SMILING DONKEY

Who could resist this face?!

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MAX PATCH

Max Patch is part of the Appalachian Trail and offers the most breathtaking views of the Smoky Mountains. While it is a long way to get up to Max Patch, it is well worth it.

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(MORE) DOWNTOWN ASHEVILLE

Asheville is a fun town with a lot of interesting and historic points. There are good restaurants, shops, and art.

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ORGANIC FARMERS' MARKET

This is a beautiful church in Downtown.

A cool-looking mailbox!

Fun restaurants.

There are many points of interest all over the city.

Fun shirts!

URBAN TRAIL

Pick up a map at the art museum. You walk all over

the city to see its history. The sidewalks are marked with

signs like this and explaining what is what. It's really a

fun thing to do and you learn alot about Asheville.

This is a famous guy in Asheville.

This is on the Urban Trail. While "O Henry"

was not born in Asheville, he is buried there.

The cemetery where he is buried.

ART IN PUBLIC PLACES

FALL COLORS

The Asheville fall leaf color show featuring the colorful foliage of the North Carolina mountains attracts visitors from around the world. With the 5,000-foot elevation change within 50 miles of Asheville, the lush Blue Ridge Mountain range puts on one of the longest-running leaf color displays in the country.

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THE BILTMORE ESTATE

Building the Biltmore Estate was one of the largest undertakings in the history of American residential architecture. Over a six-year period, craftsmen worked to build the country's premier home. The estate features 4 acres of floor space, 250 rooms, 34 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces. The basement alone houses a swimming pool, gymnasium and changing rooms, bowling alley, servants' quarters, kitchens, and more. The grounds of the 125,000-acre estate were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the creator of New York's Central Park and the father of American landscape architecture. He not only developed acres of gardens and parkland, but in his efforts to protect the environment and reclaim over-farmed land, Olmsted established America's first managed forest. George Vanderbilt officially opened the home to friends and family on Christmas Eve in 1895. He had created a country retreat where he could pursue his passion for art, literature, and horticulture.

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Beautiful view from the balcony inside the house. The grounds around the estate are just breathtaking!

Beautiful flowers, shrubs, and birds are all over the grounds.

There is also an orchid house, with amazing exotic orchids.

A pretty pink poinsetta.