Bluegrass Country & Smoky Mountains

ASHEVILLE — Set in the western part of the state off the Blue Ridge Parkway, the region around Asheville overflows in natural grandeur: Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Pisgah National Forest (remarkable mountainous landscape, as well as Mount Mitchell) are near at hand. Asheville itself is beautifully located — well deserving of a three-day stay. While there, be sure to stop at the Thomas Wolfe Memorial (a tribute to the Southern novelist), the Folk Art Center, various appealing B-and-Bs (such as the Lion & the Rose), and Connemara (the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, a farm outside town where the poet lived his later years). If you’re interested in man-made grandeur, you should see the Biltmore Estate, built by George W. Vanderbilt in the 1890s. The 250-room mansion — patterned after 16th-century French chateaux — is accessible for self-guided tours. The trunk room and bowling alley are as unique as the library is complete. The crowds are largest at two distinct times during the year: November-December, for “Candlelight Christmas at Biltmore” — sights and sounds of a Victorian Christmas; and April-May, when spring flowers decorate the grounds and rooms.