Best ice cream in town with lots of vegan and lactose free options 

Make your own pottery and mention me for a 15% discount 

Rooftop bar with beautiful sunset views! Mention me and get a 10% discount! 

Local book store and coffee shop with excellent speakers and authors 

Largest local art gallery in Asheville with an old fashion soda fountain inside as well! 

Great place for kids and adults alike to explore the wonders of science 

Southern style cuisine without all the grease 

Local theatre with excellent shows at an affordable price! 

Dueling piano bar with enthusiastic pianist ready to give you a great time! 

Local brewery with lots of fun games and tasty beers 

Best cocktails in town for $5-$6 and my favorite coffee liquor

Asheville Free Walking Tours 

Highland Brewing Company is Asheville's first craft brewery and a major East Asheville live music venue, with an outdoor amphitheater, indoor music hall, and weekly bluegrass, indie rock, and americana concerts.

Locals love Highland Brewing for its community vibe, quality brews, and the way it brings people together with regular live music shows that showcase everything from local bluegrass to funky indie bands. 

The brewery’s commitment to sustainability and a welcoming atmosphere keeps the crowd coming back, whether it’s for a weekend concert or a casual afternoon with friends. It’s one of those rare spots that pairs exceptional craft beer with genuine Asheville hospitality and entertainment.

Highland Brewing Company

Itto Ramen Bar & Tapas serves Japanese ramen, tapas and craft cocktails, with this location on Haywood Road in West Asheville plus another Asheville spot and one in Arden. The menu runs from miso, curry and seafood ramen to gyoza, takoyaki, yakitori, poke bowls, sushi and a ramen burger, with vegan dishes and mochi ice cream.

Locals come in for a big bowl of ramen on a cold night and a few small plates to share. The menu is long, so picky eaters and vegans both find plenty.

Itto Ramen Bar & Tapas

Sunny Point Cafe is a West Asheville breakfast and brunch spot on Haywood Road, serving upscale American comfort food daily from 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM. The signature is the huevos rancheros, with two eggs, black bean cakes, chorizo or tofu chorizo, feta, green salsa and home fries, and the cafe sells its own jams and hot sauce too.

Locals know Sunny Point as one of the busiest breakfast spots in Asheville, and the wait is part of the deal. Regulars say the huevos rancheros are worth it every time.

Sunny Point Café

Twisted Laurel is a locally owned Mediterranean comfort food restaurant with two locations: 130 College Street on Pack Square in downtown Asheville, and 10A South Main Street in Weaverville. Think stone hearth pizzas like the Figgy Piggy and Roni + Ricotta, fettuccine and rigatoni, gyros, Southern fried chicken parm and the award-winning Smashburger, with cocktails, wine and local beer.

Both have dog-friendly patios, and downtown even has a dog menu. Downtown is open Tuesday through Saturday, and Weaverville is open every day with Sunday brunch until 3. Daphne's Catering Co. handles catering.

Downtown, the patio tables under the sails on Pack Square fill up at lunch with Smashburgers and local beer, and Weaverville's Sunday brunch has its own crowd on Main Street. Food writer Stu Helm called that smash burger his most craved item of 2023.

Twisted Laurel Downtown Asheville + Twisted Laurel Weaverville

Cafe Bomba is a little corner cafe at Pack Square and Patton Avenue in downtown Asheville, serving French- and Latin-inspired breakfast and lunch. It pours organic coffee and espresso drinks, wine, champagne, beer and brunch cocktails, with sweets on the counter.

Locals grab breakfast or a coffee at Bomba before a day downtown. It's small and busy, and the Latin and French flavors set it apart from the usual cafe.

Bomba

Double D's Coffee & Desserts is a coffee shop inside a red double-decker bus at 41 Biltmore Avenue in downtown Asheville. It pours organic coffee roasted locally by Notorious Coffee Roasting Company, with local desserts and fancy drinks.

Locals get a kick out of drinking coffee on a vintage bus, and kids love climbing aboard. It's one of downtown's most recognizable spots.

Double D's Coffee & Desserts

Asheville Free Walking Tours offers locally guided, tip-based walking tours of Asheville, starting at Pack Square in downtown. The two-hour Downtown tour runs every day, and From Flood to Flourish, a River Arts District tour about the area's recovery, runs Wednesday through Saturday. The company also runs ghost tours, pub crawls and escape rooms, and you pay your guide what you think the tour was worth.

Asheville locals recommend these tours to visiting friends, and newcomers say the guides share history they never knew.

