Weekend in Asheville: Hip, artsy enclave in the Blue Ridge Mountains beckons visitors with food, beer, browsi – cleveland.com

ASHEVILLE, North Carolina Asheville was an afterthought, a last-minute addition at the end of a nearly weeklong trip to neighboring Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Rookie mistake.

This mountain town in far western North Carolina deserves top billing on its own itinerary, filled with gallery hopping and top-rated restaurants, a quirky drum circle and comedy bus tour.

And did I mention the beer?

The city, population 95,000, is perhaps best known for being home to the Biltmore Estate, the elaborate former home of George and Edith Vanderbilt, the largest private residence in the United States, open daily for touring.

Read more: The Biltmore, Americas most elaborate private residence, is fit for a king

Its best attribute, however, is its location surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, with parkland on all sides.

The regions stunning beauty has made Asheville a long-time magnet for artists and adventurer seekers, who collectively give the town a cool, authentic vibe, all of which also happens to make it a great place to visit.

If youve never been here -- or even if you have -- its worth the trip, all on its own.

Downtown window shopping in Asheville.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com

Comedic guide Cookie Carter entertains a bus full of tourists on the LaZoom Comedy Bus Tour in Asheville.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com

Wicked Weed Brewing, one of more than 30 brewpubs in Asheville.Courtesy ExploreAsheville.com

Laughing at the citys past

To get my bearings, I signed up for the LaZoom Comedy Bus Tour, a 90-minute, PG-13 romp through town in a retrofitted school bus that covers much of the citys history, from a frontier outpost in the late 1790s to the arrival of the Vanderbilts a century later to Ashevilles first designation as Beer City USA in 2010.

We motored by downtowns former 75-foot-tall memorial (the erection at the intersection) to Civil War-era governor Zebulon Vance, dismantled last year; and the Asheville Civic Center, where Elvis Presley played three shows in July 1975, including one when he famously exited the stage for seven minutes to use the restroom (Sometimes, the king needs to sit, he reportedly said).

We passed the Asheville Masonic Temple, built in 1915 and used as a hospital for Black residents during the Spanish flu, the worst pandemic in history, according to comedic guide Cookie Carter. (Whoops, she added. I think we need to update the script.)

And we drove by the former Highland Hospital, a psychiatric facility turned wedding venue, where Zelda Fitzgerald, the wife of author F. Scott Fitzgerald, died in a fire in 1948. An accomplished painter, writer and dancer, Zelda Fitzgerald may have also been the uncredited source of much of her husbands work, according to Carter. Described as schizophrenic and possibly bipolar, Carter said, Maybe she was just an independent woman in the 1920s.

Halfway through the tour, we stopped for an adult beverage at Green Man Brewery, founded in 1997 and among the oldest brewpubs in the citys beer-focused South Slope neighborhood (bro-muda triangle on sunny Saturday afternoons, according to Carter).

We also wheeled through the River Arts District, just southwest of downtown along the French Broad River, where dozens of former factories and warehouses have been turned into galleries, and the Montford historic district, filled with beautiful old homes.

I made a mental note of all the places I wanted to revisit.

Gallery-hopping in Asheville's River Arts District.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com

Medina County native Kevin Giriunas recently opened a studio in Asheville's River Arts District.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com

Exploring the neighborhoods

My visit coincided with the River Arts Districts Second Saturday gallery walk, with demonstrations, workshops and entertainment in and around the neighborhoods studios and galleries. My husband and I meandered through a dozen-plus spaces, perusing hundreds of pieces of art whimsical and serene glass, pottery, painting, jewelry and more. Locals (and visitors) can take classes at the studios and watch artists in action.

During my browsing, I met Kevin Giriunas, a Medina County native who recently relocated to Asheville and opened a painting studio on Roberts Street.

Asheville has a vibrant big city feel in a small mountain town, said Giriunas, a former engineer who is now working full-time as an artist. The art scene is awesome.

