In a rush? Read our updated indoor activities itinerary as well as the short itinerary that got us to move here on our very first visit.

Good Morning Reader,

This gorgeous Asheville weather has been such a tease. As I wrote on Facebook, I have to resist the temptation to start my garden. However, we have been able to sit outside and grill - and overheat - which has been lovely. It's also a great time to check out GatherGVL - Greenville's outdoor food hall - before it gets too toasty.

This past week, we enjoyed dinner with friends (Hi! Thank you!) at Strada during that Downtown Asheville gas leak. It was the last day of Restaurant Week Round 2. Strada was jumping. I enjoy their cozy interior and friendly service. I'm so ready for Social Lounge rooftop weather.

🌯 Tom and I also lunched at Taqueria Munoz (their online info isn't up to date to share links). We haven’t gotten to them since their Woodfin/North AVL food truck days, and I dearly missed their burritos and tacos. Their 400 Hendersonville Rd. brick-and-mortar restaurant is conveniently (and dangerously) located near my doctors’ offices. Chicken tacos for Tom and a carnitas, cheeseless burrito for me.

Their restaurant is casual, jumping at lunch hour, budget-friendly, and what I love about this city. I saw some familiar faces, and their food was just as excellent as ever.🌮

Asheville Rainy Day Activities For The Entire Family & Just Adults

Pictured above: Asheville Art Museum, Asheville Pizza and Brewing, Smoky Mountain Sk8way, & Estes-Winn

It's that time of year when the snow, ice, and rain might thwart your outdoor plans. Discover the best indoor things to do in Asheville for rainy and snowy days.

For 2025, I divided the article into two pieces: the first for families and the second for adults. A few highlights:

🛼 Smoky Mountain Sk8way & Fun Zone - We love this indoor roller skating rink in Waynesville. Rent or bring your roller skates or rollerblades. They have skating times for all ages as well as adults-only. Also, enjoy an obstacle course, cafe, inflatables, arcade area, and more - with rooms to host a party.

🎯 Asheville Pinball Museum - Purchase a wristband and enjoy all-day vintage arcade and pinball games. Our favorite classic games: Frogger, King Kong, Super Mario Kart, Pac-Man, and Duck Hunt. We are overdue for another visit.

🎟 Asheville's Movie Theaters - We miss Grail Moviehouse, but catch a film at Regal Biltmore Grande, the Fine Arts Center, Asheville Pizza and Brewing, and more.

🚗 Estes-Winn Antique Car Museum - Enjoy this free antique car museum with seasonal hours (April to December) located in Grovewood Village. Leave a donation and head to the back for Asheville’s 1922 American LaFrance fire truck. Afterward, pop over to The Omni Grove Park Inn. Think cozy stone fireplaces, delicious dining, cute shops, and seasonal drinks.

🍫 French Broad Chocolates - Whether you head to RAD for a chocolate factory tour or dip into Downtown Asheville's chocolate lounge for bonbons, this is a great stop for dessert. I especially love their vegan hot cocoa and affogatos with a box of vegan bonbons. Their vegan chocolate ice cream is the best in town. Of course, find all things dairy, too.

🦖 Asheville Museum of Science (AMOS) - This is an exploratory children’s museum with an enormously cool Teratophoneus dinosaur skeleton, Teratophoneus Curriei. Play in a STE(A)M lab and at an interactive French Broad River water table. Little geologists will appreciate the rock and gem displays and hands-on exhibits. It's not incredibly entertaining for just adults who have furbabies, but we like supporting them.

​ZOOM Passes are temporarily on hold, but some of these have free admission for Buncombe County library card holders. Just be sure to read all the requirements when they are back up and running.

Asheville Itinerary That Got Us To Move Here (With 2025 Additions We Think You'll Enjoy)

Pictured Above: Luminosa, Outsider Brewing, Moonlight Makers, and Gray Artus art at Woolworth Walk

If you've been with us for a while, you know that Tom and I were headed to Puerto Rico from our Central Florida home. When it didn't work out, we switched to a quick and first-ever trip to Asheville.

I, however, had a secret agenda: move out of Florida (love you all, loved our house, loved our friends, loved the beach, loved my GI doctor, but I-4, hurricane season, and other things were not quite for me; that humidity is criminal). Asheville was a base where Tom could work. I wanted to check it out ASAP.

So, we landed in Asheville and hit the ground running with this itinerary (with updates for 2025): Biltmore, DuPont, Hendersonville, GF/vegan/veggie restaurants, Battery Park Book Exchange, OH MY!

I already knew we were going to live here as soon as I saw those blue-green mountains. Even better, a Downtown Wall Street store plastered the area with crocheted flying pigs.

I plied Tom with booze just as I did when I wanted to adopt our two Maine Coons, Beau & Noah (thank you Epcot Food & Wine Fest; we picked them up on the way home). We drank real red wine from St. Paul - not the muscadine or fruit 💩 - and gluten-reduced beer at what was then Sanctuary/now Oklawaha. We ate at Laughing Seed, Plant, Posana, Postero, and Chiesa/today's Tall John's.

After walking through Downtown Asheville's farmer's market, and as we sat waiting for our Thomas Wolfe House Tour, Tom switched his airline base. We announced we were moving to friends and family. It's not official unless it is Facebook official.

I get asked all the time if we have regrets, post-pandemic, post-Helene, and post-healthcare nightmares. Honestly, it's been tough. After 6 years, I truly see and understand the city, including how it does [and does not] operate. The cost of living is a bit high, the city wrestles with its dependency on tourism, and we have to work on how we treat, pay, and support our service and hospitality workers - much of the backbone of Asheville along with its small business owners. The Asheville Chamber has some interesting numbers if you want to dive in.

Still, I love living in the NC Mountains, and it's no secret that healthcare has been my greatest challenge. I'm still working on fixing that, sadly not in Asheville, but I wouldn't trade our delicious restaurants, pesky black bears, gorgeous hiking trails, or hipster art scene for anything. I love visiting the small mountain towns. As I wrote on our updated 2025 things to do in AVL list, Asheville is so special.

Whether you are visiting Asheville for the first time, for a short time, or know people coming to visit, this is my starter itinerary for them. However, it's not just blockbusters. I put a few hidden and newer gems on there, too, which our regular locals might enjoy.

Downtown Asheville's Newest Cocktail Lounge, Färməsē

Pronounced "pharmacy" and located next to Mehfil, walk into this gorgeous basement bar (no website right now, but this is their FB page). From the plants, flowers, and beautiful wood features to the Edison lights, flowery bathroom wallpaper, and exposed brick, it was love at first sight. Watch a huge screen showcasing beautiful nature scenes from around the world.

🫐 I started with a “YUMMY” mocktail with blackberry puree, cocoa nib shrub, orange zest, and soda (a bit sweeter than I usually order, but it was well-balanced). Tom ordered an Old Fashioned. 🥃

📍5 Biltmore Ave.

🕰️ 4 to 11 p.m. Sunday to Thursday & 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

March 2025 Asheville Events

Upcoming:

• March 2: Asheville Mardi Gras Parade - South Slope neighborhood
• March 15: Asheville Marathon & Half​
• March 16 - March 23: The Asheville Fringe Arts Festival​
• March 21: Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures opens at Biltmore

Lady Whistledown of Asheville

• Mehfil teamed up with SKYLARANNA and is serving up Indian-American fusion at this resort and spa.
• Old Fort's euda wine is officially re-opening on March 8th.
• Starting March 4, Cúrate will open every day of service at 11 AM for lunch.
• ​Rhubarb announced its permanent closing. The Rhu will remain open, along with their event space.
• ​The WNC Nature Center is reopening to the public on March 17th. The ticket office will be cashless and the route there is different post-Helene.
• Starting on February 28th, Master BBQ relocated to RAD Brewing (13 Mystery Street) for the spring.

Upcoming

I have been chipping away at updating the website since Helene.

I'm hoping to check out Beyond Van Gogh and Beyond Monet: an Immersive Experience running from February 28 to March 30, 2025 at the Greenville Convention Center; I have an upcoming GI infusion, so we always try to make the most out of the city then. I would have loved to catch Shucked at the Peace Center, but I don't think we can make that one happen.

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