Guides · Asheville
Asheville
30 places · 7 areas · a free route, then $4.99 for the whole city · offline map 3 MB
The free route
Free in the app, permanently, before you pay anything. 8 stops, 1 day, about 1.5 km, planned by the app's own engine.
Day 1 · ~1.5 km
1
Thomas Wolfe Memorial
52 N Market St; 1883 Old Kentucky Home boardinghouse, the Dixieland of Look Homeward, Angel
Start in the free visitor center with its film and exhibits on Wolfe's life, then take the guided tour of the rambling boardinghouse where he grew up.
2
Jackson Building
Pack Square; Ronald Greene's 1924 Gothic Revival tower on the lot of Thomas Wolfe's father's monument shop
Crane your neck at the glazed terra cotta ornament and the stone grotesques near the top of this slim tower.
3
S&W Cafeteria
56 Patton Ave; Douglas Ellington's 1929 Art Deco cafeteria in polychrome terra cotta, now the S&W Market food hall
Study the facade of mottled terra cotta, black marble and gold ornament, then eat lunch inside at one of the food hall counters.
4
Pritchard Park
67 Patton Ave; small downtown plaza, home of the free Friday evening drum circle since 2001
Come on a Friday evening in the warmer months, bring a drum or just a pair of dancing shoes, and join the circle.
5
Flat Iron Building
20 Battery Park Ave; Albert Wirth's 1920s wedge tower, hotel since 2024, iron sculpture on Wall St
Photograph the wedge from the point where Wall Street begins, and find the iron sculpture on the sidewalk, stop 8 of the Asheville Urban Trail.
6
Grove Arcade
1 Page Ave; Edwin Wiley Grove's 1929 arcade by Charles N Parker, federal offices from 1942, market since 2002
Walk the two crossing interior passages lined with travertine and shopfronts, then find the griffins guarding the ramps on the outside.
7
Battery Park Hotel
1 Battle Square; Grove's 14-story 1924 hotel tower by William Lee Stoddart, now senior apartments
Look up at the brick tower from Battle Square, then browse the businesses on its ground floor.
8
Basilica of St. Lawrence
97 Haywood St; 1905 to 1909 Spanish Renaissance church with Rafael Guastavino's elliptical tile dome and his tomb
Step inside and look straight up at the self-supporting tile dome, then find Guastavino's crypt in the Marian Chapel to the left of the altar.
More of the top sights
A few of the 30 places in the full guide. Each one has its own written guide in the app: what to do, what to notice, the history, and why it hits.
Biltmore Estate
Lodge Gate by Biltmore Village; George Vanderbilt's 250-room chateau on an 8,000-acre ticketed estate
The Omni Grove Park Inn
Sunset Mountain; Edwin Wiley Grove's 1913 granite Arts and Crafts resort hotel above the city
Asheville City Hall
east end of Pack Square; Douglas Ellington's 1926 to 1928 Art Deco tower with a red tile crown
Areas
Pack Square · Grove Arcade and Battery Hill · The Block and East End · Montford · River Arts District · Biltmore Village · Beyond Downtown
Illustrations are drawn for the app. Place descriptions are written by hand and checked against a primary source; facts draw on Wikidata (CC0) and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors.