Asheville continues to earn new titles to add to our long history of accolades:
Asheville has been recognized for its splendors by dozens of magazines, Web sites and publications in recent years. Accolades range from the designation by Frommer's as one of a dozen top travel destinations in the world to recognition for the Asheville area arts community, outdoor adventures, cuisine, organic and vegetarian eats, and much more.
2018
Readers of Condé Nast Traveler picked Asheville as #8 among "The Best Small Cities in the U.S." (October 2018)
Asheville made TripAdvisor's "15 of America's Best Fall-Foliage Trips" list. (September 2018)
RetailMeNot.com ranked Asheville #1 on its list of "Best Budget-Friendly U.S. Cities to Explore Solo." (September 2018)
CarRentals.com named Asheville #2 on its "Eat Your Way Through These 8 Excellent Foodie Towns" round-up. (September 2018)
Asheville was featured as one of TripAdvisor's "15 Best Places to Travel Alone in America." (August 2018)
Global Traveler's 2018 Trazee Awards listed Asheville as the "#1 Foodie City" in the world. (July 2018)
Travel + Leisure included Asheville as one of the "Top 15 Cities in the United States." (July 2018)
Airbnb selected Asheville as #1 on its list of "10 Most Hospitable U.S. Cities." (June 2018)
Expedia picked Asheville as one of the "Top-Rated Vacation Destinations in North America." (May 2018)
National Geographic Traveler highlighted Asheville as one of the "Top 10 Music Cities in the U.S." (May 2018)
FlipKey, a TripAdvisor company, featured Asheville as one of the "25 Best Pet-Friendly Vacations In America." (February 2018)
Asheville was listed as one of "Trekaroo's Top Treks for 2018." (January 2018)
Forbes Travel Guide included Asheville on its list of the "18 Top Destinations of 2018." (January 2018)
National Geographic Traveler named Asheville as one of the "Best U.S. Small Cities for 2018." (January 2018)
CNN Travel highlighted Asheville as one of the "18 Best Places to Visit in 2018." (January 2018)
TripAdvisor mentioned Asheville as one of the "30 Top USA Cities to Visit in 2018." (January 2018)
2017
SmartAsset named Asheville as one of "The Best Cities for Beer Drinkers – 2017 Edition" (December 2017)
Asheville made Indagare's list of "Where to Travel in 2018: Nine to Know" (December 2017)
Forbes listed Asheville as one of "The Coolest Places to Go in 2018" (December 2017)
Asheville was listed in Zagat's "30 Most Exciting Food Cities in America 2017" (December 2017)
TripAdvisor named Asheville as one of "America's 15 Most Romantic Cities for Winter Travel" (December 2017)
Condé Nast Traveler named Asheville as one of The Best Small Cities in the U.S. (October 2017)
Expedia listed Asheville as one of The 12 Best Music Towns in the Nation. (September 2017)
Asheville made Garden & Gun’s “The South’s Best Food Towns” list. (September 2017)
Asheville topped RewardExpert's "2017 Best American Foodie Towns" list for the South Atlantic region. (September 2017)
Southern Living selected Asheville as one of its "15 Southern Cities All Food Lovers Should Visit Now." (August 2017)
CarRentals.com included Asheville in a round-up of the "20 Most Unique Cities to Visit in Your 20s." (July 2017)
Asheville was recognized as one of Travel + Leisure's "Top 15 Cities in the United States." (July 2017)
U.S. News & World Report named Asheville #3 on its "Best Small Towns to Visit in the USA" and #20 on its "Best Places to Visit in the USA" rankings. (June 2017)
Asheville's music scene was recognized by SmarterTravel.com, making its "9 Best Destinations for Music Lovers" list (the only U.S. destination to do so). (June 2017)
TripAdvisor.com placed Asheville among its “20 Best Summer Vacations in America to Fit Your Budget." (May 2017)
Asheville was featured on Expedia's Viewfinder blog as a "Top-Rated Vacation Destination in North America." (April 2017)
FlipKey.com, a company of TripAdvisor, recognized Asheville on its list of "Six ‘Hidden Gem’ Spring Break Destinations to Explore in 2017." (March 2017)
Tasting Table picked Asheville for its round-up of "The 7 Under-the-Radar Cities You Must Visit This Year." (January 2017)
Asheville was included on lists of "The 17 Best Places to Travel in 2017" by both Harper's Bazaar and Esquire. (January 2017)
Travel + Leisure selected Asheville as one of the "18 Best Cities in America for Solo Travelers." (January 2017)
AFAR ranked Asheville among its 16 U.S. destinations to explore now. (January 2017)
Asheville was named Lonely Planet's #1 "Best in the U.S. Destination for 2017." (January 2017)
