SGF

We are thinking of spending a few days in Asheville and would appreciate it if anyone who's been to this area could answer a few questions.

1. Can we see the Biltmore Estate and Winery in one day? Approx. how much would a guided tour of both cost?

2. How much time should we allow to walk around the Village area?

3. Is it worth driving the hour and a half each way(100 miles) to visit Dollyworld?

4. Is Tweetsie Railroad (in Blowing Rock) still open and if so is it worth a visit? It's also about an hour away. Is it only for kids or would adults and teens enjoy it also?

5. We only have 3 or 4 days in Asheville and we plan to do the Biltmore, Village Area, Downtown, Tweetsie Railroad and if time allows Dollywood, the Folk Art Center and Linville Falls. Is there anything we should add or delete?

Since our time is limited we'd appreciate opinions as we want to see as much of the main attractions as possible. We aren't the hiking type but should we make time to see the swinging bridge?

Any help on planning our trip would be appreciated. Thanks.

leahinsc

I can't really tell from your msg the ages of your group - that would be helpful. But here are some answers to your questions.
1. Yes - you will need to look that up on line but it is expensive.
2. Biltmore Village is shops and galleries - you could spend an hour or as much as 4 - depends on what you like. It is not really that big.
3. Dollywood is a good 1 1/2 hr - closer to 2 depending on time of year and traffic. Have never been but I would avoid Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg because they are so touristy and overdone-traffic is awful.
3. It looks like it is still open - I would say this is for young children.
4. tHis depends on your group and what you like.
You haven't mentioned going into downtown Asheville. Asheville is much more than just the Biltmore and Biltmore Village is not Asheville. Downtown there is the Colburn Gem Museum, Health Adventure(for kids), an Art Museum, the Thos. Wolfe museum and lots of shops and galleries and great restaurants. I would focus on the ASheville and WNC area - if interested in Indians see the Cherokee nation reservation. Grandfather Mountain, Chimney Rock, Blowing Rock ...
Don't waste your time w/ Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.

SGF

Thanks for replying to all our questions. We're still in the stage of doing our "homework/research" and planning our itinerary. The trouble is there's too much to see and not enough time. Guess we'll just have to stay longer!!!!!! We'll be arriving into Charlotte so while there the kids (teens)want to check out Carowinds Theme Park so that's going to take a day.

Any other opinions on which sights to squeeze in while in Asheville.

taxatty

On your "heading east" day down the Blue Ridge Parkway, you could do Linville Falls, the Linville Caverns, the Folk Art Center, Mt. Mitchell and Grandfather Mountain. Tweetsie (a longer trip)is fun for kids under 12--maybe a little too hokey for teens. Dollywood is a lot of fun for all ages but as leahinsc says a LONG day trip from Asheville. Chimney Rock is also fun for a few hours but not near anything else of much interest. Going west, consider rafting on the Nantahala, the numerous sights along the BRP, and Cherokee.

SGF

Hi,

Thanks for posting.

How far are Linville Falls, the Linville Caverns, and the Folk Art Center from Asheville? Are those three attractions enough to fill a full day?

leahinsc

So are your teens boys or girls and what ages. We have 2 teen girls (17 &15) that will give me some more ideas.
Linville Falls/Caverns is at least an hour from Asheville but you also have Grandfather Mtn in the same vicinity. That could be a day out of Asheville. The Folk Art Center is very close to Asheville - 10 min but probably would not have much to keep the attention of teens. There are trails that pass right by the Folk Art Center which is on the Blue Ridge Parkway if they are into hiking a bit.
I think a canoe or rafting trip might be fun for the teens and there are plenty of places near Asheville to do that - other ideas...horseback riding, llama trek...our girls really like wandering around the shops and galleries in downtown Asheville.

Kmarie

Last summer we visited the winery and estate in one day. We also did the behind the scene tour the next day.

We did not have to pay the entrance fee at the Biltmore the second day because we purchased the behind the Scene tour at the same time as our entrance the day before.

If you want to do much walking around the estate one day is not enough to do it all. By doing the behind the scene tour it gave us access to all the grounds of the Estate the 2nd day also (not the winery). Call the Biltmore information line they are really very helpful.

Brian_in_Charlotte

Tweetsie doesn't open until the end of April, not sure when it closes at the end of the season. It's a decent drive from Asheville, but you can also visit the neat town of Blowing Rock. Tweetsie's not cheap.

Litespeed_Chick

1. yes, see the website
2. Village area is just shops. For me personnally, there are only three of interest: Bellagio and New Morning Gallery (pricey jewelry, home accessories, etc.) and Constance Boutique (women's clothes). Your mileage may vary.

3. I went to Dollywood a long time ago and hated it. Do your teens like hokey country stuff? Avoid Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge if at all possible. Carowinds has lots more scary rides...that's where I would go if a teenager. (Actually, that's where I would go now if my husband would take me...I love to go fast upside down!)

4. My vague memory of Tweetsie is the "train robbers" that stopped train and held everyone up. Seems like it was for kids.

5. Things to add, since I deleted some above: You can rent mountain bikes on the Biltmore estate(very tame, family oriented biking). You can ride horses at the Pisgah stables. One hour west in Nantahala you can white water raft. You can wander around downtown for hours and hours looking at shops, galleries, and eating.

