Kids, this is the story of how I met your mother, and it was all thanks to AVLtoday.
Ok, so maybe that’s not exactly how the 2000s sitcom went, but if Ted Mosby had consulted us for date night ideas, we could’ve shaved the show down to two seasons (and saved his kids a lot of time). Regardless, whether you’ve met “the one” or are hoping to impress someone new, we’ve got 20+ local date night ideas that are legen — wait for it — dary.
For the ones who want a night out on the town
- Grab drinks at a local bar, then head to a show at The Orange Peel, Rabbit Rabbit, or any of our city’s other amazing venues.
- Get an espresso martini at The Times Bar & Coffee Shop and then catch an indie film at Fine Arts Theatre.
- Ya like jazz? 🐝 Every Monday is jazz night at Little Jumbo, and best of all, you can get tacos at the Taco Billy food truck next door.
If the way to their heart is through their stomach
- Take a class together at Asheville Mountain Kitchen, where you can learn to prepare delicious dishes from all over the world. If fresh baked goods is more your vibe, you can also learn how to make challah, cookies, or pizza dough at Dogwood Cottage Baking.
- Visit one of Asheville’s incredible international grocery markets and make a meal at home.
- Enjoy a romantic meal together at a popular date night spot like Table, Leo’s House of Thirst, or La Bodega by Cúrate.
If you love the great outdoors
- Watch the sunset at Craggy Gardens, then head down the mountain for a scoop of ice cream at The Hop, Ultimate, or Sunshine Sammies.
- Let the picnic pros do all the planning — get a fully prepped pop-up picnic with local companies like Asheville Luxury Picnics or Asheville Picnic Company. Or DIY at one of these five local spots.
- Take a walk on the wild side and try one of these 17 local hikes.
For the ones who like to play games (just not with your heart)
- Grab a fun drink at Rocket Fizz (key lime or marshmallow soda, anyone?) after playing arcade games at the nearby Asheville Pinball Museum. There’s also the Asheville Retrocade if you want to head over to West Asheville.
- Feel more comfortable with friends around? Make it a group date and head to one of these putt-putt courses for an evening of fun that even non-golfers will enjoy.
- Get to know each other over a drink, snack, and board game of your choice at Well Played Board Game Cafe.
If you’re really hoping that it works out
- Make this date the high point of their week by booking a climbing session at Riveter or Cultivate Climbing (depending what side of town you live on). If you’re at Cultivate and want to extend the date, we suggest grabbing Sugar and Snow Gelato, heading to the French Broad Greenway, and watching the sunset on the water.
- Find inner peace (and with each other) at a Yoga in the Park class at Carrier Park.
- Stop by One World - West Asheville on a Wednesday for Latin Dance Night — show up at 8:30 p.m. for a thirty-minute dance lesson on Salsa, Bachata, Merengue, Cumbia, Reggaeton, and beyond. Or see where else you can dance any night of the week in town.
The Indigenous Walls Project has Native-made murals all over town.
Photo via @indigeneouswallsproject
If you want to get artsy
- Spend a day exploring the latest exhibit at Asheville Art Museum. Bonus points if you stop by Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff ahead of time and draw your own masterpiece at the museum’s rooftop Perspective Cafe.
- Take a glassblowing, pottery, or other craft-centric class in the River Arts District.
- Head to Foundy Street and marvel at the gorgeous graffiti and artist studios — or follow our guide to take your own mural tour of Asheville. If you want to stick to one area, there’s also the South Slope Mural Trail.
If you wanna show off by knowing all the hottest events in town
- Shameless plug: Sign up for our daily newsletter, where we call out our top picks of things to do around town. Your date doesn’t have to know we’re behind it, you can take all the credit.
- Stay up-to-date on the coolest local events around the 828 with our events page (and check out this guide for our tips on navigating the page).