Best Places for Shopping in Asheville, North Carolina

If you are visiting Asheville – or if you’re lucky enough to live there – you may be curious about the best places to go shopping in Asheville. Whether you’re looking for chain stores or unique boutiques, Asheville has a bit of something for everyone. So with your goals in mind, consider these amazing shopping venues in the “Land of the Sky” – Asheville, North Carolina.

Shopping in Asheville

We most recently visited Asheville in the summer of 2022. It was a big family trip, with three generations coming together for some rest and relaxation. We had our teen daughters with us, and of course they wanted to do some shopping, especially for back-to-school items. But I was also hoping to find some unique gifts for friends, as well as some items for myself, too.

And we all succeeded! They found some great clothes, I picked up the perfect gifts, and we all enjoyed an afternoon on the town.

Here are some of our favorite shopping areas and stores in Asheville.

1. Downtown

If you only have time to go shopping in once part of the city, make it downtown. They have such amazing, cute shops, but also some chain stores as well. There are some really cool breweries and restaurants, and downtown just has such an amazing vibe. You’re sure to find a place you absolutely love.

You can find a few chain stores downtown, typically more youthful and/or hip brands like Anthropologie, Ten Thousand Villages, Urban Outfitters, and Mast General Store.

But the real gems here are the more local stores. Some that I enjoyed are:

• Indo Apparel, which has a head shop / live music vibe with lots of Grateful Dead items
• Frock Boutique, mostly clothes (and great jeans!) plus some gifts
• Chevron Trading Post & Bead Co – beads and jewelry-making items
• Asheville Bee Charmer – local grown honey and bee-related gifts
• Curio Toy Store – I can’t resist a good toy store, and this one definite qualifies

There are so many more shops – too many to list in one post, much less shop in a single week. So take some time and explore downtown to find the perfect small business to support!

Most stores are along Wall Street, Haywood Street, Lexington Avenue, and Broadway Street. You’ll also find a number of businesses inside the Grove Arcade. It’s downtown, but I’ve listed it separately, below.

2. Grove Arcade

You may recognize the name “Grove” around Asheville – the Grove Park Inn is a famous hotel that’s extremely popular to visit. Like the Inn, the Grove Arcade is named after E. W. Grove, who made his fortune after inventing a tasteless quinine drug in the late 1800s.

The Grove Arcade was built between 1920 and 1929. Unfortunately, Mr. Grove didn’t live to see its completion; nonetheless it’s now an Asheville icon he would surely be proud of. Technically, I suppose it’s an indoor shopping mall, but not like you think of in the glory days of the shopping malls in the 1980s and 90s. The Grove Arcade has beautiful architecture, and is a backdrop for its many stores, restaurants, and even residences.

Inside you will find shops like:

Adoratherapy – vegan and cruelty-free fragrances

Asheville NC Home Crafts – the coolest yarn shop you’ll ever visit

Blue Dharma Fine Art – an amazing little art gallery

Mission at the Grove – mission-style furniture and home goods

Roberto Coin – high-end jewelry from Italy; the Asheville location was his first boutique

Also make sure to browse through the Makers Market, located outside near the south exit, with homemade crafts and local produce.

3. Biltmore Village

Biltmore Village is located on the south side of Asheville, only a few minutes by car from the Biltmore Estate itself. There is complimentary parking and you don’t have to pay to enter the Biltmore Estate just to go shopping here. And that’s a good thing, because the Village shouldn’t be missed! Some shopping venues to enjoy are:

Romantique Home – home goods imported from the south of France

Provisions Mercantile – apparel, gifts, and home goods

Olde World Christmas Shoppe – if you need to pick up this year’s Christmas ornament for your tree, this is the place to do it!

Palm Village – A Lilly Pulitzer Signature Store – Lilly Pulitzer clothes. (I’m listing this under duress. I hate LP but so many of you like it so…have at it!!)

Gardners Cottage – a cute, unique home and garden store

You’ll also find several restaurants at the Biltmore villages, along with two more breweries, and the Casablanca cigar bar.

4. Southern Highland Craft Guild at the Folk Art Center

If you want to commemorate your trip to Western North Carolina with a quality purchase, one of the best places you can go is the Southern Highland Craft Guild. You’ll find it on the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Folk Art Center, but they also have a shop at Biltmore Village and one on Tunnel Road – as well as a location at the Flat Top Manor in nearby Blowing Rock, NC.

The variety of crafts on display (and for purchase) will take your breath away. Personally, I could have spent all day just looking at the various quilts on display. (I don’t even sew…but they’re amazing!)’ The variety of crafts on display (and for purchase) will take your breath away.

This is actually where we got our yearly Christmas ornament, rather than in Biltmore Village – an angel made out of a dried okra pod. She’s really beautiful. They have gorgeous jewelry, woodworking items, home goods, fiber arts, and much more.

5. Antique stores

If you love antiques, Asheville is THE place to come shopping! You’ll want to visit the Biltmore Antiques District, which is near the Biltmore Village. You’ll find hundreds of dealers and several stores/malls in this area, where you can shop for antique furniture, jewelry, and art.

There are also a few antique stores downtown, so if you just want to try one or two places while shopping for other items, look for Lexington Park Antiques.

6. Asheville Mall

There’s also a traditional indoor shopping mall called the Asheville Mall, located on the west side of town. Here you’ll find many of the chain stores you expect in a mall of this type, including (but not limited to) Dillard’s, Belk, JC Penney, Victoria’s Secret, Zumiez, Zales, Simply Southern, Old Navy, Pacsun, and Lane Bryant. Click here for a complete directory on the mall’s website.

7. Outlet Malls

Finally, bargain hunters will love the Asheville Outlet Malls, on the southwest side of town. Look for deals on Coach, J. Crew, Kirkland’s, Levi Jeans, Lucky Brand Jeans (my favorite denim!), Nike, Osh Gosh B’Gosh, Pandora, Ralph Lauren, and more. You can find a complete directory on the outlet mall’s website.

Conclusion

As you can see, if you want to go shopping in Asheville, there are tons of places to choose. Even just narrowing it down to a location can be tough, not to mention finding the best stores that have exactly what you want. We hope this guide helps you find what you want, whether you are shopping for popular mass-produced goods or looking for that one-of-a-kind special purchase.