2016
SmartAsset.com ranked Asheville #1 among "The Best Cities for Beer Drinkers – 2016 Edition." (December 2016)
Black Mountain won TripAdvisor.com's readers’ choice "America's Prettiest Small Town Vacations." (December 2016)
Travelocity.com included Asheville on its list of "Festive Favorites: The Top 15 Cities for Seasonal Brews." (November 2016)
VacationIdea.com featured Asheville among its "25 Best Places to Visit in North Carolina." (November 2016)
Readers of Condé Nast Traveler picked Asheville as #10 among "The Best Small Cities in the U.S." (October 2016)
Asheville was among TripstoDiscover.com's "Most Beautiful Small Towns to Visit in the U.S." (August 2016)
Readers of Condé Nast Traveler again voted Asheville #7 among "The 2016 Friendliest Cities in the U.S." (August 2016)
In a poll conducted by American Craft Week, Asheville came in at #7 on a list of "America's Top 10 Towns for Craft Lovers." (July 2016)
Travel + Leisure selected Asheville as #10 on its ranking of "The Best Cities in the U.S." (July 2016)
Asheville was included as one of "10 Small Cities With World-Class Food Scenes" by THRILLIST. (June 2016)
Asheville topped the list of "The 12 Best Places to Retire in the U.S." by Condé Nast Traveler. (May 2016)
Asheville made Condé Nast Traveler's round-up of "Where to Find the Best Beer in the World." (April 2016)
THRILLIST named Asheville one of its "25 Best U.S. Cities to Spend a Weekend." (March 2016)
Fortune ranked Asheville among its "Best New Cities for Beer Lovers" after a survey of those in the industry. (March 2016)
Asheville's The Orange Peel made the cut for Matador Network's list of "7 Places to See Incredible Live Music in North Carolina." (March 2016)
Asheville was considered one of the "Best Cities to Visit While Vacationing Solo" by AFAR deputy editor Jennifer Flowers during an appearance on CBS This Morning: Saturday. (March 2016)
Travel + Leisure featured Asheville at #11 on its list of "The Best Cities in North America." (February 2016)
U.S. News & World Report put Asheville on its round-up of the "Best Foodie Destinations in the USA." (February 2016)
Asheville topped the list of "The Coziest Cities in America," as reported by Elle Decor following a third-annual study sponsored by Honeywell Heaters. (February 2016)
Budget Travel named Asheville among its "Where to Go in 2016" destinations. (January 2016)
Expedia Viewfinder picked Asheville as one of the "Best Cities for Keeping Your Resolutions," specifically to "spend more quality time with family and friends." (January 2016)
Garden & Gun included The Grey Eagle on a round-up of "10 Must-See Southern Music Venues." (January 2016)
2015
SmartAsset.com ranked Asheville #2 among "The Best Cities for Beer Drinkers" following a study that analyzed various sources of data. (December 2015)
Asheville was featured by VacationIdea.com on its list of the "22 Best Small-Town Family Weekend Destinations." (November 2015)
Booking.com named Asheville one of its "Top Emerging Foodie Cities Across the U.S." (October 2015)
SmarterTravel.com chose Asheville among its "10 Best Outdoor Towns in America." (October 2015)
Asheville was once again included on TripAdvisor.com's list of the "Top 10 Fall-Foliage Destinations in the U.S." (September 2015)
Readers of Condé Nast Traveler voted Asheville #3 among "The 30 Best Small Cities in America" and #7 among "The 2015 Friendliest Cities in the U.S." (August 2015)
Asheville was picked at #6 on MusicFromTheRow.com's list of the "Top 10 Music Cities Other Than Nashville." (July 2015)
Travel + Leisure featured Asheville at #10 on its 2015 list of the "World's Best Cities" for the United States and Canada. (July 2015)
Asheville was one of six cities spotlighted by Business Jet Traveler as "Best U.S. Foodie Meccas." (June 2015)
TravelChannel.com named Asheville one of its "Top 5 Pet-Friendly Towns." (April 2015)
THRILLIST ranked the live-music scene in Asheville as #10 in its round-up of "America's 12 Greatest Music Cities." (April 2015)
Asheville is considered one of "The 11 Best Drinking Cities in America" by THRILLIST . (March 2015)
The Huffington Post featured Asheville on its list of "The 9 Most Romantic Cities in the South." (March 2015)
Matador Network selected Asheville for the number-one slot in its round-up of "The 20 Coolest Towns in the U.S." (February 2015)
Asheville was listed among the "14 Best Small Cities for a First Date" by DatingAdvice.com. (February 2015)
