Hello.

I will be going to Charlotte in September for a few days on conference. Any suggestions of fun things to do in Charlotte, NC? And particularly good food places?

Secondly, are there any fun scenic drives or short day trips that are worthwhile?

Please advise.
Cheers.

I was in Charlotte this past spring for a convention. It's has a pretty downtown and a free city trolley. But there is very little shopping and other activities. On Sunday, there is nothing open with the exception of a few restaurants. Even our hotel bar and restaurant were closed. For an activity, the convention had a chartered bus trip to the Biltmore which is about a 2 hour ride. This is a very interesting place which had a surprisingly good buffet lunch available. Hope someone else can else with the restaurant names. There was a popular hole in the wall place for southern cooking ... Merts? Cheap but good food at the cafeteria near the convention center on College street? All around good menu and brewery at Rockbottom. The Irish Pub had live music on certain nights. There was an expensive but worth every cent upscale southern style place that was in the same building as a small food court. If you do a search on Charlotte, I think I posted a report back when I could remember the restaurant names.

For day trips, I'd suggest a trip to Lake Lure. Take the boat trip for a tour of the lake -- it's very pretty. There is a public beach for swimming.

Visit the Reynolda Estate in Winston Salem; have lunch at the original Village Tavern.

Head up to Blowing Rock for a day of shopping along the main street. I think it's charming little town, but other Fodorites vehemently disagree.

Let us know if you like to hike, there are some great trails in the are.

Yes, I love hikes. Any good mountain areas that are nice?

Cheers,

Munira

There is an outlet mall. It's got a huge sporting goods store called Outdoor World which is well worth visiting.

You could do a litle hiking at Crowders Mountain State Park, 25 miles from Charlotte. Take Highway 74 East exit from I-85. 1.5 miles from I-85 watch for brown signs on the right. Turn right and follow the signs. Read more about the hiking there at www.hikingthecarolinas.com/crowders.htm

I know I'm probably going to be blasted for daring to have such an opinion, but I'm going to go on the record saying that Charlotte is not -- repeat, not -- the dreadful place you'd think it was from reading this travel board. In actuality, it's a beautiful, if somewhat soulless city, well worth a visit, filled with things to see and do. If you're spending time in Charlotte, here are some things to take a look at:

Mint Museum of Art
Mint Musuem of Craft + Design
Paramount's Carowinds Amusement Park
Levine Museum of the New South
Queens University
University of NC at Charlotte
Bank of America Corporate Center
Freedom Park
Ribbonwalk Botanical Forest
Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens
Uptown Charlotte
Ericcson Stadium
McColl arts center
Latta Plantation
Charlotte Nature Museum
Charlotte Museum of History
Hezekiah Alexander homesite
Downtown Pineville
Downtown Huntersville
Lake Norman
Lake Wylie
Discovery Place
Afro-American Cutlural Center

See there? Not such a bad place at all. Be on the lookout for art throughout Charlotte, especially the Ben Long frescoes that grace many buildings in Uptown. Note the many statues and fountains throughout Uptown. See The Green, a new art park Uptown. Ride the Charlotte Trolley and take a look at the trolley carousel in South End.

Go shopping at Eastland, Carolina Place, Concord Mills, or SouthPark malls, as well as Phillips Place. Or, if you're more in the mood for funky neighborhood shopping, stroll through NoDa, South End, along 7th Street between Hawthorne and Pecan, or that specific section of Central Avenue in the Plaza-Midwood neighborhood.

Explore Charlotte's 14,000 acres of parks and nature preserves, or drive along the tree-lined streets it prides itself on -- especially Queens Road West.

Visit local colleges and universities to see more art and gardens -- there are galleries or sculpture gardens at Queens and Johnson C. Smith univerisities, and there's a sculpture garden at UNCC as well. Also, Belmont Abbey College and Davidson College are worth a look for their architecture alone.

See Wing Haven Gardens, and the McGill Rose Garden. Visit charming downtown districts in Pineville, Huntersville, Rock Hill, and Concord. See new downtowns rising from the earth at Vermillion and Berkdale Village in Huntersville and Mint Hill.

I've never understood why Charlotte gets such a bad rap. It's probably working harder at building smart growth than any other major city in America -- look at its plans for light rail and dense development. Even in the suburbs, pedestrian-friendly design is taking root at additions to SouthPark and a new regional mall called Northlake planned for north Charlotte. The city is undertaking amibitious plans for parks and greenways, even building parks atop parking garages and interstate interchanges. Abandoned big box stores are ripe for redevelopment all over town, and many are falling to make way for more smart growth.

I've just never understood the hostility toward Charlotte. As big cities go, I think it's wonderful, though as a native Ashevillian if I were to admit that to anyone, nobody would speak to me anymore. I'm practically required by law to assert Asheville's position as the center of the universe... so don't let it get out that I adore Charlotte.

Thank you for that informative message from the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce! I didn't realize that lobbying internet forums was in the budget. Charlotte must be getting awfully desperate, which should surprise noone given the *reality* that is soulless-parking-lot-chain-restaurant-strip-mall Charlotte. Many square miles of nothing, but still plenty of traffic (and zero public transportation)! Sounds great to me!

See you at Applebee's!

Austin covered most everything. Some clarification. The Irish Pub is Ri-Ra's & they are open & have live music on Sundays. Donnellys is another good Pub right around the corner. If you feel inclined to day-trip I would recommend the Chimney Rock/Lake Lure area. I'm not a big fan of the over-crowded & over-hyped Biltmore experience. I would also recommend Central, Noda & Southend. Most of the better restaurants are uptown or off of East Blvd. If you hit the right weekend the Panthers may also be in town.

JT, I apologize for not toeing the official line on Charlotte, but if you don't like it either don't visit or if you live there, move. Crabbing about it on a travel forum won't fix anything.

Just, for God's sake, don't try saying Atlanta is better. I once heard someone ream Charlotte up one side and down the other, while saying how much they loved Atlanta, and all I could think was that everything that is wrong with Atlanta is wrong with Charlotte too -- right down to the boring terrain. The only difference is that Charlotte hasn't yet reached the point of no return and actually seems dedicated to becoming something better than Atlanta.

Furthermore, I can only surmise that your problems with the city stem from too much Applebee's food, which can rot even the stoutest brain. I would suggest Morton's, the Palm, or La Biblioteque if you want a good meal that will allow you to function at a normal level again -- then perhaps you'd see that Charlotte isn't the hellhole everyone makes it out to be.

Basically, Charlotte is a city with a lot of modern architecture, a lot of trees, not much history (but still plenty), and not much soul -- and there's nothing wrong with that, because that describes most major American cities, including Dallas, Atlanta, and Houston.

The thing about Charlotte is that it's a city in the process of becoming an interesting place. It's not there yet, but I think it'll get there, especially with it's commitment to smart growth, smart transportation policy (if you aren't aware of public transit in Charlotte it's because you've been under a rock all this time), and fixing the mistakes it's already made. Give it about 20 years and it'll be a great place to visit instead of just a great place to live -- if naysayers and crabs like you will quit trying to say, as you always do, especially in Creative Loafing, that Charlotte will never be anything other than a dull business town and should just quit pretending it could be something better. Just give up and wallow in mediocrity, in other words, so you people can say "I told you so."

How unproductive can you get? Jeez, man. Let the place improve without this constant griping would you?

And for the record, if it makes you feel any better, try as it might, Charlotte will never be as interesting or beautiful as Asheville, but then again, neither will Charleston or Savannah -- just had to get that in before someone accuses me of being a traitor to my town -- lol.

Crowder's is a good idea - not too much effort for a great view! The Mint Museums are worth a try, too. Food in town: try Bijoux, Latorre's, or the best in town, Sonoma. Brixx pizza is great and casual. Rock Bottom has good beer but so-so food and bad service. I live in Charlotte and I agree it doesn't yet have a personality of it's own, but it's clean, full of nice people, and up-and-coming. Something new is always popping up - keeps it interesting. Enjoy!

As someone who travels to Charlotte frequently, I can say this. Most of the people that live in Myers Park and Dilworth are Buckhead wannabes. Don't get me wrong, I like Charlotte but this is just my observation.

Wow, Austin. You da man. As for xxx you don't know beans. As a Myers Park resident of 40 years we "wannabe" right where we are. Atlanta just needs to get over it.
Austin has really covered the ground. charlotte is a great city with wonderful restaurants among other things. Our most favorite is Patou--a true French Bistro. For an elegant Italian dinner go to Guytano's. The lady who seemed to be tied to downtown was unfortunately not directed to good downtown eating (Mert's is good and fun, mind you) but there is Bijoux, Palomino Grill, The PIne Room, Sullivan's (martini bar, steaks better than Morton's which is also here). I am not sure if Lavecchia's is still here but it has/had wonderful seafood. South End is a wonderful shopping area. For a "watering hole" there is South End Brewery also. Phillips Place and South Park will fulfill all your shopping desires.
For a day trip you could go to Boone (about 2 1/2 hours and get on the Blue Ridge Parkway and drive south to Asheville. There are numbers of turnoffs where a short hike would be possible. One nice one is Crabtree Falls. At Asheville you could go to the Southern Highlands Craft Guild shop.
Another day trip might be to Winston Salem to Old Salem, a restored Moravian town. If you go to Phillips Place/South Park there is a PFChang's for lunch (PP) and a wonderful Chinese restaurant--Baoding--across from South Park at Sharon Corners. That would be a good dinner destination also.
Please enjoy your stay!!