At 6’3” and 240 pounds, wildlife photographer James Evans is often perceived as a threat, but it’s not the birds who are afraid. It’s the humans. And it’s not about his size, but rather his skin color.

“People don’t expect for brown and Black people to be in these spaces,” says Evans. He’s been called the N-word, watched suspiciously, and asked if his camera was a gun. “What you are really saying is, ‘You don’t belong here.’”

It’s something Evans has been dealing with his entire life—as the Black kid who liked and excelled at art. He grew up off Park Heights Avenue, just south of Northern Parkway, and the Baltimore School for the Arts changed his life.

“The school was like someone pulled back a curtain on the whole world, and I was hungry for it,” says Evans, who discovered photography there, falling in love with the freedom of the camera. “I didn’t have to clean up paints, I didn’t need a studio.” But he never felt like he had to choose photography over other art mediums. “I realized it was essentially all storytelling—you’re either sculpting a story, drawing a story, or photographing a story. But it’s all some form of narration.”

It’s that need for storytelling that prompted Evans, founder and CEO of Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity, a national nonprofit based in Baltimore, to self-publish Among the Birds, I Am Human, a book that mixes his bird photographs—hawks, ospreys, eagles, and barred owls, among many others—with his poetry, including a piece called “Why Are You Here?”

In most places—museums, stores, even his own neighborhood—Evans says, “he’s watched like a hawk.” It bothers him most when he’s out enjoying nature.

“It’s even more apparent when you’re simply outside and someone treats you as though you shouldn’t be there.”

Especially since the birds don’t care about skin color.

“Respectful and quiet I stare at you still,” writes Evans in his book. “Grateful your wisdom trust no man on this hill / Not moved by the Blackness that covers my build / It’s only my ‘humanity’ that sends fear down your quills / Among the Birds, I am Human / In this, I delight, here as a stranger in wonder of flight.”

He hopes that the book will help others recognize their biases—those who see him and hesitate or walk in a different direction.

“I want everybody to know that I belong,” says Evans. “I belong inside of a space that’s associated with beauty and nature because all of us do. I belong in those places just as much as anyone else.”

Has the climate crisis impacted your shopping habits recently? Maybe you’ve decided to patronize a secondhand clothing store or refurbish an antique piece of furniture for your home. Those choices matter, and that’s what the new exhibition Naturally Beautiful: Uncovering Nature in the Nineteenth-Century Home, opening March 11 at the Homewood Museum at Johns Hopkins, aims to explore.

The exhibit implores visitors to consider that the prominent Carroll family, who resided for a short period at Homewood, likely faced the same predicament that we do now as shoppers, deciding between conservation or consumerism.

“We’re committed to taking objects that we carefully furnish this house with and looking at them in new and interesting ways,” Homewood assistant curator Michelle Fitzgerald says.

In Naturally Beautiful, the Homewood Museum displays its collection of decorative art and furnishings in distinct rooms or environments throughout the home to show 19th-century homeowners’ relationship to nature, their increasing appreciation for it, and how their choices affected the environment.

“The idea is that the consumer habits of the 19th century truly impacted the environment,” says the museum’s director and curator Julie Rose, “which is something not unfamiliar to us today, and exploring how our predecessors valued mother nature,”

One of Fitzgerald’s favorite pieces on display is a mahogany desk from the 1800s. “It has these beautiful inlays,” she says. “And its primary wood is mahogany, which was hugely popular in colonial America. At this point, while it’s so popular and is considered a luxury item, the Jamaican mahogany trade is almost done because they’ve harvested all of the commercially viable lumber…Today, we still don’t have great commercial mahogany around.”

Visitors can also expect to see Homewood’s popular Blue John urns prominently displayed. Blue John is a semi-precious mineral often featuring eye-catching veins of electric blue and purple. Today, it can only be found in a limited number of mines and caverns in Derbyshire, England. Other featured raw materials among the household items and apparel in the exhibit include silver, coral, and bird feathers.

Naturally Beautiful also explores the growing popularity of picnicking in the 19th century. The curatorial team has created a picnic setting inside Homewood that speaks to the movement of appreciating the environment in a safe, recreational way.

“There were tables, wine, toys for the children, and enslaved people were tasked with setting up this luxurious environment all to admire the beautiful natural setting surrounding Homewood,” Rose says. “This was typical of wealthy Baltimoreans who had summer retreats.”