Asheville was ranked as the third "Coziest City" in the country, according to a study sponsored by Honeywell Heaters. (February 2015)
Gear Patrol named Asheville one of its "25 Best Places to Travel in 2015." (January 2015)
Asheville is featured on TripAdvisor.com's "Top Romantic Trip Destinations." (January 2015)
MovieMaker chose Asheville as #2 on its annual "Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker" list. (January 2015)
Condé Nast Traveler included Asheville among its "America's Best Beer Cities" round-up. (January 2015)
2014
Asheville is among Frommer's' "Best Places to Go in 2015." (December 2014)
Yelp ranked Asheville #4 on its list of the "Top 20 Cities to Shop Local for the Holidays." (November 2014)
Asheville is considered one of "America's Smartest Cities" by Forbes . (November 2014)
Orbitz.com's Travel Blog chose taking a scenic drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway as #1 on its list of "Seven Things You Absolutely Must Try in a National Park." (November 2014)
USA TODAY picked Asheville as one of the 10 best places to see "The Brightest Fall Foliage Around the USA." (November 2014)
Asheville was featured in a round-up by The Huffington Post on "The 13 Greatest Destination Food Towns in America." (October 2014)
A just-released National Geographic Travel book named Asheville one of the "World's Best Cities." (October 2014)
MusicSchoolCentral.com included Asheville on its list of "The 10 College Towns With the Best Music Scenes in America." (October 2014)
Asheville is among TravelandLeisure.com's "Most Romantic Fall Getaways." (October 2014)
FlipKey.com, the vacation-rental company of TripAdvisor, recognized Asheville on its top-10 list of the "Best Fall East Coast Vacation Spots." (September 2014)
Livability.com's second-annual ranking of the 100 best small- to mid-sized cities in the U.S. included Asheville in the #12 slot. (September 2014)
Asheville is considered America's #1 "Quirkiest Town," according to TravelandLeisure.com. (August 2014)
USA TODAY selected Asheville as one of the top "Southern Literary Destinations." (August 2014)
Rhubarb and Curate were recently featured in round-ups of the best restaurants in the South by CNN.com and Food Republic . (August 2014)
In a bracket-style vote, Outside Magazine readers picked Asheville as one of this year's "Best Towns Ever." (August 2014)
Readers of Condé Nast Traveler voted Asheville #10 among the "2014 Friendliest Cities in the U.S." (August 2014)
Asheville was highlighted as one of "America's Five Best Beer Cities" by Wine Enthusiast . (July 2014)
Real Estate Scorecard recognized Asheville as the "Most Beautiful Place in America to Live and More." (July 2014)
Asheville was chosen as one of BrideMeetsWedding.com's "10 Great Honeymoon Locations Within the U.S.," coming in at #5. (July 2014)
SingleTracks.com listed Asheville among its "10 Beer Towns With a Mountain Biking Problem." (July 2014)
Livability.com placed Asheville at #4 on its "Top 10 Foodie Cities 2014" round-up. (June 2014)
Departures called Asheville "The Biggest Little Culinary Capital in America." (June 2014)
Asheville was featured on USA Today's "Best Summer Weekend Escapes" list, chosen by readers of USA Today and 10Best . (May 2014)
Purina ONE selected Asheville as a "perfect dog-friendly city" after touring the country to find the best place to kick off its 28-Day Challenge. (May 2014)
THRILLIST named Asheville one of the "7 Most Underrated Food Cities in America." (March 2014)
National Geographic featured Asheville on its editors' list of the "Best Spring Trips 2014." (March 2014)
Asheville made SaveOnEnergy.com's list of the "Top 10 Cities to Visit for Earth Day 2014," coming in at #5. (March 2014)
Men's Journal included Black Mountain on its list of the "Best Places to Rent a Summer Home." (March 2014)
The Omni Grove Park Inn made USA Today's "10 Best Places: Have a Heart-to-Hearth at These Hotels" list. (February 2014)
MovieMaker designated Asheville as #1 on its 2014 edition of the "Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker." (January 2014)
Asheville was spotlighted on a list of "Alternative Travel Destinations For 2014" by Men's Journal . (January 2014)
Forbes Travel Guide Blog featured Asheville as one of its "Five Secret Foodie Cities." (January 2014)
Asheville was named one of Imbibe Magazine's "75 People, Places and Flavors That Will Shape the Way You Drink in 2014." (January 2014)
2013
Cúrate was included among OpenTable's "2013 Diners' Choice Top 100 Best Restaurants in America." (December 2013)
