Happy Holidays from Asheville in December! First and foremost, dress for cloudy, overcast skies with a wet chill in the air. Honestly, we didn’t see the sun for the 3 days we were in town. During the holiday season, there’s plenty to see and do, but here are a few of my favorites for a getaway with the gals, family, or your Christmas sweetie.
Accommodations
Plenty of downtown hotel options. We stayed at the Marriott Renaissance Downtown Asheville (Bonus tip- the hotel is a dedicated stop on the trolley, see below)
Here are a few more downtown properties to check out:
Omni Park Grove Inn great views of the city and the mountains, plus a 43,000-square-foot subterranean spa.
Kimpton Hotel Arras is a gorgeous downtown property
Holiday Fun Must-Do’s
Christmas at the Biltmore The shining star of Asheville is none other than America’s largest home that transforms each holiday season for a tradition that dates back more than 120 years. George Vanderbilt officially opened the home on Christmas Eve, 1895. The home is decorated with more than 100 hand-decorated Christmas trees, 25, 000 ornaments, 100,000 holiday lights, 1,960 live poinsettias, 1,000 feet of fresh evergreen garland & the main attraction is a 35-foot Fraser fir that is delivered on a horse-drawn carriage by Santa himself! Open daily for tours, but also candlelight tours are available in the evening. My suggestion is to book your house tour later in the day, so you can really feel the ambiance and lighting of all the house decorations. Don’t forget to take the trolley or drive over to the Biltmore Antler Hill Village. You can pick up some great souvenirs or grab a pint at Cedric’s Tavern.
National Gingerbread Competition is awe-inspiring with so much talent! Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the contest, you won’t even believe your eyes on these creative masterpieces! Located in the Omni Park Grove Inn which has lots of history and so many famous guests in its history. Be sure to check out the walls of history throughout the property.
Gray Line Asheville Trolley Tour great way to see the area in a short time. A few options, but a great family option, is the Holly Jolly Christmas Trolley for a fun, festive celebration of the season with live music and caroling. My suggestion is to use the Hop-On Hop-Off trolley for transportation around downtown as the 2nd day is free with your ticket! Several popular attractions to see along the way. Our guide David was so entertaining and full of knowledge.
Winter Nights located at the North Carolina Arboretum, is an open-air walk-through light show made from over one million lights. A definite for the holidays!
Eat, Drink & Be Merry
It’s no secret if you are a “foodie” that Asheville has gained national attention in the food & beverage scene, so much so that the community calls their food scene “Foodtopia”.
Curate Tapas Bar & Chai Pani Asheville both received the 2022 James Beard awards. Definitely recommend reservations if available to do so. In addition, here are the spots we hit on our 3-day trip to Asheville. For breakfast or lunch, you can’t go wrong with Biscuit Heads. Grab an adult beverage, or the buffalo chicken mac’n cheese is delish at Packs Tavern.
Shop at Woolworth Walk (tons of cool art) & then grab lunch or a strawberry shake at The Soda Fountain. Chestnut Asheville is a very cool scene for dinner. Reservations are required. An excellent wine selection, yummy truffle fries, and southern specialties, and our waitress Rachel was the bomb!
Ladies, of course, we went shopping. Here are a few of my favorite boutiques:
Here are a few more resources for Asheville:
Great place to visit!! Would love to see this in the spring!! Must be amazing!!🤗