Asheville Guide for Attendees

There is so much to do (and eat) in Asheville. Here is a quick guide to this funky, artsy mountain city for your visit during the conference. You can click on the map links here or scroll below for embedded maps:

• Google map of restaurants walking distance of the conference.
• Google map of coffee shops near the conference.
• Google map of shops walking distance from the conference.
• Google map of sights, museums and attractions walking distance from the conference.
• Google map of sightseeing by car from the conference.

Restaurants Near the Conference

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Coffee Shops Near the Conference

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Shops Walking Distance from the Conference

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Sightseeing on Foot at the Conference

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Sightseeing by Car at the Conference

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Why Asheville

I can hardly think of a more appropriate town for a mom blogging conference than Asheville, N.C. This funky, unique getaway city in the Blue Ridge Mountains has been known for decades, centuries even, as a place where people with wildly differing opinions, religions and political beliefs have coexisted happily. It’s much like the mom blogging community at its nobleist: each mom unique and different, but all connecting and engaging on one another’s blogs and on social networks. There is no such thing as a basic mom blogger mold.

Beyond that, Asheville is a place that is a haven for bloggers. Despite a small city population of just around 70,000 people, there is an active and vibrant blogging community. If you want an idea, just take a peek at the dozens and dozens of amazing Asheville-based blogs on the BlogAsheville blogroll.

Asheville is also a place that’s served as a muse for creative types, from Thomas Wolfe to F. Scott Fitzgerald to O’Henry. The city gets accolades for its arts and crafts scene, as well as its outdoor adventures. The city, known as the Foodtopian Society, has a killer food scene for a town of this size. There are 60-plus independent restaurants, more than 35 regional farmers markets, and dozens of farm to table restaurants. It’s also an ideal family vacation destination, with plenty to stimulate a child’s senses at Biltmore, at the Health Adventure children’s museum, in downtown Asheville, in art galleries and museums, and in the great outdoors.

Here is a slideshow I created a while back when I was working at the Asheville CVB. I think it shows off some of the cool things about Asheville, as well as some great accolades and quotes about my hometown.

Find out more about Asheville at the official tourism site, Explore Asheville, the Foodtopian Society or the Asheville Travel Blog.