Asheville Brewing Company earned a spot (#11) on Travel+Leisure's list of "America's Coolest Breweries." (October 2013)
Asheville topped VegNews ' round-up of "12 Dreamy Towns for Vegan Living." (July 2013)
FlipKey listed Asheville Beer Week (May 23-June 1) as one of the nation's Top Ten Summer Beer Festivals . (May 2013)
Forbes featured Asheville as one of the top 5 Beer Cities to Hit This Summer . (May 2013)
Southern Living magazine named Asheville one of the " Tastiest Towns in the South ." Asheville was recognized for its intrepid casual fare led by a tight-knit group of indie-chefs. (May 2013)
2012
Readers of Condé Nast Traveler ranked the Spa at the Inn on Biltmore Estate as one of the top 75 spas on the U.S. mainland. (June 2012)
Outside magazine and American Rivers name Asheville among America's best river towns . (June 2012)
Asheville maintains its "Beer City USA" reign , tying with Grand Rapids, Mich. in the fourth year of an online poll posted on Examiner.com. (May 2012)
2011
Users of TripAdvisor.com pick three Asheville B&Bs among the Top 25 in the U.S. The Reynolds Mansion (#2), Biltmore Village Inn (#8) and 1900 Inn on Montford (#20) all take top honors.
TripAdvisor.com lists Asheville as one of its " 15 Destinations on the Rise ." (December 2011)
Zagat.com included Firestorm Cafe & Books in a list of the " 10 Coolest Independent Coffee Shops Across the US ."
Condé Nast Traveler 's annual Reader's Choice Awards Poll chose two Asheville properties among the best in the nation . The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa was rated a Top U.S. Resort, and the Grand Bohemian Hotel Asheville was rated at Top U.S. Hotel.
Asheville is named "Best Place to Start a Fall Foliage Tour" by Livabiliy.com (October 2011)
The editors of Prevention magazine and Fitbie rank Asheville as the #5 best U.S. city for weight loss , thanks to a wide variety of options for finding farm fresh food choices. (October 2011)
Asheville comes in at #10 in TripAdvisor.com's Travelers' Choice Awards for top food and wine destinations in the U.S. (October 2011)
Good Morning America featured Asheville as one of its "Most Beautiful Places in America." (August 2011)
DogFriendly.com released its list of "Top 10 Resort Areas to Visit with your Dog" in the U.S. and named Asheville and the Blue Ridge Parkway as #2. (August 2011)
Yoga Journal magazine includes Asheville in its list of "10 Fantastically Yoga-Friendly Towns." (August 2011)
Asheville again rises to the top of AmericanStyle magazine's Top 25 Small City Arts Destinations , narrowly beating Santa Fe in the annual readers' poll. (May 2011)
Online poll on Examiner.com: " Asheville, BeerCity USA 2011 makes it a three-pete " Asheville won with more than 46% of the vote and significant support from outside North Carolina. (May 2011)
Livability lists McCormick Field, the home of the Asheville Tourists, as one of the top 10 minor league stadiums . (March 2011)
The Donald Ross-designed course at the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa makes the reader-nominated list of "125 Top Golf Resorts." (April 2011)
Fodors.com names Asheville as one of the " 21 Places We're Going in 2011 ," highlighting the city's food and drink scene and its artsy vibe. (January 2011)
2010
White House Statement: During President Obama’s spring vacation in Asheville, White House spokeswoman Moira Mack issued the following statement, “The president first visited the Asheville area during the campaign, and he liked it so much that he vowed to take his family there. The president and first lady are planning to spend a quiet weekend enjoying some of the many things this beautiful part of the country has to offer.” (April 2010)
Online Poll Posted on Examiner.com: Asheville holds onto its title as Beer City USA . (May 2010)
AmericanStyle.com: Asheville was ranked the number one small city (population under 100,000) for the arts in their annual “Top 25 Arts Destinations” reader’s poll. (May 2010)
Livability.com: Ranked Asheville one of their 10 most surprisingly vibrant food cities . (April 2010)
Sherman's Travel: Named Asheville as one of its top 10 spring getaways . (March 2010)
TopRetirements.com: Asheville was rated number one in TopRetirement.com’s list of the most popular retirement towns for 2010. (February 2010)
RateBeer.com: This craft beer aficionado Web site named several Asheville area restaurants, breweries and craft beer stores in their annual RateBeer Best 2010 . (January 2010)