Asheville Free Walking Tours

The Hop Ice Cream has been an Asheville institution since 1978, with imaginative and locally-influenced flavors. Owners Ashley and Greg Garrison opened their first downtown location at S&W Market. The menu features homemade dairy and vegan ice creams, classic milkshakes, sundaes, desserts, and made-from-scratch waffle cones. The Hop’s flagship flavors (Salted Caramel, Vanilla Bean, and Chocolate) will be offered alongside a variety of staples and rotates flavors, often featuring local ingredients and collaborations with Asheville businesses.

Locals call The Hop their favorite ice cream shop in Buncombe County, for the homemade flavors, the friendly counter and how much it gives back to the community.

The Hop Ice Cream

Asheville Brewing Company, founded in 1998, is one of Western North Carolina’s original craft breweries with two unique locations in North Asheville and Downtown Asheville. Beyond award-winning craft beers like their Ninja Porter and Perfect Day IPA, they offer a full menu of pub favorites, from hand-tossed pizzas to burgers and vegan options. 

Their North Asheville spot stands out with an in-house movie theater showing new releases at some of the best prices in town, plus a lively  and game room for hours of fun.

Locals dig Asheville Brewing Company for its laid-back vibe that suits families, date nights, and friend hangouts alike. It’s where craft beer lovers meet casual diners, with something to satisfy every craving and passion. With rotating seasonal brews and classic favorites, it’s a place to try new flavors or grab your go-to pint in a welcoming, friendly setting.

Asheville Brewing Company

Fired Up Creative Lounge is a paint-your-own pottery and art studio at 26 Wall Street in downtown Asheville. Pick a piece of bisque to paint, try glass fusing with staff help, sculpt with clay, take a pottery wheel lesson, or paint a canvas with a template or your own design. No experience is needed, walk-ins are welcome, and you can order pottery to-go kits online.

Asheville parents bring kids here on rainy days, and friends book a table for birthdays and date nights.

Fired Up Creative Lounge

Hemingway's Cuba is a Cuban restaurant and rooftop bar on the fourth floor of the Cambria Hotel at 15 Page Avenue in downtown Asheville. The menu covers El Cubano sandwiches, hand-made empanadas, tostones and mahi ceviche, with cocktails and mocktails, and it serves breakfast and dinner every day.

Locals head up to the rooftop for sunset drinks with a mountain view. It's one of the best spots downtown to watch the sun go down.

Hemingway's Cuba Restaurant & Bar

Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe is an independent bookstore at 55 Haywood Street, at the corner of Walnut Street in downtown Asheville, serving readers since 1982. It carries a hand-picked mix of books, gifts and local goods, with staff recommendations on every table, and hosts author readings, book clubs and events most weeks. The cafe serves espresso drinks, tea and pastries from area bakeries, with a walk-up window that opens before the store. The bookstore is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Asheville regulars grab a coffee at the cafe window and browse the staff picks, and locals send visiting friends here first.

Malaprop's Bookstore/ Cafe

Woolworth Walk is a locally owned art gallery in the historic F. W. Woolworth building on Haywood Street in downtown Asheville. Its two floors exclusively feature local artists, with handmade jewelry, pottery, fiber, glass, painting, photography, metalwork and more at a wide range of price points. At the heart of the space is a restored old-fashioned soda fountain serving egg creams, ice cream sodas and light lunches. The gallery is open seven days a week and ships purchases.

Asheville locals send visitors here for gifts that were actually made in town, and the soda fountain counter is a favorite spot for a float and a quick lunch.

Woolworth Walk

the Asheville Museum of Science (AMOS) offers an engaging and hands-on science experience for visitors of all ages. AMOS features interactive exhibits spanning geology, biology, paleontology, physics, and environmental science, including the notable Teratophoneus dinosaur skeleton and the Colburn Hall of Minerals. The museum's highlights include a STEM lab, tree climb, terrabox topography simulator, fossil dig, toddler nest, and rotating special exhibits focused on current science topics.

Locals appreciate AMOS for its family-friendly atmosphere and hands-on learning opportunities that capture the curiosity of kids and adults alike. Frequent visitors highlight the museum’s engaging exhibits and educational programs that make science accessible and fun. Field trips, birthday parties, and group visits receive particular praise for combining learning and entertainment in an encouraging environment. The museum is lauded for maintaining a clean, welcoming facility with helpful staff.

Asheville Museum of Science

Chestnut is a downtown Asheville restaurant on Biltmore Avenue, open since 2012, serving creative American food and craft cocktails. The menu mixes classics with new ideas, like house-cured meats, mashed potatoes, local steak and vegetables from nearby farms, using products from local growers, ranchers, cheese makers and dairies.

Locals count on Chestnut for a dependable downtown meal, from brunch with friends to dinner before a show at The Orange Peel down the street.

Chestnut

White Duck Taco Shop on Biltmore Avenue in downtown Asheville serves creative tacos from all over the map, with fillings like Bangkok shrimp, crispy pork belly, jerk chicken, Thai peanut chicken, mole and black bean and cheese. The menu changes with the seasons, and there are plenty of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.

