Asheville · Romantic getaway
A Romantic Getaway to Asheville: Plan It Like a Grown-Up
Asheville is one of the best romantic weekends in the South: a mountain town with fireplaces, a chateau with its own winery, an underground spa and small restaurants that would be booked solid in a much bigger city. This is how we'd plan two nights for two, from where to sleep to the tables to book before you leave home.
- How long
- 2 nights; 3 with a day on the Blue Ridge Parkway
- When
- October for the colour (book well ahead); weekdays at Biltmore
- Where to stay
- The Omni Grove Park Inn to splurge, or downtown to walk to dinner
- Book first
- A Grove Park spa treatment, Biltmore tickets, Jargon, Cúrate
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Before you book
October is the romantic month, with the mountains in full colour, but it's also the busiest, so book hotels and dinners well ahead. Go to Biltmore on a weekday if you can: the house is calmer and the winery tasting less rushed. For the room, The Omni Grove Park Inn is the splurge, with its underground spa and fireside Great Hall; a downtown hotel keeps every dinner and bar on this page walkable. Asheville is still recovering from Hurricane Helene in 2024, and most of what couples come for has reopened.
Two nights for two
Night 1: Downtown
Arrive in the afternoon and keep everything on foot.
Sunset
Capella on 9
AC Hotel, 10 Broadway St, 9th floor
A ninth-floor terrace looking to the Blue Ridge; get there before sunset for a seat.
A ninth-floor rooftop bar with small plates and long views over downtown to the Blue Ridge. Cocktails from 3 p.m. daily, until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
Dinner
Cúrate Bar de Tapas
13 Biltmore Ave
Take the bar seats at the open kitchen and share the tapas.
Chef Katie Button's Spanish tapas bar in a restored 1920s bus depot, with a marble bar, jamón carved to order and a long Spanish wine and vermouth list. It won the James Beard award for Outstanding Hospitality in 2022.
Late
5 Walnut Wine Bar
5 W Walnut St
Live jazz seven nights a week, a glass of wine and no cover most nights.
A small wine bar and listening room with live music seven nights a week, mostly jazz, swing and gypsy jazz, and no cover most nights. Cheese and charcuterie boards to go with the wine.
Night 2: The chateau and the spa
One big day, one slow afternoon, one candlelit dinner.
Morning
Biltmore Estate
Biltmore Village entrance, south of downtown
Timed tickets; the winery tasting in Antler Hill Village is included (21+).
George Vanderbilt's French Renaissance chateau, with a self-guided audio tour of the house, formal gardens and a winery in Antler Hill Village where admission includes a free tasting (21+). Timed tickets; buying online is cheaper.
Lunch
Cedric's Tavern
Antler Hill Village, Biltmore Estate
Biltmore's own ales and wines on the estate.
A British-style pub on the Biltmore grounds named after George Vanderbilt's St Bernard, pouring Biltmore's own ales and wines with hearty pub food.
Afternoon
The Spa at The Omni Grove Park Inn
290 Macon Ave
Book a treatment and stay on in the pools under the fibre-optic stars.
A 43,000-square-foot underground spa of stone arches and tunnels, with waterfall pools, a lap pool under 6,500 fibre-optic stars, saunas and eucalyptus steam rooms.
Evening
Great Hall Bar at The Omni Grove Park Inn
290 Macon Ave
A drink by the stone fireplaces, with live music in the evenings.
The historic inn's lobby bar, with soaring ceilings, twin stone fireplaces and live music in the evenings.
Dinner
Jargon
715 Haywood Rd, West Asheville
Candlelit and seasonal, with a heated courtyard. Closed Wednesdays.
A small, candlelit room on West Asheville's main street, with a seasonal modern American menu, creative cocktails, an award-winning wine list, a chef's counter and a heated courtyard. Closed Wednesdays.
Stay a third day
With another morning, drive 40 minutes up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Craggy Gardens, where a 1.5-mile round trip through a rhododendron tunnel ends at a 360-degree summit; check the park service's road status first, as Parkway repairs continue. Stop at the Folk Art Center on the way back for free craft demonstrations and handmade pieces to take home.
Craggy Gardens & Craggy Pinnacle
Blue Ridge Parkway, milepost 364, about 40 minutes north
Heads-up: Parkway repairs continue north of here; check the NPS road status page before you drive.
The easiest big view near Asheville: a 1.5-mile round trip through a rhododendron tunnel to a 360-degree summit. The visitor center and Craggy Pinnacle trail reopened in September 2025 after Helene repairs.
Folk Art Center
Blue Ridge Parkway, milepost 382
The Southern Highland Craft Guild's gallery and shop on the Parkway, with handmade furniture, pottery, glass and weaving, and craft demonstrations in the lobby from March to December. Free.
A nightcap
For the last drink of the night, The Crow & Quill is a dim, antique-filled speakeasy behind a door marked only "106", with more than 800 whiskeys; it opens at 5 p.m. Sovereign Remedies is a two-level cocktail bar with a vintage apothecary feel and a proper kitchen, closed on Tuesdays.
The Crow & Quill
106 N Lexington Ave
A dim, antique-filled speakeasy behind a green door marked only "106", with theatrical cocktails and a collection of more than 800 whiskeys. Opens at 5 p.m.
Sovereign Remedies
29 N Market St
A two-level cocktail bar with a vintage apothecary feel, drinks built on small-batch spirits and house botanicals, and a proper kitchen. Closed Tuesdays.
Our advice
- Book the spa treatment first: it is what gives you the afternoon in the underground pools.
- Jargon is closed on Wednesdays and Sovereign Remedies on Tuesdays, so check your nights before you book.
- Buy Biltmore tickets online: they're timed, and cheaper than at the gate.
- Check current hours, prices and Parkway closures before you go.
Everything here was checked in September 2026. Asheville is still recovering from Hurricane Helene (2024), so hours, trails and roads change: confirm before you go.
Questions people ask
Is Asheville good for a romantic getaway?
Yes. It combines an underground spa at the Grove Park Inn, Biltmore's chateau and winery, Blue Ridge views and excellent small restaurants like Jargon and Cúrate, all within a short drive.
How many nights do you need for a romantic Asheville weekend?
Two nights covers downtown, Biltmore and an afternoon at the spa. Add a third for a morning on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Where should couples stay in Asheville?
The Omni Grove Park Inn for a splurge with its underground spa and fireside Great Hall, or a downtown hotel to walk to dinner and the cocktail bars.
When is the best time for a romantic trip to Asheville?
October for the autumn colour, booked well ahead. Go to Biltmore on a weekday if you can, when the house and winery are calmer.