Christmas In Asheville, NC
Asheville North Carolina is a beautiful place to visit any time of the year. Situated in the Blue Ridge Mountains, there's easy access to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, plus for a relatively small town, Ashveville has a really great selection of restaurants and places to stay.
Asheville Hotels: See special offers.
Life in this part of the world seems to provide artistic inspirations because many fine artisans make the area home and their works fill local galleries and shops.
One of the main attracitons in this area is the famous Biltmore Estate. The spectacular historic home of George Vanderbilt is particularly stunning decorated for the holidays.
Things to Do
Christmas at the Biltmore Estate
Christmas at Biltmore 2019 will be held from November 1, 2019 - January 5, 2020
Special for the 2019 holiday season! Downtown Abby: The Exhibition will be at Biltmore Estate November 8th through April 7th. Access to the Downtown Abby exhbits is included with Biltmore daytime admission and Candlelight Christmas Evenings admission.
Each year the Biltmore Estate is decorated in grand style for the holidays and open for both daytime and evening candlelight tours. There's a huge Christmas tree in the Banquet Hall as well as 56 decorated trees throughout the mansion. See a video showing the arrival of the 2013 banquet hall tree.
The Biltmore Tree Arrival takes place each year in early November. This is a fun event to see. Santa arrives on a horse-drawn carriage, carrying the huge tree that will decorate the Banquet Hall for the holiday season. Visitors can watch as Biltmore staff carry the tree into the house, where it will be hoisted into place. Once the tree is secured inside, visitors to the house will see decorating work on the tree progress. The Romantic Asheville website usually posts the tree raising date, and they have a nice collection of phots from past events.
There are two ticket options during the holiday season: Daytime admission, which includes daytime admission to the house, gardens, shops, and restaurants, or Candlelight Evening admission, which allows you to visit in the daytime and during the evening, when the house is decorated with candlight and live music is provided by choirs and solists.
Hotels Near the Biltmore Estate - Find a place to stay near the Biltmore.
Biltmore Village
Biltmore Village was constructed in the 1890's as a planned community at the entrance to the Biltmore Estate. Today the village provides shopping and dining opportunities from a mixture of locally owned shops and restaurants.
During the Christmas season the village is decorated with thousands of white lights and holiday wreaths hang from the streetlights and shop doors.
National Gingerbread House Competition at the Grove Park Inn Resort
November 20, 2019 - January 4, 2020 at the historic Grove Park Inn.
These aren't just any ginger bread houses. These are like edible pieces of art. The entries are open for public viewing Monday through Thursday, with some exceptions. Community viewing days schedule.
There's no admission fee, but there is a $20 per vehicle parking fee. Half of the parking fee is donated to local non-profit organizations. More Info.
Stay at the Grove Park Inn - Grove Park Inn hotel rates & reservations.
Winter Lights at the North Carolina Arboretum
Winter Lights at the Arboretum takes place November 22, 2019 - January 4, 2020.
Winter Lights is a walk-through holiday lights display of thousands of LED lights at the North Carolina Arboretum.
Open nightly from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m..
Tickets for the light display are $18 for adults, $12 for children ages 5 - 11. Children ages 4 and under are admitted free. Discount night admissoin is $15 for adults and $10 for children.
There is an additional $5 fee for tickets purchased at the gate, so it's a good idea to buy your tickets in advance. More information.
Hotels near Winter Lights at North Carolina Arboretum.
Asheville Holiday Parade
The Asheville Holiday Parade is held on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Details.
Santa Claus on Chimney Rock
Each year Santa rappels from the top of 315 foot Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park (he's practicing for all those Christmas Eve drops down chimneys, of course). The event usually takes place in early December.
The 2019 dates for Santa on the Chimney are Saturday, December 7th & Saturday, December 14th. More information.
Annual Warren Haynes Christmas Jam
For over 25 years the Christmas Jam has brought a "one-of-a-kind, semi-structured marathon of music" to the ExploreAsheville.com Arena in downtown Asheville. The event benefits Habitat for Huminity. The London Times has rated it one of the top ten concerts in the US.
The date for the 2019 Christmas Jam has not yet been announced.
Hotels
Inn on Biltimore Estate - This hotel is located at the Biltmore Estate. Enjoy easy access to the Biltmore House and the Winery.
Haywood Park Hotel - A nice, all suites hotels located right in the middle of downtown Asheville. Within easy walking distance of shops, restaruants and Civic Arena. This hotel is located in a former department store building and retains some of the charm of it's eariler days (such as announcements like "ladies wear" along with your floor number on the elevator). The rooms and common areas are very spacious and well-appointed. See Rates.
Aloft Asheville Downtown - Another good option with a downtown location that's walkable to the arena, plus lots of shops and restaurants.
Omni Grove Park Inn - This historic hotel is where the national gingerbread house competition is held. It's a beautiful resort hotel that's been in business for over 100 years.
Holiday Inn Express Asheville - Biltmore Square Mall - This Holiday Inn Express has a good central location for your Asheville visit.