Travellers heading to the US for their holidays this year should consider checking out Asheville in North Carolina – regularly voted one of the top places to live in the country.
Set in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, Asheville has earned the romantic moniker “Land of the Sky” due to its mountainous setting.
Property website Relocate America named Asheville as the top place to live in the US in 2007, and it also made the top ten on data source Sperling’s best places to live. So just what is it about this city that makes it so darned appealing?
The Carolinas lie on America’s Atlantic coast, halfway between Washington DC and Florida. The two million tourists who flock to Asheville each year are enticed by incredible displays of seasonal colour in the city’s popular Craggy Gardens plus fishing, hiking, horseriding and an annual Spring Herb Festival.
A mecca for outdoorsy types such as skiers, hikers and active adventurers, Asheville also attracts culture vultures with its rich architectural legacy – an eclectic cornucopia of art deco, beaux arts and neoclassical styles plus the historic Biltmore Estate, the largest private home in America (pictured).
Asheville’s downtown area has experienced massive rejuvenation over the past two decades, with great restaurants, boutiques, galleries and theatres springing up, lending the small city a vibrancy usually only linked with large metropolises.
The city’s premier tourist attraction is the 175,000sq ft Biltmore Estate. Built in 1888 by one of the members of the prominent American Vanderbilt family, George Washington Vanderbilt II, the house is still owned by his descendants, who lived in it up until 1956, when it was opened to the public.
The house and gardens give a taste of life on the estate in both the past and the present day, with the new Antler Hill Village and Winery providing visitors with a great spot for dining, checking out the estate’s historical exhibits and more. Choose from checking out farm life during the early 1900s at the Biltmore Farm, running wild in the 8,000-acre Outdoor Adventure Centre, and taking in exhibits at The Biltmore Legacy. You can also sample a tasty pub lunch plus local beer at Cedric’s Tavern.
For more information on the famous Biltmore Estate, visit www.biltmore.com. Currently, youth tickets are on special offer at $5 per young person aged between 10 and 16 with every full-paying adult until 5 September 2011.
Book tickets online at least seven days before your visit and save up to $15 on the regular gate admission price. Tickets include a self-guided visit of Biltmore House, entry to the gardens and Antler Hill Village, free parking and a free wine tasting and guided tour of the estate’s winery.
Asheville is also becoming increasingly well known for its food, boasting a “Foodtopian culture.” For a population of just 70,000 lucky residents, the city has more than 200 independent restaurants, 17 farmers’ markets selling fresh, local produce and ten microbreweries.
Pick up some Asheville treasures at the farmers’ markets, such as trout caviar, heirloom apples and local honey and cheeses. The city has nabbed two foodie awards, including Good Morning Amerca’s Best Bites Challenge for its 12 Bones Smokehouse and GoVeg.com’s America’s Best Vegetarian-Friendly Small City.
Visit the city’s official website at www.exploreasheville.com to read more about it.
(Image: MP worldview, BlueRidgeKitties)