This exhibition was more than a year in the making, with much research conducted by curatorial assistant and JHU senior Ian Waggoner.

“We spent time interviewing and working with Hopkins’ environmental science and anthropology departments and learning from those professors,” Fitzgerald says. “It’s been a wonderful opportunity to bring in new departments, and hopefully visitors, to the museum.”

Rose and Fitzgerald both hope that, after seeing the exhibit, visitors are more aware of their consumer habits and look at the objects in their home differently.

“This exhibit supports the idea of recognizing that our natural environment provides so much beauty, but it’s at a cost,” Rose says, “and appreciating the beautiful things and materials that go into making things for the home.”

Naturally Beautiful runs at the Homewood Museum from March 11 to June 5.

Those of us who are city residents tend to regard our relationship with nature as an afterthought. Our interaction with wildlife typically involves securing our trashcan lids to deter rats and the occasional smell of fresh-cut grass feels like nothing short of a revelation.

But, in truth, people living in urban areas are surrounded by nature—whether we realize it or not. And the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) wants to remind city residents there are things they can do to protect biodiversity and watershed health right in their own backyard. For the second year in a row, the national organization is hosting Baltimore Wildlife Week from May 3-11, a chance for community members to come together to increase green space, mitigate nuisance flooding, improve water quality, and beautify neighborhoods.

“We were really inspired by similar events in Los Angeles and Seattle, but this is the only event like this on the East Coast,” says Holly Gallagher, NWF regional education manager. “In Baltimore, specifically, it will be a lot about focusing on pollinators, the Chesapeake Bay watershed and iconic species that people can relate like orioles and oysters.”

The organization has worked with a number of partners over the past eight months to plan the week-long program including the National Aquarium, Waterfront Partnership, Blue Water Baltimore, neighborhood associations, and what may seem like an unlikely partner in Charm City Meadworks—which has really embraced the cause and ran with it.

“We produce a product that relies heavily on clean water, bees, and other pollinators every day,” says Derek Vaughn Brown, marketing coordinator at Charm City Meadworks, which is making a special mead with local ingredients for the occasion. “It’s hard to sit idly by when you make something that relies on nature and so we’ve help take the lead on bringing people together and creating some fun events.”

Those events kick off these weekend in the Meadworks taproom, first with a dance party where urban creature costumes are encouraged and a portion of the proceeds go to Baltimore Wildlife Week. The taproom will also feature a pop-up exhibition curated by local artist Bridget Parlato, a show where scientists will discuss their research and get “gonged” if it gets too wonky, and a Jones Falls Watershed walking tour on Sunday that benefits Blue Water Baltimore and Baltimore Heritage.

“The easiest way to physically show people how close we are to nature is take this two-mile walk from Druid Hill Park down to Round Falls,” Brown says. “The idea is to walk along the river, ask thought-provoking questions, and realize nature is all around us.”

Beyond that, there are a ton of other environmental events throughout the week, including a volunteer cleanup on May 6 at Camden Yards, where NWF created a 10,000-square-foot oriole habitat to try and attract the real birds to the stadium. Plus, community conservation forum will take place at Whitelock Farm in Reservoir Hill, the B’More Wild Fest & GreenScape will take over Middle Branch Park, and the first community-preserved forest in Baltimore City will be celebrated in the Glenham-Belhar neighborhood.

“Our big goal is to make these events accessible to different neighborhoods and utilize underused space in the city,” Gallagher says. “We try to focus on issues that are important to people—whether it’s reducing trash, saving money on energy bills, or improving your mental and physical health by having a green space to walk to.”

Gallagher stresses that, while this is a wonderful week to focus on the environment, NWF is working on these initiatives in urban areas all year-round. In fact, last year the organization helped establish Baltimore City as a certified Community Wildlife Habitat, something that may come as a surprise when you choose to only see brick, Formstone, and concrete.

“The more we work with community residents, the more these neighborhoods will change,” Gallagher says. “If kids grow up with that change already instilled in them, there are more likely to have that environmental stewardship as a priority from the start.”

At the turn of the 20th century, the Eastern United States was covered in billions of chestnut trees. In some places, such as the Appalachian Mountains and Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where they thrived in sandy soil, one-quarter of all hardwoods were the majestic chestnut, known as the “Redwoods of the East,” as some stood more than 100 feet tall. 

