Just beyond the liveliness of downtown, across the French Broad River, West Asheville presents a vitality all its own. Here, modern energy-efficient houses nestle up to colorfully painted bungalows from the Roaring Twenties era in a series of neighborhoods that spill westward. The two-and-a-half-mile-long Haywood Road that cuts through this neighborhood has enough bars, eateries, shops and things to do to warrant repeat exploration. It’s an area of town that’s hip without being trendy, slightly gritty but always friendly, and where, for the most part, locals still outnumber visitors.
