Good trail by the river cool mornings light foot traffic here. Plenty of free parkingread more

The River Arts District, aka RAD, is full of creativity and local charm. It feels like paint spills…read morethrough the streets, bringing every corner to life especially to old industrial buildings. You can watch artists creating beautiful pieces right in their studios -- so look for the yellow signs in front of various studios.The mix of murals, galleries, and old warehouses gives RAD a unique character. It's nice to stroll to watch, shop, and support local artists.

River Art District is a nice block to stroll but weather in summer could damper your mood so best…read moreto enjoy early evening hours. Lots of independent artists studios, many walks painted with "stories", and some local eatery -- seems like oven fresh pizza is a hit here! The road leading to the Art District is beautiful and yet to walk across the bridge.

City landscapes across the country are changing. Urban renewal projects have brought a new era and…read morevibe to most major metropolitans. Asheville is no exception! While much of the Street Art is concentrated in the River Arts District, it is not difficult to find sculptures and murals throughout the entire city. Being an artist myself, I am thrilled with the trend of public displays and only wish I were an art student growing up in this era of opportunity. Asheville has long been one of my favorite little cities because it, more than any other small city I've every visited, is an artist haven. Maybe that has something to do with the Black Mountain College art program that was widely successful in the mid 1950's and produced a laundry list of artists that would go on the become highly influential. THE EXPERIENCE My search for street art began at the viaduct on Merrimon Avenue below I-240. Here you can bear witness to just how paint, a brush and an idea can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary! This could have been like every other dreary inner city interstate underpass, but instead it feels like a hug and a "Hello, glad you could come!" You can keep south to see a few more displays around the downtown area or turn right on Patton Avenue and left on Clingman Avenue to find your way over to the River Arts District. The art here is currently and mostly graffiti style (which isn't exactly my favorite). However, more and more illustrative artist are making their mark and if you look carefully, you will find some amazingly detailed pieces of work amongst all the graffiti-like scribble. I hear there are also great pieces on the west side of town, but I will have to explore that on another visit as I was running out of daylight and allotted time to see all I could. FINAL THOUGHTS Asheville is rich in this Bohemian vibe, a vibe that seems full of life, creativity, acceptance and optimism. A place to experience a wide range of different tastes in music, fashion, art, and literature. I can't wait to see how the Street Art catches fire here in the future. I suspect of all the cities in America, Asheville may become one of the greatest places to view dazzling public displays! Since it is fairly close to Atlanta, I will continue to visit an update more in the future. Maybe soon they will attract internationally renowned commissioned street artists such as Natalia Rak, Etam Cru, INTI, Eduardo KOBRA, Bordallo II and Fin DAC with the most unique of these artists being Bordallo II (Google his work). Fingers crossed! 2018/70

me and my wife did the glass blowing experience, and could not be happier! The check in process was…read morevery easy, the staff made everything extremely straightforward and walked us through the process. The selection of colors and the things we could make was outstanding, and we were able to get a really unique piece. instructors were extremely patient, and walked us through everything, and made the process very fun and enjoyable. Great value for the experience; not only do you get to see the whole process up close, as well as participate in making something fun, but you get to take homes piece of art you helped make.

Stopped in to inquire about classes and to see the glass blowing and items for sale. Nice setup but…read moreonly a few people could fit up close and see the glass blowers at work. Person working the desk was not super outgoing but provided some information about classes.

It's been years since my first visit here and it was something I needed during my reset vacay to…read moreenjoy the outdoors and relive the beautiful memories here. The gardens are absolutely stunning, well maintained, and well marked. The buildings are beautiful and host wonderful events and classes. The gift shop is well stocked and perfect for buying something for your home, yourself, or for those you love. The trails are wonderful and can give you lots of options for the length and level of exercise you want for you and your pups. The Bent Creek one is our favorite (which runs along Bent Creek)! Of course, the Dambo Trolls were a lovely addition these past few months and have drawn so many people that they had to close the gate at least once because they were so packed! I'm glad I decided to make the drive to enjoy a solo date outdoors with my book.

The Thomas Dambo Troll Exhibit brought me back to NC for the first time in decades. And the team at…read morethe Arboretum, and the grounds as well as the exhibit did not disappoint. Made it there on New Year's Day. Bright and early. Did get lost trying to follow GPS so map it as it reads on the website. Siri thinks she knows better and I ended up in the boonies without service. Backtracked and when I had cell service again, followed instructions and got there without a hitch. The staff, mainly in the Welcome Center was great. So friendly. Knowledgeable. Genuinely pleasant. Not only providing instructions on the exhibit but shared a few stories about the process. It was cold but the walk and sun, when it came out, helped me to not freeze. In fact, by the halfway point, I had removed my outer layer. I mentioned this because it wasn't all paved paths - eventually after you pass through the garden directly outside the Welcome Center - you wander onto the packed trail. Glad I got there early as by the time I left, the parking lot was filled up fast and cars were lining up at the entrance to the park. I didn't check out anything else at the Arboretum but judging from what I did see, it's a beautiful area and exhibit. If I happen to make a return visit, it'll definitely be when it's warmer weather.

