Blue Ridge Mountain city of Asheville, N.C., offers Biltmore and beyond to those seeking art, music, food

Akron Beacon Journal (MCT) - This mountain city of 70,000 proudly calls itself the Paris of the South.

According to some, that's because Asheville in western North Carolina considers itself to be the cultural capital of southern Appalachia.

French artisans came to Asheville in the late 1800s to work on what became America's biggest house, the Biltmore. The 255-room mansion on 125,000 acres was the home of George and Edith Vanderbilt.

Today the Biltmore is the No. 1 tourist destination in Asheville, where tourism is the No. 1 industry. Its minor-league baseball team is the Tourists.

Asheville is a different but very appealing destination. It is charming, eclectic and cosmopolitan with an edgy California vibe. Its setting in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains makes it a mecca for outdoorsy people.

It is a down-home Southern town, the largest in western Carolina. But it is diverse and interesting, a quirky, moneyed town of long-haired, free-spirited people surrounded by Baptist churches and banjoes.

Rolling Stone magazine proclaimed Asheville to be "America's new freak capital." It ranks high on lists of favorite places to live or enjoy the outdoors.

When the local paper asked for help in devising a new city motto, Asheville's gay community responded: "Ten thousand lesbians can't be wrong."

Asheville is filled with galleries and funky boutiques in its very walkable, art-deco downtown that is a national historic district.

It has a lively music and cultural scene, its own symphony orchestra and lyric opera company. Drum circles and old-time bluegrass music coexist. Film and dance also thrive.

Asheville has links to authors Thomas Wolfe, F. Scott Fitzgerald and O. Henry.

It has sidewalk art and street musicians, and gourmet restaurants that feature local fare. It loves to stage festivals and to party.

It is known for its folk art, especially pottery, quilting and woodworking, and its fall foliage.

The prestigious Folk Art Center that features the work of 900 members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild is 15 minutes outside of Asheville on the Blue Ridge Parkway, America's most-visited national park. It is at Mile Post 382. For information, call 828-298-7928 or check out http://www.craftguild.org.

All of that appeal is making Asheville a very popular place to live, not just to visit. The two counties around Asheville have grown from 308,000 in 1990 to 369,000 in 2000 to 385,000 in 2004 _ with the addition of high-priced developments on lakes, around golf courses and on mountain tops.

The growing population is boosting land values and increasing the spread of galleries and antiques and craft shops in the area.

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There are more than 40 galleries in downtown Asheville _ an area of 40 square blocks _ and more can be found in the growing but grittier River Arts District.

Some of the River Arts District studios are open daily to visitors; others, by appointment. Most are open during scheduled studio strolls. You can find dates at http://www.riverartsdistrict.com.

The Woolworth Walk at 25 Haywood St. in downtown Asheville is the largest of the folk art galleries. More than 160 artisans have work on display in the dime store that dates to 1938. The old soda fountain has been restored. For information, call 828-254-9234 or check out http://www.woolworthwalk.com.

Nearby is the distinctive Grove Arcade that was built in 1929. It is filled with restaurants and shops.

The Biltmore is Asheville's must-see attraction. It gets in excess of 1 million visitors a year and employs 1,600 people. By some estimates, it provides $350 million a year to Asheville's economy.

The four-story French Renaissance mansion opened in 1895 with 34 bedrooms, 65 fireplaces, 23 bathrooms, three kitchens, a library with 10,000 volumes and a bowling alley and swimming pool in the basement. It covers four acres or 175,000 square feet.

Visitors can tour the mansion, drive the winding roads on the 8,000-acre estate, hike the trails, pedal bikes, ride on horses and on carriages and float on the French Broad River.

You can stay overnight at the lavish, four-diamond Inn on Biltmore Estate, tour and taste at the winery (it is the most-visited winery in the United States), or dine on the grounds.

Be sure to check out the Biltmore's conservatory and gardens that cover 75 acres. They are among the largest, most colorful and most magnificent that I have ever seen.

The original gardens and forests were created by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed New York's Central Park.

Admission is not cheap: $42 to $59 for adults and $21 to $29.50 for youths 10 to 16. That includes admission to the winery as well as tours of the mansion and gardens.

For Biltmore Estate information, call 828-225-1333 or 800-411-3812 or http://www.biltmore.com.

One stop worth making is at the Thomas Wolfe House in downtown Asheville.

The author, best known for his novel Look Homeward Angel, died in 1938. He was raised for 10 years in the yellow Old Kentucky Home boardinghouse operated by his mother, Julia.

Wolfe's tell-all prose in his four novels upset his family and antagonized Asheville. But Wolfe had moved on to New York and Paris.

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You can learn about Wolfe, who is buried in Asheville's Riverside cemetery, at the visitor center that sits next to the boardinghouse.

For more information, write to Thomas Wolfe Memorial, 52 N. Market St., Asheville 28801, 828-253-8304, http://www.wolfememorial.com.

Fitzgerald stayed two summers (1935 and 1936) at the Grove Park Inn Resort while his wife, Zelda, was hospitalized with mental problems. She died in a 1948 hospital fire. Rumors of Fitzgerald's hard drinking and socializing in Asheville flourished.

The Asheville Urban Trail covers 1.7 miles and there are 30 sculptures depicting the history of Asheville along the downtown walking route. Maps are available for self-guided tours and guided tours are offered. For more information, contact the Asheville Area Arts Council at 828-258-0710.

There are more than 600 restaurants in the Asheville area. The city has more vegetarian restaurants per capita than any other American city, says PETA.

Two of the most-touted places to eat in Asheville, both of which delivered on our visit, are:

_The Early Girl Eatery at 8 Wall St. with its high-quality, homemade Southern food, 828-259-9292 or http://earlygirleatery.com.

_The Market Place at 20 Wall St. with its creative cuisine with local ingredients, 828-252-4162, http://www.marketplace-restaurant.com.

Places to stay in Asheville:

_The Princess Anne Hotel, a lovely and moderately priced boutique hotel at 301 E. Chestnut St., Asheville 28801, 828-258-0986 or 866-552-0986, http://www.princessannehotel.com. It serves wine and cheese in the afternoon. It is a personal favorite.

_Grove Park Inn Resort, 510 rooms, golf course, spa and pricey, 290 Macon Ave., Asheville 28804, 828-252-2711 or 800-438-5800 or http://www.groveparkinn.com. It is a romantic destination with great views of Asheville. Eight presidents have stayed here.

_Inn on Biltmore Estate, 213 rooms and pricey, 1 Antler Hill Road, Asheville 28803, 828-225-1600 or 800-411-3812 or http://www.biltmore.com.

You can contact the Asheville Visitor Center, 36 Montford Ave., Asheville 2880, 828-258-6103 or http://www.exploreasheville.com.

The Asheville Bed & Breakfast Association, 877-262-6867, http://www.ashevillebba.com.

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Bob Downing: bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com

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© 2008, Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio).