Asheville Art Museum

20+ Great Museums in Asheville NC & Nearby

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Asheville has been known as a cultural hub in North Carolina for decades. The mid-sized mountain town is a great place to explore the region’s rich history and world-class music and art. 

Asheville is lucky enough to be the home to the third oldest museum in the state and to have pieces of art and history that you won’t see anywhere else. 

Whether you are just visiting for the day or spending a family vacation, there are plenty of amazing museums to see and visit right in Asheville

Museums in Asheville NC

To help you navigate all the wonderful museums, we made this list for you of all of our favorites, including science, art, history, and children’s museums that the whole family will enjoy.

Below, we’ve also included some great museums in towns nearby and some FAQs.

1. Asheville Art Museum

Address: 2 S Pack Square, Asheville, NC 28801

The Asheville Art Museum is an exhilarating museum full of art from the 20th and 21st centuries. The museum has three floors dedicated to sharing works of art by local artists and artists from around the world.

Guests can also enjoy community-building art-related programs for kids and adults. 

Asheville Art Musuem

2. Asheville Museum of Science

Address: 43 Patton Ave, Asheville, NC 28801

The Asheville Museum of Science is an excellent hands-on learning experience geared towards ages 2-12, but with many exhibits that are fun for the whole family.

Found in the center of downtown Asheville, visitors can experience interactive exhibits like climbing structures, a large gem collection, toddler play areas, dinosaur exhibits, and much more.

Asheville Museum of Science

3. Asheville Museum of History

Address: 283 Victoria Rd, Asheville, NC 28801

The Asheville Museum of History can be found in a beautiful 1840s brick mansion just outside of downtown Asheville. It is one of the city’s oldest surviving houses in the city and is home to a diverse selection of Western North Carolina history and artifacts. 

The museum houses five galleries with permanent and rotating exhibits. Guests can experience guided tours and virtual tours of the house itself, including the fascinating historical exhibits.

With an admission of just five dollars for adults and free for kids, this is a great place to check out while in the area. 

4. Asheville Pinball Museum

Address: 1 Battle Square Ste 1b, Asheville, NC 28801

The Asheville Pinball Museum is a unique “all-you-can-play” pinball museum with over 75 antique, authentic pinball machines and other arcade games.

The museum also offers snacks, beer, and other refreshments for visitors during their gameplay. 

Asheville Pinball Museum Arcade Games

Entrance to the Pinball Museum is first come-first serve, and it does get busy, especially during summer. Tickets are $15 per person for all-day gameplay. 

Asheville Pinball Museum

5. Moogseum

Address: 56 Broadway Street (Front, Asheville, NC 28801

Bob Moog was an electronic music pioneer and a famous American engineer.

The Moogseum brings his visions to life with interactive exhibits, hands-on learning, an immersive electricity dome, science experiments, and more.

This unique museum will provide an experience you can’t get anywhere that includes fun for people of all ages. 

It is highly recommended to purchase tickets to the Moogseum online ahead of your arrival.

Tickets reserve time for each guest to spend one hour exploring the exhibits, which excludes time at the museum’s gift shop. Kids seven and under are free. 

Moogseum

6. Estes-Winn Antique Car Museum

Address: 111 Grovewood Rd, Asheville, NC 28804

Estes-Winn Antique Car Museum holds Asheville’s only antique car collection and includes vintage vehicles owned by Harry D. Bloomberg and 1920s car relics.

The museum is located inside a 1920s Biltmore Industries building and still has some of the original wood flooring. 

Estes-Winn Antique Car Museum is free with a $5 suggested donation and is closed January-March. 

7. Black Mountain College Museum + Arts CenterAddress: 120 College St, Asheville, NC 28801

Black Mountain College was a community-building and arts-centered education center that was open from 1933 to 1957. Today, the center stands as a history museum of the beloved collage, as well as an art museum and performance art center. 

Guests can enjoy the permanent and rotating art exhibits from local artists, including historical features. The museum and center are free to visit, though donations are always accepted. 

8. The Biltmore Estate

Address: 1 Lodge St, Asheville, NC 28803

The Biltmore Estate is Asheville, NC’s oldest and most famous home. The castle was built in 1895 in the French Renaissance style and holds 250 rooms and beautiful gardens.

Sitting on over 8,000 acres, the gorgeous mansion is the perfect place to explore and learn a little bit about Asheville’s history. 

Biltmore Gardens

Guests can enjoy the over 20 miles of hiking and biking trails that are all across the property, as well as the gardens. Tours are given of the mansion daily, and you may be lucky to find an art display or holiday show during the winter season.

Biltmore Estate is a must stop from Charlotte to Asheville NC

You can even stay in the Biltmore Estate at the Village Hotel, The Inn, or any of the Cottages. While on your trip to Asheville, the Biltmore Estate is certainly something you can’t miss.