It breaks my heart to still see this area recovering from the devastation of hurricane Helene. Many…read morebusinesses are already open and back in business while some store fronts are still working to recover. The area has so much charm and I'm looking forward to getting to visit again once everything is open again.

This "charming" area is located just outside and across the steet from the famous Biltmore Estate…read more This "village" was originally constructed to house the artisas, craftsman and builders whoe were working on the Biltmore Estate. Many of the buildings in Biltomre Village dae back to the days when Biltmore was being constructed. Today, the buildings house a varity of high-end retail shops with a spattering of unique craft and artisan shops. THe area also includes a variety of dining options. There is limited signage that explains the historic signifance of any of the building and littel evidence to connet to past with the present. IMHO, thi is a fancye, high-end retail complex that just happens to be housed in some old (poosbly hostroic) buildings.

Very underwhelming, for a city known for tourism this is probably the lamest science center I've…read morebeen to. It's like 3 rooms total, all of them in basically the same space, there's probably a whole like 4 or 5 things for the kids to do that they can probably do within 30 minutes. The admission price should be like $5 for what it's worth. The lady at the front told me there was a bunch of hands on activities for babies and I'd say there was like three. The first room was a tiny room with a virtual earth, that if you touch the screen it says it will move but it doesn't work, everything else in that room is just reading/writing (made for tweens and up) and not very fun or engaging. Then there's a room full of rocks behind glass displays, not very exciting or hands on for kids (even as an adult, I felt like it was boring). There's one little section in the room where the kids can brush sand off rocks, but it was nothing special. The room with the bikes is the coolest room, but it's very small and like I said there's barely anything to do. You can look at different bikes on display, they have like 2 or 3 interactive things you can do to learn about how bikes work which take a minute to do. The there's a tiny jungle gym kind of thing that's sub-par, a water play area that's also sub-par and a sand pit where you can look for fossils which I guess would have been fun if my child was a bit older, but for little ones like mine, there wasn't much. He had a very tiny section in the corner he could play with and then he got bored. I guess I'm a bit spoiled because we live in the Triad and we have 3 of the best children's museums. It's guess it's a good thing to do to kill time if you literally have nothing else to do with your kids in Asheville but if I knew what it would be like I probably wouldn't do it again.

Tiny but mighty! There are a few rooms here with interactive exhibits for kids. My 4 and 5 year…read moreolds could have spent a lot of time here even though at times it felt a little tight. There's a small climbing structure that my kids kept coming back to, which was a favorite. A lot of the exhibits focused on the earth. I think it was sort of lost on my kids, but the exhibits were fun to interact with. You can't really avoid the shop.

I visited the Center for Craft, Creativity & Design for the Seismic Sorrows exhibit. Admission was…read morefree and the gallery had a unique feel. One of the artists was in the gallery the day I was there. I liked how the artwork made me think of things differently. I will return for future exhibits.

This is one of my favorite art galleries in the Asheville area. They host really great art shows…read moreand have fun, interactive events with art and/or artists. The space is large and open with high ceilings. Located right downtown, The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design is a must-visit gallery. I've never seen a one-person show here, rather the shows have a theme, which is great to experience a variety of work.

My husband and I almost skipped the Biltmore because we thought maybe too touristy, but that would…read morehave been a huge mistake because it ended up being one of my favorite stops in Asheville. I even found myself wishing we stayed at the Biltmore Inn so we could wake up and enjoy the beauty everyday in Asheville. We visited during Luminere, which is a new attraction where the Biltmore estate and gardens basically light up after 9pm. We got there a few hours earlier to enjoy the grounds, do some wine tasting (lines too long so just purchased some wine instead) and take in a beautiful sunset. It really is the most gorgeous place to watch a sunset. Luminere began with a light show that shared the history of the Biltmore Estate which i found pretty interesting. Then we walked thru the gardens, which was all lit up similar to what i've experienced at many botanical gardens during the holidays. It was a gorgeous night, a beautiful show and a great way to get our steps in. I think visiting the Biltmore any time of day would be special, but this was an extra fun way to see it!

This had been on my bucket list a long time and while everyone has a different opinion of the tour,…read moreI LOVED every minute I was in there. Being a history and architectural enthusiast, along with being obsessed with this time period, it was amazing to walk through every room and envision what it was like during the time they lived there and marvel at the construction and invention. I highly suggest touring it if you haven't. NOTE: I hear Christmas is spectacular there!

Wow, this place is bursting with creativity! It's individual pottery studios, classroom space,…read morekilns and so many artists beautiful work available for purchase. I believe they also have gallery openings and events there too.

Oddest Clay Works hosted a community event where everyone got to make a tile that will become part…read moreof a larger art installation. It was beautifully organized and such a joy to be surrounded by neighbors, all creating something together. I'm genuinely excited to see our tile incorporated into the final piece. It means so much to have businesses like this that foster creativity and connection--helping to make our community better and more vibrant for everyone. Being in the space was inspiring and see us going back in the future when our baby is bigger to do so more creative projects. So much art to see and all made right here.