Asheville · Weekend itinerary

A Weekend in Asheville for Grown-Ups

Two days is the classic Asheville weekend: Biltmore on Saturday, the city and the Grove Park Inn on Sunday, and a couple of memorable evenings downtown.

Researched and checked by the Trips for Grown-Ups team · Updated · How we research

Some links on this page go to booking partners. If we join their affiliate programmes we may earn a commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. It never decides what we recommend. How we make money.

Day 1: Biltmore and a big night

The estate by day, downtown by night.

  1. Day

    Biltmore Estate

    Biltmore Village entrance, south of downtown

    • $$$
    • Calm
    • Tickets in advance

    Timed entry to the house, then the gardens and the winery.

    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.

  2. Sunset

    Capella on 9

    AC Hotel, 10 Broadway St, 9th floor

    • $$
    • Lively
    • Walk-in

    Rooftop drinks before dinner.

    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.

  3. Dinner

    Cúrate Bar de Tapas

    13 Biltmore Ave

    • $$$
    • Lively
    • Reserve ahead

    Book the bar for the open kitchen.

    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.

  4. Late

    5 Walnut Wine Bar

    5 W Walnut St

    • $
    • Lively
    • Walk-in

    Jazz in a tiny wine bar.

    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.

Day 2: Downtown and the Grove Park Inn

An easy day, ending with a fireside drink.

  1. Morning

    Asheville Art Museum

    2 S Pack Square

    • $$
    • Calm
    • Tickets in advance

    Open from 11 a.m., closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

    American art with a strong focus on Southern Appalachia and the Southeast, in a bright modern building on Pack Square. Open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

  2. Afternoon

    LaZoom comedy bus tours

    Departs 76 Biltmore Ave

    • $$
    • Lively
    • Tickets in advance

    A funny, bumpy crash course in the city's history.

    A purple bus, a cast of comic characters and a 90-minute loop of the city's history and oddities. Adults can pick the 17+ haunted comedy tour or the 21+ live-music brewery tour.

  3. Afternoon

    Wicked Weed Funkatorium

    147 Coxe Ave, South Slope

    • $$
    • Lively
    • Walk-in

    Sour beers on the South Slope.

    The East Coast's first taproom dedicated to sour and wild ales, now with a beer garden, wood-fired food and 20 taps. Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

  4. Evening

    Great Hall Bar at The Omni Grove Park Inn

    290 Macon Ave

    • $$
    • Calm
    • Walk-in

    The inn's great stone fireplaces.

    The historic inn's lobby bar, with soaring ceilings, twin stone fireplaces and live music in the evenings.

  5. Dinner

    Chestnut

    48 Biltmore Ave

    • $$
    • Lively
    • Reserve ahead

    Back downtown for dinner.

    A downtown favourite since 2012 for Southern-leaning American cooking with global twists and a menu that changes monthly. Dinner nightly from 5 p.m.; brunch Friday to Sunday.

Staying longer? Our 3-day Asheville itinerary adds the Blue Ridge Parkway and Chimney Rock.

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 a weekend enough for Asheville?

Yes, for Biltmore and the best of downtown. Add a day for the Blue Ridge Parkway or a waterfall trip.

What should you not miss in Asheville?

Biltmore Estate, dinner at Cúrate, a drink at the Omni Grove Park Inn and a mountain view on the Blue Ridge Parkway.