Biltmore Estate

9. Asheville World of Radio

Address: WPVM Studios, 34 Wall St, Suite 407, Asheville, NC 28801

Asheville World of Radio is Asheville’s oldest radio center, located in the heart of downtown Asheville.

Guests can experience a large collection of vintage radios and records, including memorabilia, photographs, and more. Tours can be requested.  

10. Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center

Address: 195 Hemphill Knob Rd, Asheville, NC 28803

If you aren’t familiar with the Blue Ridge Parkway, then you’re in store for something amazing. This beautiful 469-mile drive takes you through the Blue Ridge Mountains and includes sights that you won’t get anywhere else. 

This resource center offers maps and trails of the area, in addition to several exhibits of animals and nature found in WNC. There is also an easy 1.5-mile loop surrounding the center that is great for younger kids. 

Museums in Asheville NC stop by the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitors Center

11. The Southern Appalachian Radio Museum

Address: Room 315 in A B Tech College, Elm Building, 27 Tech Dr, Asheville, NC 28801

The Southern Appalachian Radio Museum is a small radio museum found at the Elm Building on the campus of Asheville-Buncombe Technical College.

The museum has great historical exhibits tracing history from the early days of radio up through the 1960s and today. Tours can be set up for a small $5 fee. Otherwise, admission is free for everyone.

12. Folk Art Center

Address: 382 Blue Ridge Pkwy, Asheville, NC 28805

The Folk Art Center can be reached just off of the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 382. The museum is a historical hub for Appalachian arts and crafts and shares old relics, paintings, photographs, and more. Guests can find a library, arts and crafts center, and exhibition spaces within the building. 

13. Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site

Address: 52 N Market St, Asheville, NC 28801

The Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Site shares the home of writer Thomas Wolfe and the Old Kentucky boarding house in which he lived as a child.

This famous landmark shares an Asheville history through old relics, artifacts, books, photographs, and more. Tours of the home are offered for $5 (or free for kids under 6). 

Thomas Wolfe Memorial

14. Grovewood Village

Address: 111 Grovewood Rd, Asheville, NC 28804 

Grovewood Village is a beautiful hidden gem and an important historical site for Asheville. The Village is 11 acres and encompasses everything that makes Asheville unique and beautiful.

While guests can explore the lands, they can also head inside and see art exhibits, history exhibits, and more, all describing Asheville to the fullest. 

It is free to visit Grovewood Village. However, guests can drop off donations at the Estes-Winn Antique Car Museum. 

Museums near Asheville NC

Though there is plenty to see in Asheville, there are also some amazing places to check out in the nearby towns. Add these to your sightseeing list while visiting.

🏛️ Hands On! – A Child’s Gallery

Address: 318 N Main St, Hendersonville, NC 28792

Hands On! It is one of the best museums for children and offers creative, interactive exhibits for kids to play with and explore. These exciting exhibits include science, art, music, and play that is perfect for ages 0-12.

Located just 30 minutes from Asheville, this is the perfect place to bring kids on a rainy day or to get out some energy and play.

Hands On! Children's Museum

🏛️ Swannanoa Valley Museum and History Center

Address: 223 W State St, Black Mountain, NC 28711

The Swannanoa Valley Museum is the general history museum of Buncombe County and can be found in a 1921 firehouse in downtown Black Mountain, NC.

The museum shares local history and displays one major temporary exhibit at least once a year to bring something new and fresh to the area. 

Admission to the Swannanoa Valley Museum is free, though donations are accepted.

outside the Swannanoa Valley Museum

🏛️ Oconaluftee Visitor Center | Farm Museum

Address: 1194 Newfound Gap Rd, Cherokee, NC 28719

Oconaluftee Visitor Center is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s first visitors center to be made since 1960 and offers tons of resources and information about the area.

The site was once a Cherokee Village and now serves at the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 

The museum holds many artifacts and historical relics celebrating and sharing the lives of the Cherokee Native Americans and natural exhibits from the park.

Guests can also visit the Farm Museum, located on-site, which allows visitors to see a carefully preserved 20th-century log house with a barn, apple house, and working blacksmith shop. 

20+ Great Museums in Asheville NC & Nearby

🏛️ The Carl Sandburg Home

Address: 1800 Little River Rd, Flat Rock, NC 28731

Carl Sandburg was a famous poet and beloved man of Asheville, North Carolina, who lived in the area between 1878 and 1967.

This home, located in Flat Rock, was the home in which he lived his last days and created many beautiful poems. 

Admission to the Carl Sandburg home is free.

