All About Us

Asheville’s Original Tip-Based Walking Tour

​Asheville Free Walking Tours was founded in 2019 with one simple idea: make the history, culture, and stories of Asheville accessible, engaging, and affordable for everyone. What began as one downtown tour has grown into one of the most unique tour companies in Asheville — serving more than 15,000 guests and counting.

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How It All Began

The idea started overseas.

In 2019, the owner, Jordan, was traveling through Europe and fell in love with tip-based walking tours in cities like Vienna. During one tour in Vienna, she had a simple but powerful thought:

“I could do this.”

She saw how impactful it was to experience a city through storytelling — not just sightseeing. When she returned home to Asheville, she decided to bring that same model here.

The Downtown Asheville Walking Tour became the flagship experience, built around the same tip-based philosophy she experienced abroad. From there, the company grew organically — adding one or two new tours each year based on guest interest and community inspiration.

We’ve been going strong ever since.

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What Makes Us Different

There are plenty of things to do in Asheville — but not every tour is built the same.

Here’s what sets Asheville Free Walking Tours apart:

• Asheville’s original tip-based walking tour
• Small-group, story-driven experiences
• Historically researched ghost stories and legends
• The only ghost tour inside Riverside Cemetery
• Unique offerings like outdoor escape rooms and pub crawls
• Local guides who genuinely love this city

We don’t just walk past buildings — we tell the stories that shaped them.

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More Than Just Downtown

What started as a single downtown experience has expanded into a full lineup of unforgettable Asheville activities, including:

• The Downtown Asheville Walking Tour (our flagship experience)

• Flood to Flourish River Arts District Tour

• The Riverside Cemetery Ghost Tour
• The Asheville Music History Tour
• Escape the 828 Outdoor Escape Room
• Private walking tours and bachelor/bachelorette pub crawls

Each tour is designed to highlight a different side of Asheville — from historic landmarks at Pack Square to the creative energy of the River Arts District.

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Our Impact

Since 2019, we’ve welcomed more than 15,000 guests from across the country and around the world. From first-time visitors to locals rediscovering their hometown, our goal remains the same: create meaningful experiences rooted in storytelling.

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Our Mission

Our mission is simple:

To provide engaging, accessible, and unforgettable tours that help people connect with Asheville’s history, creativity, and community.

We believe the best way to understand a city is to walk through it — hearing its stories in the places they happened.

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Join Us

Whether you’re visiting Asheville for a weekend getaway, planning a bachelorette party, organizing a corporate retreat, or just searching for the best walking tours in Asheville, we’d love to explore with you.

👉 Book your Asheville tour today and experience the city like a local.