Locals love the wacky, ever-changing taco combos and the big bench-style seating that makes it easy to eat with a crowd. Everyone orders a few and trades bites.

White Duck Taco Shop

Asheville Salt Cave & Spa is a salt cave and spa at 16 North Liberty Street, just north of downtown Asheville. The 550-square-foot cave holds 30 tons of pink salt and stays at 70 degrees, and silent 45-minute Community sessions on a recliner or floor cushion run $27 Monday, Tuesday and Thursday or $42 Friday through Sunday.

There's also a Turkish-style Hammam steam room for private sessions for up to five people, plus therapeutic massage, hot salt stone therapy, an aromatherapy salt glow and couples massage inside the salt cave with tea and chocolate.

Locals planning a small get-together can book a private cave session and talk instead of staying silent, and there's a back deck and garden to sit in before or after.

Asheville Salt Cave & Spa

Brasilia Churrasco Steakhouse is a Brazilian churrascaria at 26 East Walnut Street in downtown Asheville. The all-you-can-eat meal includes a 35-item salad bar with hot dishes and a parade of Brazilian cuts carved tableside by gauchos, with wines from around the world.

Locals book Brasilia for birthdays and big celebrations, since the endless meat keeps a group happy. Come hungry.

Brasilia Churrasco Steakhouse

Downtown Asheville's ACT has been staging productions since 1946, making it the oldest continuously operating theater in the city and second oldest in North Carolina. Two stages: the Heston Mainstage (approx. 309 seats) and the 40-seat 35below black box. Programming spans musicals, dramas, comedies, a Readers Theatre series, and youth productions season-round.

ACT is the kind of place where you'll run into cast members at the coffee shop the next morning, because everyone here is a neighbor. The mainstage puts up serious musicals and dramas, while 35below keeps things intimate and adventurous. They've been doing this since 1946 and the community ownership of it shows. Worth a subscription if you're staying in town long enough.

Asheville Community Theatre

Off The Wagon is a dueling piano bar at 22 North Market Street in downtown Asheville, open nightly from 7pm to 2am. Two pianists take song requests all night with no set list, covering rock and pop hits from the last 60 years.

Regulars and big groups pack in for the sing-alongs, from bachelorette parties to birthdays. The bar is known for fishbowl drinks, and seating is first come, first served.

Off The Wagon Dueling Piano Bar

Twin Leaf Brewery is a creative and community-driven brewery located in Asheville’s celebrated South Slope district at 144 Coxe Avenue. Founded in 2014 by Tim Weber, the brewery focuses on classic Belgian, English, and American-style ales with rotating lagers, IPAs, sours, and adventurous brews. 

Twin Leaf’s taproom features industrial-chic decor, cozy open floor plans, and games that encourage connection, making it a welcoming place for friends, families, and beer lovers alike.

Locals dig Twin Leaf for its balanced, handcrafted beers and the warm, inclusive vibe of the taproom. The brewery maintains a do-it-yourself attitude, crafting quality beers with engineered precision while fostering community through events and an inviting atmosphere. It’s a spot where beer enthusiasts and casual visitors can relax, play games, and socialize without feeling rushed.

Twin Leaf Brewery

Asheville Bee Charmer is a honey shop with two free tasting bars in downtown Asheville, at 32 Broadway Street and 38 Battery Park Avenue. Owners Jillian and Kim are beekeepers who opened in 2014, and they stock 40 to 50 honey varietals from North Carolina and around the world.

Sourwood honey from Southern Appalachian forests is the best seller, and the shelves also carry tupelo, orange blossom, fireweed and infused honeys like Smokin' Hot. Beyond the jars, there's honey soap, lotion, salves and balms, candles, books, bee jewelry and gift sets. A tasting takes 10 to 15 minutes, and a staffer at the bar walks you through it.

Locals bring out-of-town guests here, and supervised kids can taste too. Most folks find 5 to 10 honeys is plenty.

Asheville Bee Charmer

Cultivated Cocktails Distillery Tavern is a family-owned craft distillery, cocktail tavern and kitchen at 161 Charlotte Highway in Asheville, founded in 2012 by the Howard family. It makes small-batch spirits in house, including Hazel 63 Rum, HWY 9 Gin and Asheville Coffee Liqueur, and serves them in creative cocktails and tasting flights, with beer and wine too. The kitchen serves elevated tavern food like pulled pork nachos. It's open daily, from 4 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. on weekends.

East Asheville and Fairview locals stop in for a cocktail made with spirits distilled a few feet away, and regulars like the tasting flights.

Asheville Free Walking Tours

Jordan Doty

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