The Carl Sandburg Home

🏛️ Western North Carolina Air Museum

Address: 1340 E Gilbert St, Hendersonville, NC 28792

The Western North Carolina Air Museum is a fabulous aviation museum that holds fun things for all ages. This museum is dedicated to sharing the history of flight and where flying truly came from.

Guests will be able to see planes dating back to 1917 and even touch and sit inside an antique jet. 

Check online for car shows, plane shows, and helicopter rides that often take place at the Western North Carolina Air Museum. It is free to visit but donations are appreciated. 

Planes at the Western North Carolina Air Museum

🏛️ Museum of the Cherokee Indian

Address: 589 Tsali Blvd, Cherokee, NC 28719

The Museum of the Cherokee Indians is a non-profit cultural arts museum that is dedicated to teaching and preserving the history of the Cherokee Native Americans.

Guests will be able to explore permanent and rotating exhibits that include pictures, artifacts, videos, and more that talk about the history of the area. There are also many wonderful educational programs and a museum store. 

🏛️ Dale’s Wheels Through Time Museum

Address: 62 Vintage Ln, Maggie Valley, NC 28751

Dale’s Wheels is an antique motorcycle museum that is home to over 300 rare and vintage motorcycles and American automobiles.

This premier museum brings in thousands of visitors a year from all over the world to see automobiles you won’t find anywhere else. 

​​Where To Stay in Asheville, NC

📍Aloft Asheville DowntownAloft is a hip, modern hotel in downtown Asheville. The hotel is almost a museum itself, with funky colors, interesting art pieces, and warm, cozy rooms to keep you comfortable during your stay. Guests can enjoy the accommodations of the heated outdoor pool, on-site restaurant and bar, fitness center, city views, family rooms, and gourmet breakfast. Aloft is also pet-friendly.

Aloft Hotel Entrance

📍Grand Bohemian Hotel – The Grand Bohemian Hotel is a 4-star luxury hotel that provides top-of-the-line accommodations to everyone who enjoys a stay. The hotel has just about everything you could ask for, from a full-service spa and excellent restaurant/bar to a state-of-the-art fitness center, free bathrobes with every room, 24/7 room service, and more. This is the perfect stay for a luxury solo getaway or a romantic couples vacation. 

📍Holiday Inn Express & Suites Asheville Downtown – You can’t go wrong with a stay at Holiday Inn Express, located in downtown Asheville, less than one mile from the Asheville Art Museum and many of the city’s local parks and restaurants. The spacious family-style rooms offer great views of the city and provide clean, comfortable accommodations for all guests. More perks of Asheville’s Holiday Inn Express include two swimming pools, a fitness center, and continental breakfast.

📍Spacious Montford Hideaway | 1 Bedroom –  This private one-bedroom is perfect for a couple’s trip to Asheville. The home is perfectly secluded but is just a short walk away from downtown Asheville and many Asheville attractions. Included are all the amenities two people might need to feel extremely comfortable during their stay. 

📍Beautiful 2 Bedroom Suite 1.5 miles to the Center of Asheville – Only one and a half miles from Asheville’s historic district is this beautiful, cozy home that is perfect for small families or couples. The home has cozy furniture, artful decor, and plenty of space to sit back and relax. Across the home, guests will even find an urban garden with fresh fruits and veggies during the warm summer months. 

Museums in Asheville NC: FAQs

📌 Is downtown Asheville worth visiting?
Downtown Asheville is absolutely worth visiting! Downtown Asheville is considered to be one of the coolest and fun downtowns in North Carolina and has many great things to offer.

📌 What is the famous house in Asheville?
The Biltmore House is the most famous house in Asheville. 

📌What are the best times of year to visit Asheville?
Every season has something fun going on in Asheville. However, many find that spring and fall are the best times. This is when crowds have thinned out, the weather is perfectly mild, and many fun activities are still going on.

📌Is Asheville a walkable city?
Practically all of Asheville is very walkable. You can get around most of the city without a car, and it’s safe and easy.

📌How far is Asheville from the beach?
The closest beach to Asheville is pretty much a tie, Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island, and Folly Beach, around a 4-hour and 20-minute drive. 

📌How far apart are Raleigh and Asheville?
Asheville is 247 miles from Raleigh or just under a four-hour drive.

📌How cold does it get in Asheville, North Carolina?
It can get below freezing at night, but the typical cold temps are between 30-50 degrees F in the winter.

📌Is Asheville, NC, humid in the summer?
Asheville is in a “subtropical climate,” so the city does experience humid summers. Typically, September is the most humid month of the year. 

Final Thoughts

There is so much to behold in and around Asheville that is perfectly displayed through a vast array of museums and cultural centers. You can find just about anything you’re looking for, from kids’ places to science museums and tons of places to learn about art and the history of Asheville and North Carolina. We hope your trip to the great city includes some of these wonderful exhibits. 

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