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.
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 3rd
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. :)
Black and White Biltmore House by my favorite local photographer, Deborah Scannell |
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