Chestnuts produced uniquely rot-resistant timber, and, for three centuries, most homes east of the Mississippi River were built out of their wood. In the summer, so many trees burst into white blossoms that whole swaths of countryside appeared to be draped in cotton. And each fall, so many ripe nuts fell to the ground that they became a staple of the Native-American diet and, later, a roasted holiday favorite, even celebrated in song. 

“There was nothing like the American chestnut,” says Gary Carver, president of the Maryland chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation. Then they all began dying.

A crippling fungal pathogen accidently imported from Asia spread rapidly from Maine to Georgia, and by 1950 the blight had all but eliminated the ancient species. “It’s been called one of the greatest forest losses in history,” says Carver, noting that most living Americans have never seen a chestnut. 

But remarkably, six decades after their near extinction, the trees appear to be on the cusp of a comeback, including in Maryland, where 250 volunteers oversee 16 orchards dedicated to bringing them back to life. Since the 1980s, the TACF has been breeding a handful of surviving American chestnuts with naturally fungus-resistant Chinese chestnuts. They then “backcross” the successful trees over several generations with the intention of one day creating viable hybrids that are 94 percent American chestnut. 

With breeding orchards now in nine local counties, Carver says Maryland is getting close to producing its own new fungus-resistant chestnuts. 

“The process takes six generations, but the trees grow quickly,” says Carver, a retired physicist and bird-carving woodworker. “I’m confident we’ll see American chestnuts in the forest again, hosting squirrels and blue jays.”

While we aim to spread peace and goodwill during the holiday season, a home full of visiting family and bored kids on winter vacation can quickly bring out the worst in even the best hosts. When you’ve run out of things to do at home (we get it—you can only watch so many Hallmark Channel movies), break the cabin fever and get the whole crew out of the house. Crisp, sunny days call for a walk through nature, and area gardens and conservancies like the Eastern Shore’s Adkins Arboretum or Harpers Ferry National Historic Park in West Virginia more than deliver.

While many are more popular in the spring and summer months when foliage is in full bloom, winter offers a different—and sometimes better—perspective, like at the Wolf Sanctuary of PA in Lititz, where animals are most active in colder temperatures. Don’t let bad weather hold you back, either. The anticipation of sampling a hot, crisp potato chip straight off the factory line will get even the most skeptical kids into the car on a gloomy day for a tour of Southern Pennsylvania’s Utz Factory. Or explore the Main Streets of historic Middleburg, Virginia, which amp up their signature small-town charm with holiday décor. The best part? All 10 of these family-approved winter adventures are within a 2-hour drive from Baltimore.

Catch a Glimpse

A guided tour of the Wolf Sanctuary of PA (465 Speedwell Forge Rd., Lititz, PA, 717-626-4617) gives visitors an inside look into the daily lives and unique personalities of the more than 40 wolves (and wolf-dogs) who have found a home at this 80-plus-acre wooded property in Pennsylvania Dutch country. What started as a private rescue more than 30 years ago has evolved into a nonprofit educational center that provides food, shelter, and veterinary care to wolves who couldn’t survive in nature. (The creatures are exceedingly rare, as wild wolves haven’t lived in the Keystone State for more than 100 years.)

Strap on your hiking boots, and in less than 2 hours, you’ll be in awe of the raw power and grace of animals such as Sir Bear, a fluffy grey-and-white wolf with golden eyes who was rescued from a private zoo. For the chance to see all the packs, book a private tour in advance.

If birds of prey are more your style, pack binoculars and head to the Conowingo Dam (4948 Conowingo Rd., Conowingo, 410-457-5011), which attracts more than 100 bald eagles throughout the fall and winter. The spot on the Susquehanna River is well known among bird watchers as one of the best places east of the Mississippi to spot large groups of the eagles, which come here to fish. Serious spectators gather before sunrise to stake out a prime location along the overlook railing, as the national birds feast just 30 yards away along the opposite river bank. Those interested in learning more about local wildlife should stop by the visitor center or escape the throngs of photographers by walking part of the Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway Trail. An improved section of the wide, flat path follows the river’s west bank for 2.2 miles, beginning at the dam parking lot and ending at the trout-filled Deer Creek.

