This NC town is ‘on the rebound' — and ranks among nation's best places to visit
Asheville is No. 3 on a list of destinations boasting scenery, activities and restaurants that make them some of the most interesting places for travelers to check out in the country, according to results updated in late June.
'Surrounded by stunning landscapes, packed with entrepreneurial talent and evolving with the tastes of the people who settle and explore them, these destinations show off what makes the United States so distinctive,' CNN Travel wrote in its report.
To determine the best towns to visit, the website said it asked readers and contributors to nominate places across the country.
'We considered hundreds of candidates and winnowed the list to 10 by evaluating the finalists' attractions, food and beverage offerings, cultural and nightlife scenes, diversity, sense of identity, proximity to other interesting spots and 'wow factor,'' the website wrote. 'We also looked at travel essentials, including lodging options and the ease of getting there.'
Why Asheville ranks as a top travel destination
On the list of top vacation spots, Asheville was the only place in North Carolina to rank in the top 10. CNN Travel said the city ranked high for its 'scenic setting, dining and drinks, outdoor access' and art scene, adding to its legacy of being a mountain getaway destination.
'Last year, Hurricane Helene's destruction knocked Asheville off its stride,' the website wrote in its report. 'But the storm has unified this resilient community more than ever. And Asheville's mountain views, scenic trails, vibrant neighborhoods, lively arts scene and delicious food and drinks are all still here for you to enjoy.'
In a write-up about the Asheville area, CNN Travel said the hurricane closed parts of the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway and unleashed catastrophic flooding in low-lying parts of the River Arts District. But several attractions — including the iconic Biltmore Estate — are welcoming visitors as Western North Carolina rebuilds.
'Just get back up here, spend money,' Brad Childers, general manager of the Asheville-area restaurant Hell or High Water, told the outlet. 'We're open, we're ready. Everything is still gorgeous. These mountains are still here — they're not going anywhere.'
The city isn't a stranger to being recognized as a fan-favorite destination. Earlier this year, it was named one of the nation's best places for beer lovers and one of the South's top cities, McClatchy News reported.
In the more recent rankings, the No. 1 place to take a trip was Ithaca, New York, a roughly 55-mile drive southwest from Syracuse. Rounding out the top five:
Missoula, Montana, at No. 2Bend, Oregon, at No. 4Annapolis, Maryland, at No. 5
CNN Travel didn't share additional information with McClatchy News on July 3.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
12 hours ago
- Miami Herald
This NC town is ‘on the rebound' — and ranks among nation's best places to visit
A North Carolina city is 'on the rebound' — and ranks among the nation's best places to visit. Asheville is No. 3 on a list of destinations boasting scenery, activities and restaurants that make them some of the most interesting places for travelers to check out in the country, according to results updated in late June. 'Surrounded by stunning landscapes, packed with entrepreneurial talent and evolving with the tastes of the people who settle and explore them, these destinations show off what makes the United States so distinctive,' CNN Travel wrote in its report. To determine the best towns to visit, the website said it asked readers and contributors to nominate places across the country. 'We considered hundreds of candidates and winnowed the list to 10 by evaluating the finalists' attractions, food and beverage offerings, cultural and nightlife scenes, diversity, sense of identity, proximity to other interesting spots and 'wow factor,'' the website wrote. 'We also looked at travel essentials, including lodging options and the ease of getting there.' Why Asheville ranks as a top travel destination On the list of top vacation spots, Asheville was the only place in North Carolina to rank in the top 10. CNN Travel said the city ranked high for its 'scenic setting, dining and drinks, outdoor access' and art scene, adding to its legacy of being a mountain getaway destination. 'Last year, Hurricane Helene's destruction knocked Asheville off its stride,' the website wrote in its report. 'But the storm has unified this resilient community more than ever. And Asheville's mountain views, scenic trails, vibrant neighborhoods, lively arts scene and delicious food and drinks are all still here for you to enjoy.' In a write-up about the Asheville area, CNN Travel said the hurricane closed parts of the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway and unleashed catastrophic flooding in low-lying parts of the River Arts District. But several attractions — including the iconic Biltmore Estate — are welcoming visitors as Western North Carolina rebuilds. 'Just get back up here, spend money,' Brad Childers, general manager of the Asheville-area restaurant Hell or High Water, told the outlet. 'We're open, we're ready. Everything is still gorgeous. These mountains are still here — they're not going anywhere.' The city isn't a stranger to being recognized as a fan-favorite destination. Earlier this year, it was named one of the nation's best places for beer lovers and one of the South's top cities, McClatchy News reported. In the more recent rankings, the No. 1 place to take a trip was Ithaca, New York, a roughly 55-mile drive southwest from Syracuse. Rounding out the top five: Missoula, Montana, at No. 2Bend, Oregon, at No. 4Annapolis, Maryland, at No. 5 CNN Travel didn't share additional information with McClatchy News on July 3.
