Hotels in Asheville, North Carolina

A little about Asheville...

Asheville is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, and is its county seat. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 68,889. It is the largest city in western North Carolina, and continues to grow. As of 2005, the Census Bureau estimates that Asheville's population is 72,231 .

Local Culture:
Live music is a significant element in the tourism-based economy of Asheville and the surrounding area. Seasonal festivals and numerous nightclubs offer opportunities for visitors and locals to attend a wide variety of live entertainment events. A residency at local music establishment the Orange Peel by Smashing Pumpkins in 2007 brought national attention to Asheville.

Asheville is host to numerous clubs and performance venues. Outdoor festivals, such as Bele Chere and the Lexington Avenue Arts & Fun Festival, feature local music. One of the most popular annual events is "Shindig on the Green," which happens Saturday nights during July and August on City/County Plaza. By tradition, the Shindig starts "along about sundown" and features local bluegrass bands and dance teams on stage, and informal jam sessions under the trees surrounding the County Courthouse.

DJ music, as well as a small, but active, dance community are also components of the downtown musical landscape. The town is also home to the Asheville Symphony and the Asheville Lyric Opera and there are a number of bluegrass, country, and traditional mountain musicians in the Asheville area.

Colleges and Universities:
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College (Asheville, NC)
Black Mountain College (Black Mountain, NC: 1933-1957)
Brevard College (Brevard, NC)
Mars Hill College (Mars Hill, NC)
Montreat College (Montreat, NC)
South College (Asheville, NC)
University of North Carolina at Asheville (Asheville, NC)
Warren Wilson College (Swannanoa, NC)
Western Carolina University (Cullowhee, NC)

Asheville pops up on national rankings for a variety of things: Modern Maturity named it one of "The 50 Most Alive Places To Be," AmericanStyle magazine called it one of "America's Top 25 Arts Destinations," Self magazine labeled it the "Happiest City for Women," it is one of AARP Magazine's "Best Places to Reinvent Your Life," and was proclaimed the "New Freak Capital of the U.S." by Rolling Stone. Asheville has also been called "a New Age Mecca" by CBS News' Eye On America, and named the "most vegetarian-friendly" small city in America by PETA.

Asheville and the surrounding mountains are also extremely popular in the autumn when fall foliage peaks in October. The scenic Blue Ridge Parkway runs through the Asheville area and the grounds of Biltmore Estate.

Asheville is a major hub of whitewater recreation, particularly whitewater kayaking, in the eastern US. Many kayak manufacturers have their bases of operation in the Asheville area and some of the most distinguished whitewater kayakers live in or around Asheville, including Shane Benedict, Woody Calloway, Robert Pearson, Al Gregory, Pat Keller, Buffy Bailey Burge, Andrew Holcombe, Tommy Hilleke, Andria Baldovin, Anna Levesque, Whitney Lonsdale, Maria Nokes, Katie Hilleke, Jennifer Cribbs and Molly Malone. In its July/August 2006 journal, the group American Whitewater named Asheville one of the top five US whitewater cities along with Johnstown, Pennsylvania; Chico/Oroville, California; Boise, Idaho and Washington, DC.