Feed the Munchies

Got a craving for a mid-week getaway? Get those couch potatoes off the sofa and on the road for a tour of Southern Pennsylvania’s snack factories. Just an hour north across the state line, start with Snyder’s of Hanover (1350 York St., Hanover, PA, 800-233-7125), where a 30-minute guided tour walks visitors through the pretzel baking process, from the raw ingredient warehouse to the heavenly smell of the oven room. Less than a half-hour northeast in Thomasville, rival treat-toter Martin’s (5847 W. Lincoln Hwy., Thomasville, PA, 717-792-3265) offers one of the most immersive excursions in the area (if you can convince your family to don hairnets). The 45-minute tour follows the potato from truck to fryer, with salty chip samples along the way.

Balance out the savory snacks by continuing north to Hershey’s Chocolate World (101 Chocolate World Way, Hershey, PA, 717-534-4900), where you can indulge your inner Willy Wonka by creating your own chocolate bar or let the experts guide you through an equally delicious tasting. Finally, on your way home, stop at the Utz Factory (900 High St. Hanover, PA, 800-367-7629), where a small museum displays old objects such as retro tin packaging and Sallie Utz’ original potato slicer, which dates back to the 1920s. Take the stairs up to the glass observation deck to look down on the busy production floor before hitting up the nearby factory outlet on Carlisle Street to shop the brand’s full selection of flavors.

Day Trip With a View

Set on the banks of Brandywine Creek in Pennsylvania, bucolic Chadds Ford is best known for inspiring the work of a generation of early 20th-century painters and illustrators, much of which is now on display at the Brandywine River Museum of Art (1 Hoffmans Mill Rd., Chadds Ford, PA, 610-388-2700). Perched along the water’s edge, the museum houses a permanent collection that includes 19th- and 20th-century landscapes that reflect the beauty of the surrounding countryside. Most notable is the work of 20th-century realist painter Andrew Wyeth, alongside that of his father, illustrator N.C. Wyeth (revered for his early illustrations of Treasure Island and Last of the Mohicans), and his son, contemporary painter Jamie Wyeth. (Nearby, guided tours of Wyeth studios provide a more personal glimpse into the local artists’ lives.) Through January 7, nearly 2,000 feet of model train track will also take over the atrium for the beloved seasonal exhibition, A Brandywine Christmas.

For more natural wonders in the Brandywine Valley, drive 10 minutes west to Longwood Gardens (1001 Longwood Rd., Kennett Square, 610-388-1000). With nearly 400 acres accessible to the public, plan to spend three to four hours exploring the historic grounds and their outdoor gardens that range from formal to whimsical. If you get chilly, move inside the conservatory to see the Indoor Children’s Garden, designed to engage little ones with fanciful sculptures and fountains, or the iconic Orangery greenhouse, decked with poinsettias and Christmas trees during the holiday season. Through January 7, A Longwood Christmas also transforms the gardens into a festive display inspired by the splendor of France’s Versailles. Think glittering mirrors, ornate topiaries, and more than 50 decorated trees, with choreographed fountain shows, strolling carolers, and thousands of twinkling lights.

Looking for an Eastern Shore adventure? Get outside with a visit to the Adkins Arboretum (12610 Eveland Rd., Ridgely, 410-634-2847), set on 400 acres adjacent to Tuckahoe State Park. Start at the visitors center, where staff will point you to what’s in bloom or where to catch a glimpse of wildlife while helping you map out your visit. Borrow an audio guide for a 35-stop tour along the 5 miles of paths or to discover the little-known connection between the local scenery and the Underground Railroad. Kids can get their hands in the dirt at the Children’s Funshine Garden, designed with sensory education in mind, or let out some energy at the First Light Village Playspace. Made almost entirely of natural materials, this scout-built play area includes wigwams, tree stumps, and a balance beam that’s sure to tire out your young explorers before it’s time to head home.

Get Back on the Saddle

Located two hours away, the small town of Middleburg, Virginia, (population: 828) transforms into an idyllic holiday destination beginning with its all-out Christmas parade on the first Saturday of December. Walk the brick sidewalks of Washington Street, where antique shops and boutiques have made homes out of historic stone and brick buildings. On the corner of Madison Street, the Red Fox Inn & Tavern (2 E. Washington St., Middleburg, VA, 540-687-6301)—a dormered fieldstone structure trimmed with wreaths and garland—has been serving travelers since 1728. Inside at the Night Fox Pub, you can warm up with a glass of wine from one of the area’s many vineyards. Known as the nation’s horse and hunt capital, Middleburg became a destination for foxhunting and steeplechasing at the turn of the 20th century. Learn more at the National Sporting Library & Museum (102 The Plains Rd., Middleburg, VA, 540-687-6542), a research center for horse and field sports with a special exhibition (through January 14) that showcases the equine in ancient Greek art, including pottery and coins dating back centuries.

Escape to the Ice

Nothing says holiday fun quite like lacing up a pair of ice skates. Luckily, outdoor rinks pop up throughout the state starting early in the winter season. Beginning in November, families can flock to the expansive, tree-lined ice rink at Quiet Waters Park (600 Quiet Waters Park Rd., Annapolis, 410-222-1777) in Anne Arundel County, equipped with a sturdy framework for less-experienced skaters in need of training wheels. (Just be sure to bring cash or checks, as admission and skate rentals don’t accept credit cards.) At Frank J. Hutchins Memorial Park (121 St. John St., Havre de Grace, 410-638-3570) in Harford County, skaters swirl around a synthetic ice rink that’s run by a different nonprofit group each week during the holiday season in exchange for a portion of profits.

Only have a few hours to spare? You can still get the blood flowing at the Pandora Ice Rink (201 E. Pratt St., 443-743-3308) at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor through January 15, part of the annual “It’s a Waterfront Life” holiday events hosted by the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore. The 6,000-square-foot rink is located at the top of the Harbor Amphitheater at the corner of Light and Pratt streets, beneath the shimmer of the city skyline and in view of the USS Constellation. Really looking to stretch your legs? At 7,200 square feet, the outdoor rink in the Rockville Town Square (131 Gibbs St., Rockville, 301-545-1999) plaza is the largest outdoor rink in Montgomery County, with themed nights where you can throw it back to the ’90s or spin to Michael Jackson’s greatest hits. While you’re headed toward Western Maryland, swing by Silver Spring’s outdoor rink at Veterans Plaza (8523 Fenton St., Silver Spring, 301-588-1221) with its colorfully lighted pavilion roof. (Bonus points: both rinks remain open through March.)

Step Back in Time

Historic Harpers Ferry—known for its role in the Civil War and as the midpoint of the Appalachian Trail—is on the easternmost edge of West Virginia, where it borders both Virginia and Maryland at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers. This tiny town—spread over little more than a half square mile—features a quaint Lower Town neighborhood that turns green from late November to early January with evergreen garlands and festive wreaths throughout its winding streets. Dive into history at the John Brown Wax Museum (168 High St., Harpers Ferry, WV, 304-535-6342), which follows the tale of an area abolitionist who led a raid on the town’s arsenal in the 1850s, and discover many other landmarks from the Civil War era sprinkled throughout the town.

Harpers Ferry National Historic Park (767 Shenandoah St., Harpers Ferry, WV, 304-535-6029) is home to 20 miles of hiking trails, ranging from easy, riverside strolls to hardcore hikes across Civil War battlefields and up steep mountaintops to scenic vistas. At the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s AT midpoint, kids can earn a “Junior Ranger” patch by completing an activity booklet, while the C&O Canal trail passes through the heart of town. If weather permits, follow the footbridge across the Potomac River to tackle the Maryland Heights Trail for panoramic views of the valley. If you’re looking to extend your trip, Shepherdstown, West Virginia, is another charming area with antique stores, craft galleries, and a historic opera house. (It is also rumored to be the most haunted town in America, inhabited by the spirits of the wounded soldiers from the Battle of Antietam.) Across the river in Sharpsburg, Maryland, that very Antietam National Battlefield (302 E. Main St., Sharpsburg, 301-432-5124) is also worth a visit.

Get Out of This World

Need an escape that transcends the DMV? Transport the family to another planet with an easy trip to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (600 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, D.C., 202-633-2214) on the National Mall. Kids will love How Things Fly, a hands-on exhibit where they can push, pull, and twist their way to understanding the concept of flight. Gadget-lovers shouldn’t miss a collection of Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (basically super-drones).

If the thought of braving D.C. tourist spots during the holidays sends your blood pressure sky-high, opt for the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (14390 Air and Space Museum Pkwy., Chantilly, VA, 703-572-4118)—the museum’s companion facility in Northern Virginia. Its two huge hangars are home to the Space Shuttle Discovery and a super-sonic Concorde operated by Air France. You’ll also find memorabilia from the U.S. space program, such as the backpack propulsion device used to make the first untethered space walk and a collection of artifacts belonging to Charles Lindbergh, the first solo pilot to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.

When you get to Asheville/ Send me an e-mail/ Tell me how you’re doing/ How it’s treating you/ Did you find a new job/ Did you find a new love/ Is it everything that/ You were dreaming of —“When You Get to Asheville” by Steve Martin, Edie Brickell, and the Steep Canyon Rangers. 

When you get to Asheville, very likely you will not be in search of a new job or a new love, although you certainly might find that the western North Carolina city, framed by two mountain ranges and with a gorgeous river running through it, is not simply what you were dreaming of, but considerably more. That includes not only its bucolic setting, but also its vibrant arts and culture community, its ample supply of diverse dining choices, a plethora of imaginative vintage clothing boutiques, a mind-numbing (literally and figuratively) array of breweries/brewpubs, an astonishing number of indie bookshops, a vaunted music scene, and, perhaps most tellingly, a pervasive hip-without-trying vibe.

Often described as the “Paris of the South”—a stretch, frankly, that does a disservice to both cities—Asheville, with a manageable population of 86,000 and a distinctly unhurried sensibility, comes off more like a mini-Austin, reminiscent of the Texas capital before it mushroomed into an infrastructure inferno over the past 25 years.

About a seven-and-a-half-hour drive southwest from Baltimore, Asheville rests between the Great Smoky Mountains to the west and the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and south, with the French Broad River winding obligingly through its midst. Given this veritable surround-sound of rusticity, outdoor opportunities—hiking, climbing, and rafting/canoeing—abound. Choose from among dozens of nearby trails, from the tractable Graveyard Fields (kids can easily handle the mostly flat terrain and ogle a pair of oooo-aahhhh waterfalls) to the challenging Grandfather Mountain. (Intrepid types will appreciate its backcountry trails that require ladders and cables to ascend sheer rock faces, although it also offers less arduous treks.)

Consistently cited as a top whitewater destination by outdoors publications and organizations, Asheville’s hometown river affords both leisurely canoeing/floating and eight miles of varying-sized rapids for kayakers as its waters wend through adjacent Pisgah National Forest.

Inveterate city dwellers no doubt will prefer the concrete-and-green-space walkability of the compact downtown’s Asheville Urban Trail, a 1.7-mile amble that combines history lessons, architectural highlights, and often whimsical public art. Composed of 30 separate stations and covering five discrete historical periods dating from western North Carolina’s frontier days, each stop is marked by a sculpture, plaque, or significant building that represents and illuminates an aspect of the city’s past, including the Paul Bunyan-esque Flat Iron, the refined Art Deco S&W Building, and the elegant iron bench memorializing Elizabeth Blackwell, who, in 1849, became the first woman to earn a medical degree in the U.S.

Also on the historical beat and unquestionably the city’s top attraction (Memo to cynical tourists: You will regret shrugging it off): Biltmore Estate, the 250-room, 8,000-acre Gilded Age manor built for American aristocrat George Vanderbilt (industrialist Cornelius Vanderbilt’s grandson). Completed in 1895 as Vanderbilt’s country home, Biltmore, located just outside downtown and designed in the mode of a French Renaissance chateau, exudes an outsized opulence seldom seen in the United States. (Think Downton Abbey.) Its four floors boasting 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces—not forgetting a gargantuan indoor swimming pool, period-equipped gymnasium, and two-lane bowling alley—are extravagances Downton’s Lord and Lady Grantham would envy.

A self-guided audio tour leads visitors through high-ceilinged, ornately decorated spaces, whose names often invoke the old Clue board game—billiards room, banquet hall, music room, library, breakfast room, smoking room, and sitting room, plus dozens of “branded” bedrooms, such as the Louis XV—all brimming with the furniture, tapestries, and art (portraits by John Singer Sargent, early works by Renoir) chosen or commissioned by George Vanderbilt. The tour concludes in the vast basement, site of the servants’ quarters and their working areas, notably state-of-the-art (for the early 20th century, anyway) kitchen, laundry, and refrigerated storage closets.

The sprawling grounds—designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, also responsible for New York’s Central Park and Baltimore’s Mt. Vernon Place among other locations—feature 75 acres of formal gardens, plus informal gardens, ponds, a forest, former stables, and a spectacular greenhouse. Leisurely stroll the grounds or hike various trails, notably one that follows the French Broad River. Since 1971, the estate also has produced grapes on land formerly worked by Biltmore’s tenant farmers. A winery (tourable, like all else here), housed in the estate’s retrofitted dairy, processes those grapes into a shifting menu of Biltmore-label vintages, available for sampling in its tasting room, a recommended activity at the conclusion of a Biltmore-centric day.

Dramatically less dazzling but important for literary reasons, the Thomas Wolfe Memorial,
on the north side of downtown, permits devotees of the 20th-century
author to roam Wolfe’s childhood home, a boarding house run by his
mother. Wolfe used it as the basis for Dixieland, a rooming house in his
celebrated autobiographical novel Look Homeward, Angel; the
29-room Victorian, brimming with original furnishings, now functions as
the nation’s de facto Wolfe museum. The author rests in the city’s
Riverside Cemetery, as does 19th-century short-story king O. Henry.

Asheville’s literary bona fides extend to current author Sara Gruen (the best-selling Water for Elephants), who lives there. And the city must teem with readers judging by its numerous bookstores, from the specific—Spellbound Children’s Bookshop, Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar—to the general, Malaprop’s and Downtown Books & News, the latter two distinctive for yin-yang reasons.

Malaprop’s
stock, all new, ranges from bestsellers to histories to literary
fiction to graphic novels—Stephen King cheek-by-jowl with George
Saunders—many affixed with scribbled staff recommendations. You get the
unmistakable impression that the people who work here love to read.
Downtown Books & News, by contrast, groans with shelves of used
volumes (everything imaginable) and a remarkable selection of
thoughtful, often obscure magazines and journals, plus alternative
comics and a rack of local/regional magazines.

Downtown Books sits amid a bustling Lexington Avenue shopping district, chock-a-block with clothing boutiques, restaurants, bars, and coffee/tea shops. Tightly bunched, the trio of Honeypot, Hip Replacements, and Vintage Moon
artfully mixes smartly chosen retro and new women’s wear and
accessories. (Vintage Moon seems to have bought out Stevie Nicks’s old
stage outfits.) Pop into Dobrá Tea or adjacent Izzy’s Coffee Den to admire your purchases, check your e-mail, or simply catch your breath.

Even better, walk a few blocks south to French Broad Chocolate Lounge,
source of the “liquid truffle,” 4.5 ounces of thick, complexly flavored
chocolate bliss: pure dark, milk chocolate, lavender and honey, and
cayenne and cinnamon (among other choices), the latter combo producing a
satisfying scalp sweat like the one induced by Indian food, and all of
them requiring a tiny spoon for consumption. Also available, a dizzying
array of intensely chocolate options, both drinkable (hot and cold) and
edible (bars, cakes, cookies, tarts, brownies, mousses, and trifles).
They take chocolate to the level of nerdy connoisseurship here, buying
cocoa beans from farmers in Peru, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua; processing
them in small batches at the business’s own nearby “bean-to-bar”
factory; and listing the percentage of chocolate purity on its products
and menu.

What with the extreme coziness of the city, it seems
silly to stay anywhere but downtown, allowing you to stow the car except
for trips to Biltmore and outdoors activities. A mere stroll to the
city center, the Arts and Crafts-style Carolina Bed & Breakfast,
located in the Montford Historic District, offers six rooms and a
cottage, all with fireplaces and free Wi-Fi. The full breakfast includes
breads, cookies, and cakes, plus jams and jellies, made in the Carolina
kitchen, augmented by vegetables grown in its garden or sourced
locally.

Smack dab in the middle of the city, Aloft Hotel,
the boutique brand of the Starwood chain, evinces a palpable modernity
without tipping over into streamlined soullessness. Smoke-free,
pet-friendly, and blessed with a rooftop pool that affords an unimpeded
mountain vista, it opened in 2012 and still glistens with a shiny,
happy—if corporate—ambiance.

