Asheville, North Carolina7 Nights, 2 Adults 18-35 years old – No KidsMedium Budget TravelAuthor: M. Tiffany Messer-Bass, Guidora Team

Asheville

Image via The Food Life

Asheville TourA: 5 Days and 6 Nights in Downtown AshevilleB: 1 Day in BiltmoreC: 1 Day and 1 Night in Grove Park Inn

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December 1-December 9, 2013

Adults 2- 20-30 years old– 0 kids

leisure, fun

Asheville December 1- December 9, 2013

Adults 20-30years old– 0 kids

leisure, fun

Transportation

Author: M. Tiffany Messer-Bass

Origin: Greensboro, N.C.Vehicle: 2003 Volkswagen New BeetlePrice / person: $40 one tank of gas – 172 miles, each direction

StayHotel: Hotel Indigo151 Haywood Street – Asheville, N.C. 28801Tel.: 1-828-239-0239Make Your Reservation Here

Price / night: $126 with AAA discount

TripAdvisor: LinkBooking.com: LinkRecommended: Yes. Clean rooms and beautiful views. Able to walk anywhere downtown.

Day 1: Arrival, Check In, Evening DiningTime Activity Tips & advice Cost / person

03:00 pm

Departure from Greensboro, North Carolina, Drive duration 3 hours.

Call 511 for travel updates on traffic congestion, accidents, and more

$20.00 in gas/person

06:00 pm

Arrival at the Hotel Indigo, located on Haywood Street in the downtown area.

The Visitor’s Center is a little over a block away. Take advantage of it for deals on Biltmore tickets and brochures galore.

06:15 pm

Check in and take luggage up to room. Hotel indigo offers valet parking, if that is an option you’re interested in.

06:45 pm

Evening dinner at Jerusalem Gardens~$40 depending on your tastes and tip

08:00 pm

Stroll back to the hotel, planning places we want to visit along the way.

Most stores close at 6:00 p.m. in the downtown area except on weekends, where some places have later hours. Plan accordingly.

Asheville Tour1st Day Map

Day 2: Grove Arcade and Battery ParkTime Activity Tips & advice Cost

9:30 am

Breakfast at Indigo Hotel’s 151 Boutique Bar and Kitchen. The breakfast here was nice, but this was the only day we dined in the hotel. There are so many unique places to eat in this city.

-$20 for 2 omelettes

10:30 am

Shopping in the Grove ArcadeHighlights: Wake the Foot Sanctuary Shop, Bath Junkie, and Enter the Earth

Dependent on your shopping budget.

2:30 pm

Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar

Trip will Dependent on your shopping budget.cost 3.5 TL/person

3:30 pm

Late lunch at Carmel’s Restaurant and BarHighly suggest the pizza menu, especially if you’re on a budget. Easy to share and save some cash. Gluten free options available.

$16

4:30 pm

Asheville Pinball Museum Evening hours only, so don’t plan to visit this early in the day! $10 – adults$7 – children 12 and under

6:30 pm

Walked back to hotel to take shopping bags back and rest before dinner. Ordered in from ValetGourmet.com

Valet Gourmet delivers from many popular Asheville restaurants. Worth it if you don’t feel like going out after a long day.

Prices Vary

Asheville2nd Day Map

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ZoomTip 1.1: Transportation and ParkingThere are various ways to get around Asheville, but in the downtown areas, many people prefer to walk or bike.

Other options include:

• Driving your own car and parking at a metered space or parking garage. One quarter at a metered space will get you 12 minutes ($1.25 per hour). You must pay the meters until 6:00 pm. There are five parking garages located at the Civic Center, Rankin Avenue, Wall Street, Biltmore Avenue, and at the Aloft Hotel on Biltmore Avenue. Parking in each of these garages is free for the first hour, and then $1.00 for each hour after. Download PassportParking on your iPhone or Android to pay digitally.

• Taxi Service: A Red Cab Company, Metro Cab, Your Cab, and Yellow Cab Company service the Asheville area. Your lodging provider will have these numbers for your access.

• Ride the ART, Asheville’s bus system: The best deal here if you plan to rely on the bus service is to get a booklet of tickets. For a regular fare, $9.00 gets you 11 rides. Discounted fares for college students, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and Medicare recipients are half price of the listed fares. You can find ART bus signs posted around downtown signifying pick up and drop off locations. When you get within a block of your destination, ring the chime to let the driver know that you wish to deboard. The bus does not stop otherwise.

ZoomTip 1.2: Getting to Downtown   If driving, you can take any of the following interstates or highways into the downtown area:

• I-26• I-40 • I-240• U.S. 19/23• U.S. 25• U.S. 25/ 70 • U.S. 74.

If coming from the Asheville Regional Airport, you will take I-26 into downtown.

Day 3: Basilica St. Lawrence and Haywood Street Area

Time Activity Tips & advice Cost

9:00 am-11:00am Touring the Basilica St. Lawrence

Schedule your tour a week in advance, and then call 24 hours ahead to confirm your tour. This is suggested by the website for the Basilica. More information here:

http://www.saintlawrencebasilica.org/TourtheBasilica.html

Tours are complimentary, but donations are appreciated.

12:00 pm Lunch at Chai Pani – 828-254-4003Indian street food with lots of bold flavors. Vegan and gluten free options. We skipped breakfast, so this was quite filling.

Under $40 for two people

1:00 pm Woolworth WalkGalleries of many local artists, many of which allow you to purchase their items. Don’t forget to visit the downstairs galleries as well. They are often overlooked.

Depends on if you opt to buy anything.

3:00 pm Malaprop’s Bookstore and Cafe

Great local coffee, but the shop only wants you sitting on your laptop in the café area for an hour. Be mindful of other customers as it can get busy and people will want to sit at the tables. Great selection of books, including local authors. Check the store schedule to see book signings, readings, and book clubs.

Dependent on shopping budget.

4:00 pm-7:00 pm

Asheville Urban Tour and dinner at Farm Burger (near where tour ends)

Find the PDF of the map here: http://www.ashevillenc.gov/Departments/ParksRecreation/CulturalArts/CulturalArtsPublicArttheUrbanTrail/UrbanTrailWalkingTour.aspx

Free and Self-Guided/ Dinner under $10 per person

Day 4: Trolley Tour of AshevilleTime Activity Tips & advice Cost

7:30 am

Breakfast at Early Girl Eatery

Breakfast served all day. Vegan and gluten free options. Around $20 for two.

10:30 am -3:20 pm

Asheville Gray Line Trolley Tour

The best time to take the trolley tour is in the summer season where the trolley runs every 30 minutes. You can take the “Hop On, Hop Off” privileges and visit each location for a long as you please, but this is more difficult to do in the winter. We stopped and visited a couple of the locations, but were on a time crunch due to limited operating hours. Tickets are $21 for adults and $10 for children. Have an additional $2 taken off of your total with AAA or AARP. We ended our tour at Pack Square. We planned to tour all day, so we packed sandwiches for lunch from bread and peanut butter brought from home.

$21 per person

3:25 pm-5:00 pm

Asheville Art Museum

Excellent collection of American art. Students and seniors are admitted for $7.00, children ages 4-12 also admitted for $7.00.

$8 per person

6:00 pm

Dinner at Mamacita’s Tacqueria

Around $20 for two

Asheville 3rd Day Map

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Asheville4th Day Map

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Day 5: Biltmore AvenueTime Activity Tips & advice

9:00 am

Breakfast at The Green SageAround $10-15 per person

10:00 am

Mast General StoreBe sure to visit the store early in the morning when you will have time to really experience the old country store charm without dealing with the large crowds.

Dependent on your shopping budget.

11:30 am

Colburn Earth Science Museum Admission is free on the first Wednesday of every month from 3:00-5:00.

$6.00 for adults, $5.00 for kids and students. 6 and under free

1:30 pm

Lunch at Barley’s TaproomExcellent daily lunch deals. Check the menu before you go. We were able to keep this meal under $10 for each person.

Under $10 per person, but dependent on what you order.

2:30 pm

Double D’s Double Decker Coffee Bus

The bus is cash only, but serves great coffee. Be sure to take advantage of the upstairs seating. Around $5 per drink.

2:30-4:00 pm

Explore Pack Square Monument and Statues.

We also took this time to walk around and explore other structures in the area such as city hall, the Buncombe County Courthouse and more.

Free

4:20– 7:00

Movie at the Fine Arts Theater We filled up on popcorn and snacks here, so we didn’t really have an appetite for dinner. $9.75 per ticket

Asheville5th Day Map

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Day 6: Biltmore Estate and NightlifeTime Activity Tips & advice Cost

8:00 amBreakfast at Biltmore Village McDonalds

It can be frowned upon to eat here when there are so many local places to choose from, but it is directly across from the entrance to Biltmore. Also, be sure to listen to the piano that plays itself.

Under $10

9:00 am-4:00 pm

Biltmore EstateIf you buy tickets a week early, you save $10 on admission fees. We followed the suggested itinerary on Biltmore’s website. The link is here: http://www.biltmore.com/visit/plan-your-visit/suggested-itineraries/one-day-visit

$39 per ticket in advance/$49 at gate

5:00-7:00 pm

Rest at the hotel and change clothes for evening

Asheville has no dress code. We just wanted to dress nice for the evening.

7:30-11:30 pm

Dinner, drinks, and live music at Lexington Avenue Brewery

Often just called “The LAB” for short.

$50-60 depending on food you order and how much you drink

12:00 am

Back to hotel to pack and prepare to leave for Grove Park Inn on Day 7

Day 6 Map

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Drive

Author: Vangos Pterneas

Route: Hotel Indigo to Grove Park InnTotal Miles Traveled: 2.3 miles Photo Credit: http://customcarpetservices.com/project_listings.html

Stay

Grove Park Inn290 Macon AveAsheville, NC 28804Cost Per Night: $174Booking.Com Site:Click Here

Day 7: Grove Park Inn and Blue Ridge Parkway

Time Activity Tips & advice Cost

10:00 am

Check out from Hotel Indigo

10:30 am

Breakfast at City Bakery Less than $10 per person

11:00 am – 3:00 pm

Drive on Blue Ridge Parkway Take advantage of the various scenery overlooks and the Folk Art Center

Gas costs dependent on how much driving you do

3:30 pm

Check into Grove Park Inn Check out the spa packages and golfing opportunities. $174 for one night

4:30 pm-6:30 pm

Massage and Facial at Grove Park Inn

Rates vary. Information here: http://www.groveparkinn.com/media/1732327/gpi_spa_insert_v3.pdf

See link in Tips

7:00 pm

Dinner at Sunset Terrace – Grove Park Inn

Feel free to check out other restaurants at the Inn such as the President’s Lounge or the Spa Cafe

$40-100 for two

Day 7 Map

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Day 8: Travel HomeTime Activity Tips & advice Cost

9:00 am

Check out of Grove Park Inn

1:00 pm

Arrive back in Greensboro, NC Breakfast and lunch on the road. $60 for gas and fast food

Day 8 MapGet this Map Online: Click Here

Thank you