f64club

I've heard that Charlotte is a good place to take a nap or to raise kids. Is there anything to do there? Any attractions worth seeing? I like to keep busy.
Thanks in advance.

DeborahB

I assume you are talking about Charlotte, NC? If so, we have a pretty nice downtown - which we call uptown. There are lots of bars/restaraunts etc. Pretty good cultural arts can be found here to with art/music/plays etc. Paramounts Carowinds is just a few minutes down the road in SC.

If you do a board search you will find more information. I also recommend going to www.charlotte.com.

Gretchen

When are you coming and what do you like to do? Somehow this question seems to be a bit leading--in the wrong direction. But do come back with some parameters--how long you'll be here, where you'll be staying, etc.

f64club

Will be arriving 8/01 for 2 weeks. While I plan to play a little golf, I will have a lot of free time. I enjoy live theater, art, museums (Oh my God, I sound like a blue-hair!) I am an amateur photographer (art photography, not snapshots). Any suggestions? A friend once said Charlotte, NC is a great place to live, but you wouldn't want to visit there.

Brian_in_Charlotte

Your last statement is true - I can't understand why someone would choose to visit Charlotte as a vacation destination.

As Deborah mentioned, Charlotte has a very nice downtown area. A stroll around downtown should present you with ample opportunities for urban shots - lots of fountains and new building architecture. Downtown also offers lots of good eating and drinking places.

But you're going to have to get out of town if you're here for 2 weeks. Asheville and Black Mountain are only about 2 hours away and you can get to the coast in about 3.5 hours. Charleston is also about 3 hours away.

lisa

Not a great city for museums, but there is the Mint Museum of Art. Also, check around to see if there will be a gallery crawl while you're there in the galleries along North Davidson St. There used to be a pretty good photography gallery called the Light Factory too, somewhere around South Blvd., not sure if it's still there.

Gretchen

And don't forget the Mint Museum of Craft + Design downtown. Then there is the Museum of the New South, also downtown. The Museum of History is out on Shamrock Dr. and also has the Hezekiah Alexander House--dating from the 1700's. There is Latta Plantation (a Catawba River plantation house from the 1700's) north of town with the Raptor Center. Look on charlotte.com for possible offerings at the Performing Arts Center. Also enjoy Ben Long's frescoes in the lobby of the Bank of America building. The Light Factory will also be enjoyable. On Wednesday night Reid's Uptown "grocery" has a nice wine tasting--5-7PM.
You might enjoy a day trip to Sea Grove--near Ashboro in the center of the state. It is an area of 80 potters, some world renowned.
There's a nice camera store on Park Road--Charlotte Camera. Nice folks. They are next door to our favorite restaurant--Patou. A real French bistro.

Peteralan

This has been a revelation ! Some years ago we did a six week trip around the States and when talking to a woman in Vermont we mentioned we were going to visit Charleston South Carolina and she said we should have planned on visiting Charlotte NC instead! Reading this makes me wonder who was right!

enjoylife

I would also check out the public library downtown. It had a great exhibit when I was there.

Gretchen

Well, I live in Charlotte and you just can't compare Charlotte to Charleston. It is apples and oranges. Charleston to me, is the closest thing the US has to a European walking city. They caught themselves just in time and didn't destroy their history. Unfortunately, Charlotte didn't do that--didn't value its history thinking it just wasn't "old" enough to save and made all things new. That is a shame--but it is a great and enjoyable city. At the moment there is a children's library and theater being built--along with a new arena and a Johnson & Wales campus, to open this fall.