From River Arts, we headed back downtown, where there are many more galleries to explore including the Woolworth Walk, inside a former F.W. Woolworth Co. store, now filled with mini exhibits featuring the works of more than 100 local artists. Also here: the stores recreated Soda Fountain, featuring ice cream, sandwiches and salads. (One historical note: The actual lunch counter here was the subject of civil rights protests in the 1950s, as high school students in Asheville sought to emulate the college protesters in nearby Greensboro.)

Downtown Asheville features some of the best, most eclectic shopping Ive experienced anywhere terrific stores in a relatively compact, easily walkable space.

Other downtown stops:

* Grove Arcade, a four-story retail and office complex that was built in 1929 and billed as Americas first indoor shopping mall (but we Clevelanders know that our Arcade, which opened in 1890, was, in fact, the first). During World War II, the arcade here was taken over by the federal government for wartime planning.

* French Broad Chocolate Lounge, with exquisite chocolate drinks, pastries and candies to consume on site or take with you (or, even better, both). You can also take a tour of their production facility just north of downtown.

* The Asheville Bee Charmer, a story devoted to honey, with a tasting bar and more; Malaprops Books, Voltage Records; the Center for Craft and many others.

The historic Grove Arcade in Asheville.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com

The honey tasting bar at downtown's Asheville Bee Charmer.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com

Every Friday, April through October, a group gathers at Asheville's Pritchard Park to play drums, dance and hang out.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com

Dining and drinking

Downtown is also the epicenter of the highly regarded dining scene in Asheville, which is routinely cited among the nations best foodie cities.

On our first night in town, my husband and I headed to Chai Pani, a casual Indian eatery that was recently named Americas most outstanding restaurant by the James Beard Foundation. Prepare to wait an hour or more for a table the place doesnt take reservations and it wasnt accepting any more additions to its waiting list by the time we arrived.

We dined instead at Red Ginger, with terrific small plates and sushi, across from Pritchard Park, home every Friday night (April through October) to the citys quirky drum circle, a feel-good Asheville tradition since 2001.

Other places we ate: The Rhu for brunch, a sister restaurant and bakery to the more upscale Rhubarb; and Nine Mile, with terrific Caribbean fusion fare in the Montford historic district.

We also got a primer on sour beer at Funkatorium, an outpost of Wicked Weed Brewing, where our bartender explained the effects of a longer fermentation period on what we were about to drink. Its like when you let a bottle of wine age, she said. It tastes better.

On our tasting flight: mouth-puckering samples of Silencio, barrel-aged with coffee and vanilla, and Sandiaca, a tasty concoction fermented with watermelon and basil.

Where to stay

We stayed at the Carolina Bed and Breakfast, a large, luxurious inn in the historic Montford neighborhood, just north of downtown. The house, along with numerous others in the neighborhood, was designed by Richard Sharp Smith, who was the supervising architect of the Biltmore Estate following the death in 1895 of primary architect Richard Hunt Morris.

Smith, along with numerous other creative types, stuck around Asheville after the Biltmore was completed and helped the town evolve into the arts-focused community that it is today. We have more culture than a yeast infection, quipped guide Cookie Carter.

Dont take her word for it. Put Asheville at the very top of your next vacation itinerary, and go see for yourself.

The Carolina Bed and Breakfast in Asheville's historic Montford neighborhood.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com

If you go: Asheville, North Carolina

Where: Asheville, in far western North Carolina, is about an eight-hour drive from Cleveland, along I-77 south, I-81 south and I-26 south. Asheville Regional Airport, south of town, is the closest airport.

Nearby: The city is adjacent to to Pisgah National Forest, close to Great Smoky Mountains National Park and is near the southern terminus of the 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway, the scenic drive that connects the Smoky Mountains with Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.

Where to stay: We stayed at the Carolina Bed and Breakfast in the historic residential Montford neighborhood, just north of downtown. Rates start at about $230 a night. See carolinabb.com

More information: exploreasheville.com

Read more:

Dodging the crowds and clouds at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Americas most popular

Overnighting at LeConte Lodge, the only inn inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park (but first, you have to get there)

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Weekend in Asheville: Hip, artsy enclave in the Blue Ridge Mountains beckons visitors with food, beer, browsi - cleveland.com