Downtown Asheville is somewhat like L5P – there at least used to be a drum circle there (in Pritchard Park) on on Friday evenings during the summer (I think it’s still there, but I’m not sure). If you didn’t stop, you could probably walk from one end of downtown to the other in 10-15 minutes…but I don’t recommend it; downtown’s the sort of place to take nice leisurely walks and pop into this store or that restaurant in. A lot of the locations CaribHeat referred to are there (The Beir Garden, The Orange Peel, Jerusalem Garden, Rosetta’s Kitchen, Malaprops, the Marble Slab, Old Europe, the Chocolate Fetish) There’s plenty more too: the Early Girl Eatery (vegetarian eats), Mellow Mushroom and Tupelo Honey, the markets in the Grove Arcade, lots of antique stores and art galleries, and much more. There are concerts there during summer months, and of course Asheville’s biggest festival – Bele Chere – each July. There’s even several walking trails marked out, and a guided tour offered.

For more, here’s a nice little guide:

http://www.romanticasheville.com/downtown.htm#things

You can check out the Mountain Express online (www.mountainx.com). West Asheville is also a pretty cool neighborhood with some good eats and shopping. The heart of it is Haywood Road which you can catch in downtown and follow. There you have the Sunny Point Cafe-awesome food (I admit I wrote a review on here, look it up)-and Lucky Otter which has excellent pizzas, tasty, unique burritos, and brews among other things. There’s a retro salvage/home furnishings place called El Dorado Antiques. The Westville Pub is also there. And a few thrift stores and clothing shops. It’s really worth a visit once you’ve seen downtown Asheville. (If you do make it during the summer, the drum circle at Pritchard Park downtown is a must-see). I second the recommendations for Rosetta’s Kitchen and the $2 movies at APBC. Enjoy!