21 Best Sights in Charlotte, North Carolina

With an 8,000-square-foot exhibit, Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers: Charlotte and the Carolina Piedmont in the New South, as a jumping-off point, this museum offers a comprehensive interpretation of post–Civil War Southern history. Interactive exhibits and different "environments"—a tenant farmer's house, an African American hospital, a bustling street scene—bring to life the history of the region. Changing exhibits highlight current events and seek to engage the community in discussing historical events critical to Charlotte. Parking is free in the adjacent Seventh Street Station garage. Bring your parking ticket to the museum for validation.

With five stories and 145,000 square feet of space, this is a must-see for art lovers. Expect rotating special exhibits as well as permanent collections of American and contemporary work, plus craft and design. Be sure not to miss the museum's dramatic atrium, which houses a 60-foot-tall glass curtain that offers views of the surrounding cityscape.

Use your ticket stub for free entrance to the Mint Museum Randolph (good for two days). Admission is free at both Mint Museums on Wednesday 5–9 pm.

This 150,000-square-foot megamuseum has enough going on to intrigue even non-NASCAR fans. A complete visual overload, the racing palace features historic race cars, an enormous theater, and countless rotating exhibits highlighting the achievements of NASCAR's finest. Hands-on activities take visitors behind the scenes to see how the entire industry prepares for race day each week. Practice a pit stop, walk through a full-size NASCAR Sprint Cup hauler, and actually sit behind the wheel in one of eight iRacing simulators.

Architecture fans should make time for a trip to see one of the city's most striking buildings. Designed by César Pelli, this structure rises 60 stories to a crownlike top. The main attractions are three monumental lobby frescoes by the world-renowned local painter Ben Long—their themes are making/building, chaos/creativity, and planning/knowledge. Also in the tower are the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center and the restaurants, shops, and exhibition space of Founders Hall.

With the famed Firebird sculpture out front, there's no way you can miss this staple of Uptown's art scene. Covered in mirrors and colored glass, Niki de Saint Phalle's 17-foot birdlike creature is just a taste of what the Bechtler has to offer inside. The rotating collection might include Warhol's pop art, Giacometti's dark sculptures, and ceramics by Picasso. Founded by the Swiss-born Andreas Bechtler, the museum highlights his family's love affair with art, as well as their deep connections with many of the artists on display. The small museum is spread across three compact floors—allow about an hour to fully experience the collections.

Check the museum's calendar of after-hours concerts in their popular Jazz at the Bechtler series.

Home of Fury 325, North America's fastest giga coaster (reaching 95 mph and 325 feet high), Carowinds is a place for thrill seekers. The 57 rides include multiple high-intensity roller coasters. Just across the South Carolina border on Interstate 77, Carowinds also boasts a water park, live concerts, and an interactive 3-D experience.

Check Carowinds's website for current hours and deals. It's usually cheaper to buy tickets online than at the gate.

A 1774 stone building forms the centerpiece of this museum that traces central North Carolina's history over the last three centuries. Settler Hezekiah Alexander and his wife, Mary, reared 10 children in this house and farmed the land. Learn about the lives of early residents in the area through exhibits and displays.

This bright garden is known for its painterly display of colors. There's a perennial garden, wildflower meadow, Canal Garden, an orchid conservatory, and other themed areas.

You'll find a butterfly pavilion, bugs galore, nature trails, a puppet theater, and hands-on exhibits just for children at this museum. Kids can experience up-close interaction with animals, and explore the Fort Wild outdoor play area.

Allow at least two hours for the aquariums, the three-story rain forest, "Nose-to-Nose" live animal shows, and the IMAX Dome Theater. Lie on a bed of nails, conduct experiments in the interactive labs, or get in touch with your inner innovator as you create shoes from garbage. Check the schedule for special exhibits.

Charlotte's popular old neighborhood began as a political subsection created for electoral purposes in the mid-1800s. The architecture and sensibility of this quiet, homespun neighborhood provide a glimpse of life in a less hectic time.

The last remaining Catawba River plantation open to the public, this living-history site interprets 19th-century farm life in North Carolina’s backcountry. James Latta, a traveling merchant, built the plantation’s Federal-style home in 1800 and soon became a cotton planter. According to family documents, the entire Latta family assisted with production on the 742-acre farm, but it would not have been possible to maintain the plantation without the back-breaking labor of more than 30 slaves. Today, visitors can tour the home as well as reconstructed slave quarters and a yeoman farmer’s home. Historically appropriate farm animals and special weekend programs, such as folk craft demonstrations, round out the experience.

Built in 1836 as the first U.S. Mint, this building has been a home for art since 1936. The holdings in its impressive permanent collections include fashion, ceramics, coins and currency, and art of the ancient Americas.

Your ticket stub gets you free admission to the Mint Museum Uptown (good for two days).

Once called the Astor Theater, this circa-1945 former movie palace is now a venue that has hosted concerts by the likes of the Indigo Girls, Beach House, and Rooney.

This 22-acre state historic site 10 miles south of central Charlotte marks the humble birthplace and childhood home of the 11th U.S. president, nicknamed "Napoléon of the Stump" for his excellent speeches. Guided tours of the log cabins (replicas of the originals) show what life was like for settlers back in 1795.

This historic site, about 22 miles east of Charlotte, is where America's first documented gold rush began, after Conrad Reed discovered a 17-pound nugget in 1799. Guided underground tours of the gold mine are available, as well as gold panning (from roughly early April to late October), walking trails, and a stamp mill.

Hear live music nightly at this popular venue situated in the center of the NoDa Arts District, or wait for "Find Your Muse," its frequent open-mic night.

Historic Brooklyn, as the once-thriving African American neighborhood here was known, is long gone, but this celebration of black art, history, and culture serves its memory well. The exhibits change frequently, but you can always see John and Vivian Hewitt's collection of African American visual art, including those of Harlem Renaissance–famed and Charlotte-born Romare Bearden.

In the heart of the "Thomas StrEATery" collection of restaurants and hangouts, this little bar is one of the best places in Plaza Midwood to grab a beer and play games like cornhole and ping-pong on the spacious patio. There's also live music.

Set in Myers Park, one of the city's most exclusive neighborhoods, this 4-acre garden is a serene environment for feathered visitors and others. The grounds include a nursery and education building.