5 Days in Asheville, NC for First-Timer’s!
If it’s your first time visiting Asheville, North Carolina, I recommend you come for the week! It deserves more than just a weekend’s worth of your attention, and there’s plenty to do here to fill your itinerary.
Get a taste for everything on offer here, from the unique downtown shops, restaurants, and historical sites to the many opportunities to explore and enjoy the outdoors.
With this 5 day Asheville itinerary, we’ll try them all. I’ve been visiting Asheville regularly for over 6 years, and I have opinions on what to see and what to skip on your first time in town.
Let’s get into it!
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5 Days in Asheville for First-Timer’s
Asheville is a fantastic home base for exploring the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains. You could live here for years and still find new things to do every weekend.
If it’s your first time visiting this eclectic mountain city, then I suggest you try a little bit of a lot of things and come back for your favorites on another trip.
Here’s how to spend 5 days in Asheville:
- Day 1: Downtown Asheville
- Day 2: Biltmore Estate
- Day 3: River Arts District & Grovewood
- Day 4: Blue Ridge Parkway
- Day 5: Get on the Water
**Hurricane Helene Clean-up**
In September 2024, Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina. Yes, a hurricane can cause damage that far inland. The storm leftover after the hurricane made landfall dumped almost 3 feet of rain in some areas with winds still reaching up to 60mph.
The rushing water and high winds knocked down thousands of trees, triggered landslides, flooded valleys, and swept away roads and towns. The damage was extensive. Repair efforts are still ongoing in 2025, and some may continue on into 2026.
While much of the area is reopened and welcoming visitors, some areas are still closed. Check official websites for any closures before heading out. Here’s the Blue Ridge Parkway official NPS site to get you started.
Day 1: Downtown Asheville
Start your Asheville adventure by exploring downtown.
Take a walking tour and admire the beautiful Art Deco and Art Nouveau architecture. When the Great Depression hit, Asheville vowed to repay its loans rather than go further into debt. This meant they had to continually repurpose their buildings rather than build new. The result: tons of well-preserved buildings from the 1920s for you to enjoy a century later.
Guided tours are great, but you can also explore on your own. There’s a wonderful self-guided architecture tour printable map.
During your explorations you’re sure to pass by the Grove Arcade. Come back for one of my favorite used bookstores in Asheville, The Battery Park Book Exchange. A stroll through the building is also perfect for stunning photos of intricate details.
The boutique shops in the arcade and around downtown are full of unique finds.
For lunch, try Pack’s Tavern on Pack Square. The tavern is famous for its secret tunnels used to smuggle alcohol during Prohibition. Today, it serves up tasty tavern food and cold drafts.
Another interesting historical stop in downtown is the Thomas Wolfe House and Museum. Thomas Wolfe is one of Asheville’s most famous authors. He wrote autobiographical fiction, meaning he took his real life experiences and elaborated in places.
As you can imagine, this didn’t make him a lot of friends back home, seeing their dirty laundry aired in a book that was a national bestseller.
The home, which you can tour with a guide only, is a childhood home that his mother ran as a boarding house. The author’s effects are all housed in the small museum next door.
If you’re looking for something less serious and more fun, visit the Asheville Pinball Museum. All of the machines are playable! Enjoy a few hours living the 80s arcade life.
Once it’s time for dinner, you have your choice of tasty cuisines. I’ve had delicious pizza, Indian, and Thai in downtown Asheville.
Day 2: Biltmore Estate
Built in 1895, George W. Vanderbilt’s 200+ room mansion is still America’s Largest Privately Owned Home. His great-grandkids now run the estate, which is open to the public for tours.
The House is stunning, a French chateau in the mountains of North Carolina. They went to Europe and brought back things like 14th century Flemish tapestries and the entire ceiling mural in the library.
The Gardens are beautiful, no matter the season. The Conservatory ensures there’s something in bloom even in the winter. Frederick Law Olmsted, the guy that designed Central Park in NYC,
The Winery offers free tastings, and there’s almost always a special exhibit at somewhere on the estate. I’ve seen Chihuly glass art installations, Van Gogh and Monet immersive art exhibitions, and Downton Abbey costume displays.
Spend a full day exploring the Estate to get the most out of your entry fee. It’s not cheap, but there are ways to make it more affordable.
There are several restaurants on the estate. I recommend lunch at the Stable Café at the House and dinner at The Bistro or Cedric’s in Antler Hill Village.
Day 3: River Arts District & Grovewood Village
Today, you’ll see two, very different sides of Asheville: one is another example of the luxurious side the rich came for, this time a very nice hotel, and then you’ll see neighborhood revitalization in one of its best forms: industrial-turned-art studios with coffee shops and breweries!
Today, you’re going to visit The Omni Grove Park Inn and Grovewood Village and the River Arts District.
The order you visit is completely up to you. There’s pros and cons to each, but both are worth a visit to browse for a bit.
The Omni Grove Park Inn is another beautiful old building that’s still leaving visitors in awe. It’s a luxury hotel with a spa, golf course, and, my favorite, a grotto pool, two enormous fireplaces in the front lobby, and a slew of celebrity guests, including several former presidents.
You don’t have to be a guest to walk through the property, but make sure you park where they tell you to. The lobby is outstanding with its multi-story open space and twin stone fireplaces that a person could easily stand up in, but make sure you go down the public, first floor hallways, too.
You’ll find historic photos from throughout the history of the Inn, a wall of signed celebrity guest photos, and displays about author F. Scott Fitzgerald, who lived here a few summers in the 1930s, and the National Gingerbread House Competition, held here every year.
Across the street from the side of the main hotel is Grovewood Village, a small collection of art studios, a shop selling their beautifully hand-crafted wares, and an antique car museum. It’s an interesting spot that directly supports locals, and the museum is free.
Next up is the River Arts District, or RAD, a short drive west of downtown, southwest of the Grove Park Inn, on the eastern banks of the French Broad River.
This area is a fun collection of art studios and unique, local restaurants. Asheville is constantly defending its title as American city with the most craft breweries, and a fair few of them are in the River Arts District.
But you primarily come to the River Arts District to tour the galleries and studios of local artists.
This area, like most of Asheville and the surrounding area, was hit hard by Hurricane Helene in 2024. Visit their website and check out their maps to see what’s reopened. (Yes, clean up is still ongoing, more than a year later.)
There are many places to eat in the RAD, but the Grove Park Inn also has a restaurant on their back patio with phenomenal mountain (and sunset) views. You can’t make a bad choice for lunch or dinner in either spot. Just make sure you get a reservation for any dining at the hotel.
Day 4: Blue Ridge Parkway
Asheville is the perfect home base for exploring the North Carolina end of Blue Ridge Parkway. It’s a beautiful drive through the mountains with some awesome views and many unique stops along the way.
The Parkway is a free to enter National Park Service site. It was built to connect Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee.
I’m only recommending one day for Blue Ridge Parkway on this Asheville itinerary because, in theory, you’re here for Asheville recommendations.
Get a taste for what it’s like to visit Blue Ridge Parkway on this trip, and come back another time for the rest. Or, better yet, plan a Blue Ridge Parkway road trip!
But for this trip, you need to choose a direction of travel.
>> Do you want to see a waterfall drop into a gorge or summit the tallest peak east of the Mississippi? Go east on the Parkway from Asheville.
>> Do you want to experience an epic mountain sunset? Go west on the Parkway from Asheville.
If hiking is your priority, it doesn’t matter which direction you choose. Both have many good trails to choose from.
I’m partial to the east, pretty much anything between Asheville and Boone, but Graveyard Fields is stunning if you catch it at peak color in the fall.
What to See If You Go East
- Craggy Gardens for spring blooms and easy hikes
- Mount Mitchell State Park for the tallest peak east of the Mississippi River
- Linville Falls Visitor Center for an easy hike to several waterfalls
What to See If You Go West
- Graveyard Fields for fall foliage and hiking
- Cowee Mountain Overlook for my favorite sunset spot on Blue Ridge Parkway
- Waterrock Knob Visitor Center for a short but steep hike to a great view
At the end of the day, just remember, the Parkway is not necessarily the fastest way back to Asheville. Make sure you have offline maps downloaded, and double check it before you turn around and head back.
Read these tips to know before you go on Blue Ridge Parkway. It’ll tell you everything you need to know about finding gas stations, restaurants, and navigating on the Parkway.
Day 5: Get on the Water
While hiking is incredibly popular in Asheville, don’t miss an opportunity to chill out and get on the water instead! There are several ways you can accomplish this:
- Go tubing down the French Broad River.
- Go fishing or paddleboarding on Lake Julian.
- Visit nearby Chimney Rock and Lake Lure.
Each of these activities will only take a few hours, maybe half a day. That leaves the rest of the afternoon for you to just relax.
If you’re not into unscheduled downtime, add a visit to the North Carolina Arboretum (paid) or the Asheville Botanical Garden (free).
Go for a stroll through Riverside Cemetery and find Thomas Wolfe’s grave, or bike along the French Broad River Greenway.
Use the afternoon to lazily pass the time in a low-stress way, whatever sounds good to you!
Where to Stay in Asheville
I’ve written a full neighborhood guide and recommend where to stay in Asheville here.
I usually stay in either the Biltmore Village area, right outside the Biltmore Estate entrance and just south of downtown, or by the outlet mall on the southwest side of town, 10 minutes to downtown.
Both locations are chock full of affordable hotel chains, which I frequently use to stay for free with points.
If you’ve never been to Asheville, though, splurge for a night or two at one of Asheville’s many luxury hotels!
There are many to choose from, and it’ll be an experience you’ll never forget.
Feel like a Vanderbilt guest at The Inn at Biltmore, a friend of F. Scott Fitzgerald at the Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa, or an anonymous but important client at The Foundry Hotel (a Hilton property!) in downtown.
Happy travels!
About the Author: Rachel Means
With six-figure student loan debt and only 10 PTO days per year, Rachel started traveling the world. A decade later, she’s paid off her loans, changed careers, and been to 42 US states and 17 countries. She’s an expert at planning and budgeting for travel and loves to help others do it, too! Read her full story here.
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