I have said many times one of the best ways to get to know a city is to take a tour of it. And one of the best tours of Asheville is with the Grayline Tours.
John and I drove over to the fabulous Asheville visitor’s center to start our trolley tour. While here you can pick up visitor information, grab some souvenirs and snacks, and hit that bathrooms before your tour begins. Or should your day turn out to be warm like this day, you can pick up a short sleeve t-shirt.
After grabbing some souvenirs, a t-shirt for me, some drinks, and hitting the rest room, we joined our other trolley goers and our guide George for almost 2 hours of fun. On this particular day we ended up with a trolley full of people from all over the county who had also come to see this beautiful city. Turns out we were the only people from NC.
Our trolley takes off from the parking lot and makes left heading out into what used to be on of the areas most fashionable neighborhoods, past magnificent historical houses, several of which have now been transformed into charming B&B's, and down through more historic areas including the Montford neighborhood. Asheville used be a place where used come for magical healing cures. Today this is still a place for natural healing. We see an incredible home that once was a place for the well to do to heal and where F Scott Fitzgerald’s wife, Zelda, was staying a tragically killed in a fire, we go past a rehab center where in the 1970’s James Taylor was a patient and wrote "Fire and Rain".
After going though several gorgeous neighborhoods we make our way to the renown Grove Park Inn. The historic 1913 inn was the vision of EW Grove. This eye catching resort has played host to numerous celebrities including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Harry Houdini, George Gershwin, Thomas Edison, Eleanor Roosevelt, Henry Ford, and 8 presidents. The area surrounding the Grove Park is filled with equally impressive homes and buildings.
From here we take a very pleasant drive to downtown Asheville to see the marvelous buildings in this town. Asheville boasts the second largest of Art Deco Buildings outside of Miami. We see the Basilica St. Lawrence, The Flat Iron building which is similar to NY’s famed Flatron Building, we see the home of Asheville’s favorite son Tomas Wolfe, past the Grove Arcade, we see the infusion of new and old buildings including the office of William Cecil of the Vanderbilt fame where a reflection of the beautiful old buildings can be seen in the glass of the building. We make our way to the River Arts districts where we pass by 12 Bones BBQ, where our now President Obama stopped in for some lip smacking ribs while in town. We wrap up our tour in the lovely Biltmore Village. This village was once home to the employees of the Biltmore Estate which has now been turned into unique stores, restaurants, and hotels.
Soon were back at the visitor’s center with the backdrop of the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains behind us. And on this day they are truly blue and spectacular. Our guide, George, was terrific and thankfully kept things under control when one family becomes a pain.
Hours/rates/info
The tour lasts about 2 hours of you chose not to get off. The trolley does have 8 pick up areas though the course and you can hop on and off at any of the stops. Your ticket does include admission to the Thomas Wolfe home.
You do start at the visitor’s center on Montford Ave. You can purchase tickets on line and I highly encourage you to do so. Or you can pick them up at the visitor’s center. AAA members can save 10% by purchase in person. You can also pick up tickets at any of the tour stops and several B&B’s within the area.
Current rates are $20 for adults. Times vary by season and they are closed in January and February. Check their website for current ticket prices, times, and pick up points.
Website: www.graylineasheville.com
For the best way to see Asheville and her splendor, take the time to hop on and off with Grayline.
by vampirefan on February 3, 2009
Gray Line Trolley Tour
36 Montford Ave.
828-251-8687