Play with life-sized dinosaurs at DINO-Kinetics, a fascinating art installation, open through 2010.
See our DINO-Kinetics Guide.
Asheville Visitor Center: Your first stop in town should be the Visitor Center, with lots of information about things to do and knowledgable staff people to answer questions.
Read more about the Asheville Visitor Center
Cherokee Heritage: Learn about the Cherokee Indian heritage at several museums.
See our Cherokee Guide for more.
Wheels Through Time Museum: See a hundreds of classic motorcycles and automobiles in Maggie Valley, open weekends. Read more about Wheels Through Time Museum.
Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center: Learn all about the Parkway with an I-Wall, a 22-foot interactive map of the entire Parkway which provides multi-media information on places to visit on and near the Parkway. The Center’s exhibits highlight the natural and cultural diversity, economic traditions and recreational opportunities found in Western North Carolina and along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The center also houses a 70-seat theater, information and orientation services and book sales area. Free.
Read more about the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center.
Smith-McDowell House Museum: Relive the romantic Victorian era in Asheville's oldest house (circa 1840). Explore opulent period rooms, history exhibits and grounds designed by the renowned Olmsted Brothers.
Open year round, 1st floor is wheelchair-accessible, 1.5 miles from downtown Asheville.
See our Smith-McDowell House Museum Guide.
Asheville Art Museum: Explore world-class special exhibitions and the museum's outstanding collection, showcasing the very best of 20th-century American art.
Open Tuesday-Sunday, fully accessible, located at Pack Square in downtown Asheville.
See our Asheville Art Museum Guide.
Thomas Wolfe Memorial: This is the novelist's boyhood home and setting for "Look Homeward, Angel."
Open daily April-October. Closed Mondays November-March. Located downtown at 52 North Market Street.
See our Thomas Wolfe Memorial Guide.
Estes-Winn Antique Automobile Museum: If you are a car buff, this collection of 20 classics will delight. Free.
See our Asheville Antique Car Museum Guide for more.
Asheville Historic Trolley Tours: A great way to begin your visit. See the best of Asheville on board a vintage trolley and enjoy the fully narrated 75-minute tour, which includes humorous stories and historical information.
Open 7 days a week, February-December, tickets available at the Asheville Chamber Visitor Center, Grove Park Inn, and the Grove Arcade, with many convenient stops downtown.
Click here to visit their Web site.
Gray Line Trolley Tour: Learn about Asheville’s early settlers, famous citizens and illustrious authors through interesting stories and colorful anecdotes. Remain onboard the trolley for a comprehensive 1.5 to 1.75 hour tour, or hop-off at any of Gray Line’s 8 trolley stops to shop, dine and explore, then re-board the next trolley to continue your tour.
Tour 7 days a week. Tickets are available at the Asheville Visitor Center, most tour stops, and at the front desk of many area hotels, inns and B & B’s.
Click here to visit their Web site.
Folk Art Center: See crafts from artists from Southern Appalachia with three fine art galleries and daily craft demonstrators.
Open daily 9-6 April-December and 9-5 January-March. No admission fee. Located on the Blue Ridge Parkway near U.S. 70 intersection, 8 miles southeast of downtown.
See our Folk Art Center Guide.
Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site: This National Park Service site honors the accomplishments of Carl Sandburg. Explore the historic home, and visit the farm and trails.
Open daily 9-5. 29 miles south of downtown Asheville in Flat Rock, near Hendersonville.
Read more about the Carl Sandburg Home.
Linville Caverns: North Carolina's only caverns with natural limestone caverns feature stalactite and stalagmite formations and an underground stream. Guided tours.
Open daily, about 75 minutes from Asheville.
See our Linville Caverns Guide.
Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI): Initially developed by NASA in 1962 as the east coast facility to track satellites and monitor manned space flights, it's now a world-class research center. Tour this remote campus in the Pisgah National Forest and see their Galaxy Walk, the extensive astronomical poster, print and space memorabilia displays and the historical site of the first 26 Meter Antenna used to communicate with astronauts during the early NASA missions. Watch the stars during special events.
Open Monday-Friday, 8:30-5, located near Brevard
Read more about Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute
Colburn Gem and Mineral Museum: Explore the rich treasures of the earth at this museum called "a mini-Smithsonian of gems."
Open Tuesday-Saturday, 10-5, located at Pack Square in downtown Asheville.
Click here to visit their Web site.
The YMI Cultural Center: Asheville landmark in the heart of downtown. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the YMI has served Asheville's minority citizens since it was first established in 1893 as the Young Men's Institute.It houses numerous exhibits, many dealing with the history of African Americans in Western North Carolina.
Click here to visit their Web site.
Western North Carolina Air Museum: See award winning restored and replica antique and vintage airplanes. You won't find airplanes under glass or velvet ropes to keep you away. You won't find guards and ticket sellers and concessionaires. You'll only find airplanes and people who love them. Many are pilots. Some even fly the airplanes. At Hendersonville Airport. Open April-October, Wednesday and Sunday from 12 Noon-6pm, Saturday 10am-5pm; November-March Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 12 Noon-5pm . Free.
Click here to visit their Web site.
Southern Appalachian Radio Museum: Exhibits range from Atwater Kent, Philco, Silvertone, Crosley, Hammarlund, Harvey Wells, test instruments, spark gap transmitters, keys, ancient QSL cards and more!
Open Fridays 1-3 PM and other times by advance appointment, Located on the campus of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College near downtown Asheville.
Click here to visit their Web site.
Green Creek Winery: Enjoy the tasting room, gift shop and winery. Sip wine on their patio with mountain and vineyard vistas.
Free, Open Thursday through Sunday 1-5 PM, 35 miles south of Asheville near I-26 at Columbus.
Click here to visit their Web site.
Billy Graham Training Center: Take a free tour of the Chapel at The Cove, a 1,200 acre retreat.
Read more about The Cove.
Lake Junaluska Conference & Retreat Center: Home of thousands of enriching events and worship services each year, operated by the United Methodist Church.
Read more about Lake Junaluska.
Transcendental Meditation Program of Asheville: Offers free introductory lectures on the TM technique—a simple, natural procedure for accessing the limitless reservoir of creativity and intelligence within everyone. More than 600 studies conducted at over 250 medical schools and research institutes verify the benefits of the TM program for eliminating stress and anxiety and developing creativity, intelligence, focus and memory.
Click here to visit their Web site.
Guided Walking Tours: Step back in time to glimpse the history of Asheville. Come along on a walking architecture/history tour of Montford or Riverside Cemetery Tour. All walking tours are given by appointment. Tours must be booked in advance.
Click here to visit their Web site.
Emerald Village: A fascinating group of gem, mining, and historical attractions nestled deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway and within an hour's drive of Asheville. Located in a spectacular mountain setting, Emerald Village is home to seven real mines and has many exhibits that are free to enjoy. Mine for gems! See our Emerald Village Guide.
Museum of North Carolina Minerals: Lcated at Milepost 331 on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Little Switzerland, introduces the treasures found in the state and the local Spruce Pine Mining District through interactive displays on the wide variety of minerals and gems found in the region. See our Museum of NC Minerals Guide.
Swannanoa Valley Museum: Buncombe County’s primary museum of general local history. The history of the region is interpreted in a unique collection of photos and artifacts from the Swannanoa Valley and Western North Carolina. 223 W. State Street in Black Mountain, in the former Black Mountain Fire House.
Click here to visit their Web site.
Shook Museum: Built in the early 1800s,
the Shook-Smathers House in Clyde, NC is a "grand old lady" with fascinating secrets. Take a guided tour on Saturdays.
Click here to visit their Web site.
Museum Guide: There are over 100 museums in the 25 counties within the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area. They are listed in the new, free comprehensive Western North Carolina Museum Guide available throughout the area. Download a PDF of the Western North Carolina Museum Guide.
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