Gretchen

Dollywood is a lot further than an hour and a half--it is an hour past Knoxville. The Appalachian Arts and Crafts Guild is just on the outskirts of Asheville. If your kids are teens, Tweetsie wouldn't be for them.
Going to Cherokee and the Nantahala might be a possibility--about 2 hours from Asheville. You can go trout fishing on the Cherokee reservation.

leahinsc

This is mostly to Gretchen - but we live in Asheville and were in Pigeon Forge this weekend for a marriage retreat that was located about 1/2 mi from Dollywood. It took us 1 hr and 34 minutes. If you went the scenic route through Cherokee it would be about 2 1/2 hrs. You actually get off 40 way before you hit Knoxville and then head south/west.
Cherokee might be interesting but most of the Indian attractions don't open til May or June otherwise it is just tacky shops and the casino.

SGF

Wow, so many great ideas! Thanks to all for their suggestions. Our teens will be (19 and 20, no more teen)by the time we go so it looks like Tweetsie Railroad is a negative and we'll include Carowinds. Since we'll be arriving/departing from Charlotte that won't be a problem.

What is the behind the scene tour at the Biltmore? Looks like we can spend two days there alone.

Is the Village shops different from the downtown area?

If we are driving from Charlotte to Asheville will we be passing Linville Falls and Grandfather Mtn. or is it in the other direction?

Thanks again for helping.

leahinsc

SGF - I can't imagine your 19/20 yr olds wanting to spend 2 days at the Biltmore. One day of touring house, grounds/gardens and winery should be sufficient and then having dinner in Biltmore Village after spending time walking around the shops. For upscale try Rezaz's which is on Biltmore Ave or his new bar next door Enoteca. For casual try La Paz (Mexican) which has outdoor seating. If they were a little older you could go to the French Broad Brewing Co Tasting Room which is just down the road.
Biltmore Village is about 1 mi down the hill from downtown Asheville. They are separate areas. Your kids will enjoy people watching and all the interesting shops - especially on Lexington Ave. in Asheville - typical hangouts of that age group are the many indie coffee shops - Malaprop's book store, Max and Rosie's vegetarian restaurant and Sweet Heaven ice cream shop in historic Montford where they usually have open mic nite on Fri/Sat featuring young talent.
Linville Falls/G-father mtn is heading northeast out of Asheville - It depends what route you choose from Charlotte but it will be a bit of a detour.
Do they enjoy things like climbing walls? If so there is Climb Max right downtown.

Litespeed_Chick

I agree w/ Leah, your teens will cut their throats before two days at Biltmore are over. Perhaps you could look into some of the outdoor activities at biltmore that they could do while you continue with your touring.

Again, daring to speak for teens, they will MUCH prefer the window shopping downtown to Biltmore Village. BV has stuff like Talbots and a doll shop. Downtown has vintage clothing and used CD stores. (these are just examples, but you get the idea). BV is only the size of maybe 1 or 2 city blocks. My Mother in Law was very excited about "doing" BV when she visited from Madison, after seeing the brochures. I think she drove through the parking lot and decided that was sufficient. I wouldn't budget a whole lot of time there. But downtown you can go a couple of days.

oh, and Gretchen..Nantahala is 1 hour from where I40 starts in Asheville, I've done it a dozen times. I hope you're driving in the right lane. **big smile and wink**

Brian_in_Charlotte

Your kids may also like Bean Streets, a coffee shop downtown with live music at night and lots of young people hanging out. Pick up a free map of the downtown area at any hotel.

Black Mountain is also a cool little town very close by (20 minutes) that's good for an hour or so of browsing and has some great little places for lunch.

Gretchen

You know, I REALLY apologize about that info I supposedly knew about Dollywood. I just got myself completely turned around--obviously. I know the route to Knoxville very well--I just visualized it totally backwards. SORRY.

ncgrrl

Instead of rafting in Nantahala, you could raft the French Broad river closer to Asheville. The French Broad does run through the Biltmore property, but where you raft is about 25 miles up river. I went through Nantahala Outdoor Center and when the person on the phone mentioned the French Broad was closer, I took that option.

If you're visiting Asheville around the end of May, beginning of June, check out the flame azaleas along the Blue Ridge Parkwya. If I remember right, there is a park off the BRP near Asheville with tons of azaleas.

If any of your group is into civil engineering, drive the BRP to Lynn Cove Viaduct. The road jets away from the mountain. Often used photo of the parkway. It's near Grandfather Mountain and Lynnville falls and there are some walking trails at the visitor's center along the parkway.

Biltmore has reduced priced tickets in off peak times for NC and SC residents through AAA. If you're a member of AAA, see if you can get sometype of discount.

Carowinds often has discounts on Pepsi cans or at Food Lion grocery stores. I think my credit union has discount cards too.

snowrooster

I would skip Dollywood unless your family is really big on country music (I imagine you would enjoys the shows if you are). It is a very pretty park, but compared to other theme parks I've been to I didn't think it was that great (and the food was BAD). If you were going to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg and were right there, it is something to do, but I wouldn't drive 100 miles for Dollywood.

SGF

Thank you so much for all the suggestions. Now that you mentioned it I doubt our teens would last two days touring Biltmore. Maybe we'll break it up with some horseback riding, rafting and some shopping. We'll definitely be visiting the downtown area, sound like it's a fun area. I'd love to also visit Linville Falls and Grandfather Mtn. so I'm going to check into how far a detour we'd have to make on our way from Charlotte to Asheville. It may pay to make that detour since we aren't planning any special activities for that day. We only have a few days so now it's time for a family discussion to plan our itinerary so everyone gets to do atleast one thing they want.

leahinsc

SGF - when you get here on even before check out the asheville citizen times weekend section (Fridays) or Mountain Express for ideas on activities.
www.citizen-times.com
www.mountainxpress.com
If they like skateboarding we have a skateboard park right near downtown.