Cap your trip with dinner at Wolfgang’s Restaurant & Wine Bistro. At the Bascom, Highlands’ impressive visual arts center, check out works by international artists in a six-acre former horse farm. Bardo 49, a Southwest-inspired furniture store, is catnip for décor lovers-shop for cowhide bags and feather wreaths, a reclaimed metal work table and even turquoise jewelry.
Tempting as it might be, try not to spend all your time in your room: Highlands is packed with shops, museums, and eateries worth a visit. Old Edwards Inn ( from $225 per night) occupies several downtown blocks and is known for elegant accommodations, fine dining ( Madison’s is a must-try), and top-notch service.
Some come for its postcard-perfect Main Street others for its historic Relais & Châteaux inn. Nicknamed the Aspen of the East, it attracts 200,000 visitors a year.
Set among the rolling peaks of western North Carolina, some 4,000 feet above sea level, the four-stoplight town of Highlands is far from a secluded hamlet.
