Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
The Asheville area has many tailgate markets, usually in parking lots where local growers set up temporary sales stalls on certain days, and farmers' markets, which are typically larger than tailgate markets and often have permanent booths. The website of Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) has up-to-date information on all the region’s tailgate markets, U-pick farms, and farmers’ markets.
Shopping is excellent and local all over downtown Asheville, with around 200 boutiques, including more than 30 art and crafts galleries. Several streets, notably Biltmore Avenue, Broadway Street, Lexington Avenue, Haywood Street, and Wall Street, are lined with small, independently owned stores. In fact, there are only two chain retailers in all of downtown.
