Asheville NC City Guide - Travel, Attractions, Hotels, Real Estate, & Business - Asheville North Carolina

Welcome to Asheville North Carolina . . .Whether you are planning a golfing trip, romantic getaway, family vacation, or meeting in Asheville, you have come to the right place. You will find accommodations, attractions, outer areas with places to visit, group planning assistance, and a comprehensive city guide for planning a vacation to Asheville, relocation and real estate, dining, shopping, wedding information along with a complete business guide of Asheville.

Where to stay in Asheville? . . .Whether you are planning a golfing trip, romantic getaway, family vacation, or meeting in Asheville, you have come to the right place. Your lodging will represent the largest expense of your visit, unless you have a large shopping budget. Asheville's Finest City Guide offers a number of ways to help you. Visit our accommodations information page to start your search for the perfect lodging in Asheville book book online direct with the properties. Shop our online booking engine too, for discounted rates without any booking fees online room deals. If you are interested in other cities through the USA or world wide, you may us our Signature Reservations.

Planning a Meeting in Asheville? . . .If you are not familiar with Asheville or you know the area well, we offer quick hotel online bid services with meeting space that can help you SAVE BIG when the hotels compete for your business. Perfect for business meetings, sports teams, reunions, weddings, bus tours or any group travel. Complete our group booking request. You'll receive a quick response from the hotels by email. Talk directly to the hotels about their bids. A wonderful free time saving service!

History . . .The first recorded visitor to the confluence of what now are called the French Broad and Swannanoa Rivers was Hernando De Soto, who traversed North Carolina in 1540. Less than 150 years later, trade with the Indians was being established, with early trading paths following old Indian routes that crossed at Asheville's present location.

After the Revolutionary War, the first white settlers in Buncombe County were predominantly Scotch-Irish immigrants from Northern Ireland whose livelihoods in Ireland had been ruined by restrictive British tariffs on wool and weaving. By 1785, there was a permanent settlement know as "Eden Land" - a settlement that would later witness the wooing and wedding of one of its young women, Elizabeth Patton, by famed woodsman Davy Crockett.

The town was incorporated in 1797 and officially named Asheville in honor of North Carolina Governor Samuel Ashe. Buncombe attained county status in 1792 and was named for Revolutionary War hero Colonel Edward Buncombe. In early 1800's roads were completed that connected East Tennessee to South Carolina through Asheville and the town began seeing regular commerce between the east and west.

Even the trauma of the Civil War could not extinguish Asheville's growing reputation as a health resort and in the 1800's "The Land Sky" was renowned throughout the country. Asheville reached the pinnacle of fame when George Vanderbilt bought 145,000 acres of what he described as the most beautiful land in the world and created the Biltmore Estate.

The depression of the 1930's, coupled with the end of the land boom, brought economic ruin to Asheville from which it recovered slowly. Even the depresssed 1930's saw the development of two great natural attractions; the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway - which have since made Asheville one of the most visited recreational areas in the world.

Today, Asheville is not only a major tourism hub, it is also a center for medical care, the arts, education and business in Western North Carolina.

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