Asheville is open for fall foliage season. Here’s what to see and do.

Asheville, N.C., is known for having one of the longest, most colorful fall foliage seasons in the world. Visitors have long come to the artistic mountain town for its scenic views and, in recent years, for its world-class cuisine, breweries, and arts scene. 

But last September, Asheville made headlines for a different reason when Hurricane Helene hit. Catastrophic floods destroyed beloved neighborhoods, such as the River Arts District (RAD), which is home to nearly 750 artist studios and galleries. Thousands of downed trees blocked significant portions of the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Asheville residents lacked drinkable water for 53 days. Worst of all, the storm killed more than 250 people: the deadliest inland storm since Hurricane Katrina.  

Asheville relies heavily on tourism during the fall foliage season, accounting for approximately 30 percent of tourist revenue—over $2 billion—during the fall and early winter. Helene ended the 2024 season before it even began.

This year, however, Asheville is back. Just ask Katie Button, chef and co-founder of James Beard award-winning restaurant Cúrate. “This fall will be a special time to be here in Asheville,” she says. “Visitors should know that we are here for them with open, welcoming arms and a big heart full of love and pride for this community.”

Hurricane Helene transformed Asheville in many ways. But like any resilient Appalachian mountain town, the community has responded with creativity. Displaced businesses have relocated in new neighborhoods, and local favorites have returned.

Here’s a look at some of the hottest new areas of Asheville to visit, as well as how old favorites have fared.

The River Arts District (RAD)

Helene destroyed 80 percent of the RAD, displacing hundreds of artists who lost their studios and their inventory. 

But few people know how to transform destruction into creativity better than artists, Poandl says, and the result shows why it’s still “the cultural gateway to that creative spirit of Asheville.”

Start at RAD Rendezvous, a new gallery and studio space located next to the hip boutique hotel The Radical, which also serves as a welcome and information center.

Watch glass blowing demonstrations at the North Carolina Glass Center, or experience the funhouse-meets-street fair vibe at Marquee, which hosts multiple arts, crafts, and antique vendors. 

Then grab a coffee at Grind AVL or a biscuit smothered in country sausage or mushroom gravy at ButterPunk, a new coffee and pastry shop that is already a contender for best biscuit in Asheville.

Five Points

Just north of downtown Asheville sits Five Points, an up-and-coming area that blends chic, camp, retro nostalgia, and artistic history.

The heart of the Five Points neighborhood is the former Moog Music Factory (and Store), which produced the groundbreaking synthesizers made famous by The Doors and The Beatles. Now, it’s home to Resurrection Studios Collective (RSC), a studio and gallery space for displaced RAD artists. According to Heidi Adams, the founder and director of RSC, the focus is more on fine arts than eclectic, and Resurrection is now an exceptionally curated space now.  

The block also hosts two other businesses displaced by Helene. Atomic Furnishing & Design shares its showroom of restored mid-century furniture with over 30 eclectic vendors selling vintage clothes and records, leather bags, and woodwork. DayTrip cocktail bar is equally retro, though with a 70s camp vibe, which includes beaded curtains, shag rugs, velvet couches, jungle cat murals, and drinks, such as 28 Moons of Uranus and Hissy Fit, served in vintage glasses.  

“You can have a drink [at DayTrip] or go explore the booths and things going on at Atomic and then come see us,” says Adams.

West Asheville

West Asheville has long been considered the quirkier, more irreverent sibling of downtown. But some new businesses are starting to bring a more elevated feel to the neighborhood.

Neng, Jr.’s is an intimate, 18-seat dining experience in a former arcade room. James Beard finalist Silver Icovozzi creates dishes inspired by growing up Filipino in the American South. Try the chicken adobo and striped bass sinigang, a sour soup flavored with tamarind. 

Afterward, head over to Potential New Boyfriend for wine and dessert. The eclectic listening bar—named for a 1983 song by Dolly Parton—is intimate, welcoming, and approachable, according to its owner, Disco. Guests lounge on vibrant furniture, sipping aperitifs and eating sumptuous desserts like coconut tres leches cake or mascarpone and strawberries ice cream, to the soundtrack of curated record playlists. 

For all the sophistication, Disco described the vibe as cozy, like hanging out in a friend’s living room and sampling the wine they can’t stop talking about.  

West Asheville hasn’t lost its eclectic nature. A few places embody that better than House of Black Cat Magic, a combination cat lounge and metaphysical shop, “where magic saves lives.” Come in to stock up on tarot cards and spellbooks, and stay to play with the black cats. All rescues are available for adoption. Sales benefit the store’s rescue partner, Binx’s Home for Black Cats — one of the nation’s few black cat rescues. 

Downtown and South Slope

Downtown Asheville is renowned for its historic Art Deco architecture, which transports visitors back to the Roaring Twenties. Luckily, these buildings survived the storm intact, as did many popular businesses. 

Bookish types can still browse new releases at Malaprop’s independent bookstore or used titles at the Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar. Beloved James Beard winners Curaté and Chai Pani are still serving tapas and Indian street food. A newer addition is Good Hot Fish, a counter-service fish fry restaurant from celebrated Southern chef Ashleigh Shanti.

Visitors looking for a pub crawl should head down to South Slope Brewing District, home to many of the local breweries that have earned Asheville the nickname “Beer City, USA.” Sample flights or pints at a half dozen places, such as Burial Beer Co. has expanded beyond its award-winning beers into creating its their own wines, ciders, and aperitifs, which they serve at their rooftop bar, VISUALS. The bar is perched over Eulogy, the brewery’s eclectic music venue

The Biltmore and Biltmore Village

The Biltmore is the nation’s largest private residence, completed in 1895 for the Vanderbilt family. The estate and its gardens survived the storm, as did the hotel, shops, and winery on the 8,000-acre property. Its 22 miles of trails have also reopened for hiking and biking, although many trees were lost. 

Across the way, however, historic Biltmore Village experienced some of the worst damage from the storm. A year later, only a couple of storefronts have reopened. One is the local favorite, The Corner Kitchen, serving farm-to-table cuisine in the romantic setting of a century-old cottage. The Biltmore Village’s website also helps travelers confirm what has reopened before visiting.  

A new landscape

Helene was not just a hurricane; it was a geological event that changed the Earth’s structure. These changes are most noticeable for visitors hoping to hike, mountain bike, or stand-up paddle down the French Broad River, as well as those checking out the scenic views and fall colors on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Les Love, president of the Carolina Mountain Club, says most trails have reopened, though hikers and bikers may notice off-trail debris and even giant root balls too heavy to move. 

“It’s good for folks to come and see just how powerful Mother Nature is, and what she can do,” he says. 

And if you’re heading to the area to check out the vibrant fall colors, you should consider taking a look at Explore Asheville’s interactive fall color map to find exactly where to go for the best foliage.

Asheville is different. However, its Southern hospitality and creative spirit remain unchanged. 

“People still want to come and get out and hike. They still want to go see artists. They still want to see live music,” says Ryan Appleton, owner of the Lazy Tiger Hostel. “The reason why people love to come to Asheville is still true.”