts – well we had to have donuts to compare to Hole so we hit Vortex. They have more varieties than Hole if you want more options!
what I packed
Asheville is a casual place – so no need to break out the high heels or super fancy outfits!
For working out, I packed my Lululemon leggings and vest. I also brought a Patagonia pullover – a great light layer but warm!
I knew we would be doing a lot of walking so I brought my favorite tennis shoes for trips – my Nike Theas. I might even get them in more colors! Of course I packed my Madewell denim and my Barbour jacket (basics, duh!).
I’m glad I brought this Free People thermal because it was a cool weekend, and it’s so easy to throw on. I also brought my faux suede moto jacket – a perfect way to make a casual outfit a bit dressed up!
Wow we sure ate a lot……reading this list makes me realize that we were really full all the time! It was a great weekend of exploring, eating, and drinking. It was fun to get away for a few days and Asheville was the perfect location!
For us the key to vacations is doing what we want – if we want to explore, we do, and if we want to be lazy, we are! Asheville is a very different experience if you want to hit all the breweries and go out a lot – and we didn’t. So I know our visit is probably different than most, but it was the perfect weekend for us. Let me know if you have any questions about any of the places we went! I hope you enjoyed this mini-guide!