Topping Asheville’s wide range of
dining cuisines for visitors, not surprisingly: Southern. (Would you
order Italian food on vacation in Hong Kong?) In terms of price, you can
go high-end at The Blackbird (grilled pork chop with bourbon sweet potatoes and caramelized apples), medium at Tupelo Honey (Southern fried-chicken saltimbocca with country ham and mushroom Marsala), or down-home at the lunch-only 12 Bones Smokehouse, where President Obama has dropped in for ribs on three occasions.

Perhaps more intriguing, though, is the Tex-Mex-meets-Deep-South Local Taco,
which packs its tacos with pork-butt barbecue, buttermilk-fried
chicken, or smoked brisket, joined by de rigueur sides of collard greens
and Mexi tater tots.

Meanwhile, don’t even consider breakfast or lunch anywhere but the cheery Early Girl Eatery,
which infuses its Southern-ness with healthfulness (gluten-free
options!). A few hearty and occasionally heart-clogging examples: shrimp
with grits; vegan tofu scramble; fried pie filled with pork belly,
caramelized onions, and spinach-and-cheese curd; banana-walnut pancakes
accompanied by garlic potato cakes topped with tomato gravy; and
shiitake mushroom/green tomato/cheese-curd quiche. Biscuits are advised,
spread with real butter and raspberry jam from a squeeze container.

Asheville’s
groovier-than-thou attitude has resulted in a cornucopia of vegetarian
restaurants, all serviceable, with one standout: Rosetta’s Kitchen, whose staff brings a punk-y vitality to the food, customer service (direct but cordial), and raging in-house soundtrack.

Like
Baltimore, Asheville has become the beneficiary of—or fallen victim
to—the food-truck phenomenon, boasting a handful of roving restaurants.
When touring the urban trail, shopping, or browsing bookshops, keep an
eye peeled for El Kimchi (Korean-Mexican), Ceci’s Culinary Tour (Latin American), Gypsy Queen Cuisine (Lebanese), and Pho Ya Belly (Vietnamese).

Beer
culture thrives in Asheville, with, quite possibly, more regional
specialty breweries per square mile than anywhere in the known universe.
The Asheville Brews Cruise will ferry you to tour—and
sample the wares at—nine of them: Green Man, French Broad, Pisgah,
Oyster House, Highland, Altamont, Burial, Wicked Weed, and Hi-Wire. Many
local bars and restaurants also feature these companies’ products.

Alternatively, drink directly from the source at Lexington Avenue Brewery,
whose 15 floor-to-ceiling vats chug away behind curved glass,
fermenting a constantly changing menu of craft beers in the
restaurant/brewpub’s spacious industrial-chic-meets-hippie-artisan front
dining room. Many nights, LAB devotes its back room to gigs by local,
regional, or national bands.

Nearby, the Orange Peel Social Aid & Pleasure Club hosts
similar acts several nights a week, while often welcoming bigger names,
with recent performances by Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, Drive-By
Truckers, and Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings.

Music festivals occur regularly, mostly in summer, although April features the five-day Moogfest,
sort of South by Southwest for the electronic-music set. Named in honor
of genre pioneer Robert Moog, who invented the synthesizer that bears
his name and spent his last 30 years living in Asheville, this year’s
line-up features electro avatars Kraftwerk, Pet Shop Boys, and Giorgio
Moroder, plus dozens of younger acts, notably our own Dan Deacon.

Also,
Gov’t Mule front man Warren Haynes, an Asheville native, oversees an
annual Christmas Jam that raises money for the local division of Habitat
for Humanity.

In terms of sheer numbers, perhaps only Asheville’s
visual artists outnumber its musicians, with galleries and studios
dotting the River Arts District along the French Broad,
home to nearly 200 artists and their working spaces in 22 repurposed
industrial buildings. Avail yourself of monthly “Second Saturday” art
crawls through the neighborhood from April through December. Public art
manifests itself throughout the city, especially in colorful murals
affixed to buildings and Interstate underpasses.

In short,
Asheville seems like Baby Bear’s porridge: not too cold, not too hot. It
will “treat you,” as (the contemporary) Steve and Edie wonder in their
song, just right.