Chicago Tribune
15 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Naperville-area students bringing their new product to national pitch competition
A team of Naperville-area teen entrepreneurs who created a business designed to make travel smoother will compete this coming week as one of five national finalists in the INCubatoredu National Pitch competition in Chicago. It was no easy task getting there. It took nearly a year of brainstorming and development, business plan writing and website creation before Naperville North High School students Bremen Dinh and Noah Wrodarczyk and Metea Valley High School student Alex Liu were ready to face off in the local competitions that would take them to the national stage. Just coming up with the concept for Roam Travel LLC was hard, they said. 'The answer didn't just come to us,' said Noah, 17, who will be a senior in the fall. What they ultimately came up with was a product that would make travel easier, said Bremen, 18, a recent graduate who plans to attend Indiana University. A strap that would securely attach multiple purses, backpacks or duffel bags to carry-on luggage makes navigating an airport or train station less stressful, they decided. 'We knew when we started we wanted to create a business that was successful, and we took it seriously,' Bremen said. The luggage attachment had to have the right dimensions and weight so a suitcase wouldn't fall over or sag. It had to be elastic and versatile enough to hold everything from a small child's backpack to multiple bags. Their first prototype was made from cardboard as the team refined their ideas, Noah said. But would their product fill a need? Trips to Chicago's Union Station and O'Hare International Airport to speak with travelers were productive. They stopped passengers waiting at the airport's baggage claim to ask them questions. Through the interviews and an online survey, they ultimately gathered feedback from more than 1,100 people, Noah said. Many agreed a luggage strap could serve a valuable purpose, he said. With each step, they were pushed to work harder, Noah said. The team worked with teacher Gene Nolan and mentor Samir Khan throughout the process. 'I learned many things from this project, including how to work as a team by dividing work and having clear and proper communication,' said Alex, 17, an Aurora resident who will be a senior in the fall. 'I also learned how to solve internal conflicts and to adapt (to) opinions that I disagreed with. … I also enjoyed being able to work on various fields of the business such as pitching and website building.' The students ordered materials from Amazon and created the first luggage strap. They continued to make improvements, such as adding a feature where the strap doesn't have to be removed from the carry-on luggage, but rather rolled up and secured into place. The students completed the legal paperwork, filed for a patent and formed an LLC. They developed a website with the slogan, 'Carry Light, Travel Right,' and began working with an Oregon-based manufacturer that will ultimately create their product. They also sent the Roam strap they made around the world, offering friends, family and strangers they found through social media a chance to try it out during their travels. So far, the teens' luggage strap has been to California, New York, Canada, Poland and Ecuador, Noah said. Reviews posted to their website, say the strap was a 'handy travel companion,' 'pretty useful' and 'very convenient.' The business partners are working on a website feature through which travelers can post a photo of the luggage strap in use for a chance to win a monetary prize. Preorders are now available online for $29.99. In April, Roam Travel won third place and $1,000 at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy Power Pitch competition. They followed up that success a month later with a second-place finish and a $4,000 prize at Innovation DuPage at the College of DuPage. In May, they competed against groups from Naperville Central and Naperville North high schools in a multiround competition where they won first place and $3,000 in seed money that could be reinvested into their product, Bremen said. The Chicago competition on July 10 will have them pitted against four other teams from Illinois, Texas and Tennessee that also made the cut as the nation's top five. However, the upcoming competition will not be the end of their efforts, the team said. They have big ideas and would love to get their luggage strap into airport stores or lounges. They hope to work with some of the country's biggest airlines. 'I'm excited to show our product to the world,' Bremen said. 'This is just the beginning.'
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Miami Herald
Planning a picnic in Miami or a drive to Disney? Pay attention to July 4 forecast
You may hear booms and see flashes in the sky on the Fourth of July weekend. But that may not be fireworks. Thunder, lightning and dousing rain are in the forecast for Florida's holiday hot spots, including Miami, the Keys, Orlando and Sanibel-Captiva. Storm chances run between 50% and 80% in most of these destinations, with South Florida and Orlando near the top of the percentage scale. Blame it on a potential tropical system that could challenge North Florida in the next week, according to the National Hurricane Center. A stalled front traveling south could help drag wetness across the state. MORE: Florida could get soaked this weekend as potential tropical system looms Here's a rundown: Miami-Fort Lauderdale area Focusing in on South Florida, the crummy weather begins Wednesday with an 80% chance of showers and thunderstorms during the day, with temperatures running between 82 and 86. ▪ Thursday, when your attention is on packing the car for a road trip on the three-day weekend, features a 70% chance of storms from 2 p.m. onward. ▪ Friday, Independence Day, when fireworks are scheduled from Coral Gables to Key Biscayne, Hialeah to South Beach and Miami Springs to Fort Lauderdale, the rain chances are 70% during the day and 50% at night, as of the Wednesday weather service forecast. ▪ Saturday and Sunday bring more of the same — 70% Saturday and 50% Sunday. ▪ Relief comes after we head back to work on Monday, but unsettled weather will still bring a 30% to 50% rain chance into Tuesday. Florida Keys Key West, we like you a bit more this holiday weekend. Oh, you're going to give us a 50-50 chance of disappointment on July 4 and 5, with lingering 30% rain or storms Sunday. But 50% is better than 70% unless you're a yard plant. Orlando Donald Duck might be OK with the 80% storm chance Thursday through Independence Day Friday and the lingering 70% Saturday and Sunday soakers. People heading to the resort town with tickets to Disney or Universal in hand might gripe. Sanibel-Captiva With The Bubble Room set for its reopening on July 14 and The Mucky Duck's owner telling CBS he hopes to have his island favorite restaurant rebuilt by the fall and in time for Christmas, signs of Captiva and Sanibel's rebirth after last year's twin hurricanes Helene and Milton hearten. While these popular Florida West Coast attractions aren't ready for July 4, we still know that some of you plan to head to one of Florida's loveliest beach getaways for the holiday weekend. That string of 80% to 90% breezy and thunderstormy days in the forecast from Wednesday through Sunday are not cause for celebrations. Tampa-Ste. Pete An almost certain chance of thunderstorms and showers at 80% to 90% from Wednesday through Sunday.
