Asheville is the city of the Blue Ridge, an arty, mountain-framed town at about 650 metres where the French Broad River meets the Swannanoa. The mountains surround it on all sides, soft and blue in the haze, and the air has a clean, woody smell. It has a population of nearly ninety thousand, a lively downtown of art deco buildings from the 1920s, and a reputation as a place for craft beer, folk music, galleries and good food. Locals proudly call it Beer City, with dozens of breweries, and the cafes and farm-to-table restaurants have a loyal following.
Its best-known landmark is the Biltmore Estate, built by George Vanderbilt in the 1890s, a French Renaissance château with 250 rooms, the largest privately owned house in the United States. The grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the creator of Central Park, and include formal gardens, forests and a working winery. The novelist Thomas Wolfe grew up in Asheville, and his boyhood home, a boarding house his mother ran, is preserved as a museum. The city's health-giving climate drew tuberculosis patients and wealthy visitors in the early twentieth century, which is why the grand old hotels were built.
For riders, the Blue Ridge Parkway passes right by the city, with the headquarters and the Folk Art Center, a showcase for Appalachian crafts, a few minutes from downtown. North and south of the city, the Parkway climbs along the ridges through forests of oak, hickory and rhododendron, and the views at the overlooks reach for many miles. The road is slow, with a limit of 45 miles an hour, and the curves are gentle and flowing. Hurricane Helene did serious damage to the region in September 2024, and parts of the Parkway near here were closed for long periods, so check the National Park Service for the current status before you plan a ride.
Asheville has all the services you need, with fuel, bike shops, hotels and restaurants. Parking downtown is metered, and the streets can be busy on weekends. Autumn is the most popular season, when the leaves turn and the Parkway fills with traffic, while spring brings blossom and rhododendrons. Summer evenings can be warm and humid, with thunderstorms in the afternoon. Find a place with a view and a local beer, and enjoy the music coming from the sidewalk.