re: Trip to Asheville, NC in mid-April

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Kimpton Arras Downtown

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Stayed there for a week last May, and it was a great central location to walk from. The AC Hotel across the street looked like another good choice.

The Asheville Art Museum is right there, but it's just okay, enough for an hour or so. The Folk Art Center along the Blue Ridge Parkway is not too far and well worth a visit if you like art/history.

Asheville's River Arts District is full of artist galleries, workshops, restaurants, etc. It's more of a drive or Uber from downtown. We walked there, but it was about 2 miles.

North Carolina Arboretum, a short drive, was great in May. Lots of easy walking paths to view incredible gardens. You can just stroll the main section and see the flowerbeds and such, or hit the trails for a few miles in the woods. Not sure how the blooms will be in April but worth checking.

Basilica of St. Lawrence is a beautiful old Catholic church within a medium walk from downtown. Limited hours to visit, only a few hours a day M-Thur, but well worth scheduling it for a history buff.

Curate: Highly rated tapas style restaurant. Right down the street from Kimpton. Make reservations. I think they let you do so 3 months out, and it books fast.

Bull & Beggar was also a nice meal. Had reservations well in advance.

White Duck Taco Shop: Multiple locations, but one is near the center of downtown. Great variety of creative tacos for a casual meal.

We walked to many of the taprooms around town. Asheville Brewing Company-Downtown may not be the hippest, but it was my favorite for combo of good beers and great pizza slices.

Rankin Vault Cocktail Lounge: This was near our hotel. We never made it there, but I will next time. We walked past it several times, and it was always hopping with a lively crowd, even in early hours.

One World Brewing has a small, basement bar/tasting room just across Patton Ave. from the Kimpton Hotel. No cover and live music every night when we were there, with open mic on Monday for all forms of entertainment. It became our place to have a couple beers and enjoy the show at the end of the night.