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Offered languages
- English
Six tastings, one walkable loop through downtown Asheville, and a food scene most visitors miss. Start with a chargrilled Indian street food roll in warm flatbread with slaw and chutney, then a buttermilk biscuit built around dry-cured Appalachian ham. Next, a pressed panini on toasted ciabatta from a shop better known for its hand-cut potato chips.
Somewhere in the middle, your Secret Food Tours guide leads you into two local artisanal shops for tastings kept off the itinerary until you're standing in front of them. Dessert is a quarter-pound ice cream cookie sandwich.
Your guide lives in Asheville and will tell you why the arcade outside was meant to carry a fourteen-storey tower, how the city's refusal to default on a Great Depression debt saved the buildings you're standing in, and where locals eat on a night off.
Small groups, an easy walking pace, and a guide with strong opinions about where to eat next.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
Meet the guide at the Grove Arcade entrance on Battery Park Drive
The tour ends at the last stop. About 0.5 miles from the meeting point.
Itinerary
-
1Grove Arcade
The tour meets at the Battery Park Avenue entrance of this 1929 landmark, built as a grand indoor market and still full of independent shops and food traders.
40 minutes • Admission ticket free -
2
Inside the arcade at our meeting point, a two-storey bookshop and wine bar guests often come back to after the tour.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
Basilica of Saint Lawrence (Pass by)
A short walk from the meeting point, with the largest self-supporting elliptical dome in North America, built by the Spanish architect who worked on Biltmore.
Admission ticket free -
3Pritchard Park
The route passes this small downtown square, home to the Friday night drum circle.
30 minutes • Admission ticket free -
4
A narrow curving lane of independent shops the route crosses, marked by the oversized flat iron sculpture on the Asheville Urban Trail.
30 minutes • Admission ticket free -
5Woolworth Walk
A former five-and-dime turned local art gallery, still with its 1950s soda fountain counter, passed between stops.
20 minutes • Admission ticket free -
6Urban Trail
The tour route overlaps this self-guided trail of 30 bronze sculptures and plaques, several of which your guide will point out.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
7Pack Square
Downtown's historic public square, a focal point since 1797, at the eastern end of the walking area covered by the tour.
30 minutes • Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Additional info
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Not recommended for travelers with mobility impairments
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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