4 Best Sights in Charlotte, North Carolina

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.

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.

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.

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).