3 Best Shopping in Central North Carolina, North Carolina

With more than 1 million square feet of showroom space, this complex, the biggest furniture retailer in the world, makes an IKEA look like a corner store. This goes far beyond an average shopping experience---a visit here could easily take all day. Customers register with the front desk and are given tips by a Furnitureland consultant on how to maximize their time in the sprawling store, which includes innumerable galleries from leading manufacturers and a discount center. Meals and refreshments are available at a Starbucks and a Subway (the largest one in the United States, of course).

Deep discounts are part of the draw to this furniture store. Don't be put off by the nondescript brick exterior beside the highway—inside, expect more than 150 well-known brands and some pieces offered at below manufacturer-direct prices. The Discount Furniture Warehouse and Furniture Value and Clearance Center, at 2035 Brentwood Street, is only one exit from the main store.

Solo and group shows rotate through several exhibition spaces at this sculpture and painting gallery, in the same massive IHFC building as the High Point Theatre. The frequent art openings are always open to the public. Closed Saturday--Monday.