Guide to Asheville
"The city with a hundred faces"
Asheville marries the best of mountain town and urban playground. Don’t miss an inch of all that surrounds you during your stay here.
Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar
Grove Arcade staple with champagne, cocktails, and 10,000+ books
Woolworth Walk
Sprawling local gallery with a 1950s lunch counter
Momentum Gallery
Striking contemporary art + furniture
Chestnut
Upscale New American in 1920s digs
Kress Emporium
Former department store from the roaring 20s, now an art gallery
Jargon
Intimate and seasonal New American
Grove Arcade
Grand and beautiful shopping mall from 1920s
Little Chango
Casual kitchen for arepas and Hispanic faves
Asheville Museum of Science
STEM-themed and family-friendly; has a T-rex cousin
Flour
The best biscuits in Asheville
Black Mountain College Museum
Preserves the memory of the legendary arts college
Asheville Museum of History
Fine antebellum mansion with exhibits on Western North Carolina
Moogseum
Museum dedicated to eletronic music pioneer Bob Moog
New Belgium Brewing Company
Take the tour, it's a wonder to behold
The Grey Eagle
Intimate club, local and regional heavyweights
Ukiah
Japanese smokehouse, etc
Zambra
Southern Spain-colored tapas
The Rhu
Warm, lovely bakery and café
Asheville Pinball Museum
Play all day on legacy machines
Blue Spiral 1
3 floors of Southern art and sculpture; among the best
Asheville Bee Charmer
Honey, lip balm, and other gifts from the bees
Good Hot Fish
James Beard-winning fish fry & friends
Asheville Emporium
Local goods and gifts, just down the road
LaZoom Tours
Iconic purple bus giving comedy, ghost, and beer tours
Basilica of Saint Lawrence
Spanish style with towering brickwork and massive dome
The Jackson Building
Neo-gothic skyscraper — the first in Western North Carolina
First Baptist Church
Dome-roofed brickwork and geometric style
Limones
Modern Cali-Mexican fusion
The Orange Peel
Storied venue; get tickets ASAP
Lexington Glassworks
Live glassblowing studio and gallery
Hazel Twenty Boutique
Stylish & cosmopolitan fashion boutique
Spiritex
Highly sustainable organic textiles and fashion
The Crow & Quill
800 whiskeys and live jazz in a moody speakeasy
Harrah’s Cherokee Center
The big sports and music venue in AVL
Wedge Brewing
Asheville mainstay — maker of the Flat Iron's own pilsner
Wortham Center for the Performing Arts
Modern and traditional ballet, theater, etc
Chai Pani
Effervescent Indian street food
Biltmore
America's largest home: 250 rooms, 65 fireplaces, and 8,000 acres
Pritchard Park Drum Circle
Hundreds of drummers gather every Friday night and feel the beat
Little Jumbo
Award-winning cocktail bar in a 1920s grocery store
The Chocolate Fetish
Family-run confectionery
Sauna House
Nordic bathhouse with saunas, ice baths, red light therapy, etc
Neng Jr.’s
Award-winning 17-seat Filipinx menu
Asheville City Hall
Stunning geometric Art Deco by Douglas Ellington (a Flat Iron tenant)
Old Europe
Much-loved cake and pastry shop
Antidote
3-story apothecary-style cocktail lounge by Chemist Distillery
Mast General Store
Two floors of outdoor goods, gifts, and candies
The Admiral
Dive bar meets fine dining
Center for Craft
Sleek studio and gallery celebrating regional handicraft
Wicked Weed
Bold hop-forward IPAs and barrel-aged sour beers
Crusco
Seasonal New American by the river
S&W Building
Art Deco delight; former restaurant, now a bustling food hall
Potential New Boyfriend
Sultry wine and dessert bar
ButterPunk
Delicious biscuit-forward menu
French Broad Chocolate
Asheville staple, with fine artisanal chocolates
Asheville Art Museum
Modern American and contemporary Southeastern
Tall John’s
European-American faves in Montford
The Montford Park Players
Open-air Shakespeare amphiteatre
Botiwalla
Indian street chaat, just next door
plant
One of America's best vegan restaurants
Sovereign Remedies
Craft cocktails and seasonal plates; a Chef Graham House reco
Taqueria Muñoz
Authentic Mexican hole in the wall
Horse + Hero
Cutting-edge joint for local arts and gifts
Cúrate
Spanish tapas that put AVL cuisine on the map
Public Service Building
Best enjoyed from the Flat Iron Rooftop
The Bull and Beggar
Rustic yet sophisticated European dining