Bruisin’ Ales – Number three best beer retailer worldwide
The Thirsty Monk – Number 41 Beer Bar
Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria – Number 27 Beer Restaurant
Mellow Mushroom – Number 41 Beer Restaurant
Highland Brewing – Number 26 Brewery to Visit
Wedge Brewery – Number 43 Brewpub
Southern Living: In the magazine’s “Best of the South Travel Awards,” Asheville’s Little Pigs BBQ placed second in the best barbecue in North Carolina category. (January 2010)
Points North: The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa made Point’s North list of the editorial staff’s top 10 favorite resorts in the Southeast and the Caribbean isles. (January 2010)
2009
Byways: Named Asheville as one of the magazine's " Top 50 North American Group Tour Destinations of 2010. " (December 2009)
Sherman’s Travel: The online travel resource, Sherman’s Travel, named the Blue Ridge Parkway in their list of “ Top 10 Value Destinations for 2010 .” (December 2009)
U.S. News & World Report: Named Asheville as one of “ America's Best Affordable Places to Retire. ” (September 28, 2009)
USA Today’s Road Warrior Panel: A panel of 1,000+ travelers who voluntarily provide travel information for USA Today named Asheville as one of their top cities for business trips . Asheville got high marks from the panel for its “great arts and music scene; a community mix of mountain folk, bohemians, business people and highly educated locals; wonderful outdoors lifestyle and fly-fishing; and organic Caribbean-Cuban-Mexican-Jamaican food at Salsa Mexican Caribbean Restaurant.” (August 12, 2009)
HuffingtonPost.com: Named Asheville as one of its “ Top 10 Undiscovered Local Food Cities. ” (August 2009)
DogFriendly.com: Released its “ Top 10 Dog-Friendly Resort Regions ” in the U.S. and named Asheville as one of the best vacation spots to visit with your dog. (June 23, 2009)
Forbes.com: In their 11 th annual ranking of the “ Best Places for Business and Careers, ” Asheville ranked as #6 in the top metro areas category. (March 25, 2009)
D.K. Shifflet & Associates: This leading travel and tourism research company ranked Asheville as a top 10 value destination for couples in search of romance on its list of cities with the best value for the money . Asheville came in third place, beating out Nashville, San Diego, San Francisco, Myrtle Beach and Las Vegas. (February 2009)
Southern Living: Announced their “ Best of the South Readers’ Choice Awards ” and readers of the magazine recognized these Asheville favorites:
- Best Breakfast or Brunch Restaurant – Moose Café (Placed #9 out of 10)
- Southern Favorite Restaurants – Moose Café (Placed #10 out of 10)
- Best Splurge Restaurants – The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa (Placed #3 out of 10)
- Best Scenic View – Grandfather Mountain (Placed #2 out of 10) and Chimney Rock Park (Placed #3 out of 10)
- Best Public Gardens – Biltmore Gardens (Placed #3 out of 10)
- Best Southern City – Asheville (Placed #8 out of 10)
- Best Hotel – The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa (Placed #1 out of 10) and the Inn on Biltmore Estate (Placed #8 out of 10)
2008
National Geographic Traveler: Asheville received honors in the magazine’s Fifth Annual Places Rated Survey. Asheville ranked in the top 50 globally and top 10 nationally. The city placed first among North Carolina destinations. (October 2008)
Where to Retire Magazine: Honored Asheville as one of its “Eight Enriching Towns for Art and Music Lovers,” touting the many wonderful art studios, seasonal art walks and Bele Chere, the largest free outdoor music festival in the Southeast. (May/June 2008)
Rolling Stone: The Orange Peel music club was named one of America’s best rock music venues in its “Best of Rock” issue. (April 2008)
NuWire Investor: Named Asheville one of the top 10 places to buy vacation rental homes in the U.S. (March 2008)
Condé Nast Traveler: Announced its fourteenth annual Gold List and recognized the Inn on Biltmore Estate. For the Gold List, the magazine takes its 2007 Readers’ Choice Awards winners and delves deeper in the responses, rating hotels for their food, activities, service, rooms, design and location. (January 2008)
Country Home Magazine: Asheville was recognized as one of the top 25 green cities in America for their “ 2007 Best Green Places ” rankings. (January 2008)
Our wonderful small city has earned these designations by offering our community the best in medical care, housing, and a better quality of life overall!
SOURCE: www.exploreasheville.com