Are you an Asheville Tourist? Let Me Help You Out

For those of you who do not live in Asheville but are thinking about visiting, what we have is truly a wonderfully amazing place to visit.  There is a ton of stuff to do here and it’s a wild and eclectic mecca for artists, foodies, beer lovers, musicians and outdoor adventurists.  But, before you travel, know that it can be a tiny bit confusing to the unsuspecting tourist.  Let me help you out.  There’s the Biltmore Estate and chances are high that you will want to go there.  It’s an 8,000 acre estate with a 250-room house, the largest privately owned home in the country.

Black and White Biltmore House
 by my favorite local photographer, Deborah Scannell

It’s very popular, very expensive and very worth it.  If you choose to partake in this classic Ashevillian tourist attraction, be sure not to confuse the estate with Biltmore Village, Biltmore Square, Biltmore Park, Biltmore Forest or Biltmore Avenue.  You will do this…I know.  Every day I see bewildered tourists with screwy expressions on their faces coming in to Starbucks at Biltmore Village, adjacent to the estate entrance, to ask for directions.  They are lost and have spent an hour driving around misunderstanding or simply missing obvious road signs.  To clarify, Biltmore Village is the several blocks of cute and adorable historical shops right outside the estate entrance.  Biltmore Square is on the west side of the estate and houses the crappy mall that no one goes to.  Biltmore Park is on the south side of the estate and is one of those newfangled intentionally planned multi-use developments. There you will find the YMCA, REI, the stadium seat movie theater and some million-dollar homes.  Biltmore Forest is on the east side of the estate where all the multi-million dollar homes are and where I expect the Obama’s will purchase their retirement home.  And finally, Biltmore Avenue runs between the estate and downtown Asheville. Be careful here...although it never makes any turns, it changes names three times, one end being called Merrimon Avenue and the other end Hendersonville Road.  In reality it is nowhere near Hendersonville...but you could get there if you took it 15 miles out of town. But…maybe you are not looking for the estate at all.  Maybe you are just looking for Starbucks.  Well there is the one here at Biltmore Village and the one down Hendersonville Road very close to Biltmore Forest.  If you are meeting someone at one of these locations, make sure you have the correct Biltmore prefix so that you or they don’t become needlessly lost or frustrated and then need someone like me to help sort you out.  Then there are the Groves…the Grove Park Inn, The Grove Arcade and Grove Street.  The Grove Arcade is downtown but it’s not an arcade and it’s not on Grove Street.  The Grove Park Inn is just north of downtown and is also not on Grove Street.  It is just down the road from the 3^rd Starbucks in town, in case you are in need of yet more coffee.  However, if you want really great coffee and not just directions, you will not go to Starbucks.  You will go to the High Five Coffee Bar on Broadway which isn’t really broad at all.  And if you are here as an Asheville Tourist, please don’t confuse yourself with a member of our local baseball team.  It’s really not hard.  I hope that clears things up. :)