Asheville
Charmed by Asheville's natural beauty, shipping and railroad heir George Washington Vanderbilt II decided to build a summer home modeled after three…
Must-see attractions in North Carolina
North Carolina
The beautifully preserved core of the Moravian settlement of Salem extends across several blocks south of downtown. You’re not obliged to pay for…
Charlotte
The Sullenberger Aviation Museum, honoring Captain Chesley Burnett “Sully” Sullenberger III, is located at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
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Asheville
The glass-fronted West Wing is a showstopping introduction to this downtown museum, which is looking sleek after a $24 million renovation that added 70%…
Charlotte
This multimedia 'library' celebrates superstar evangelist and 'pastor to the presidents' Billy Graham, who was born in Charlotte in 1918 and died just…
International Civil Rights Center & Museum
North Carolina
The FW Woolworth store where four black students from North Carolina A&T State University sparked the ‘sit-in’ campaign by ordering coffee on February 1,…
Levine Museum of the New South
Charlotte
Tracing the story of the ‘New South’ that emerged from the ashes of the Civil War, this committed museum explores the years of Reconstruction, Jim Crow…
Charlotte
The race-car simulator ($5) at this rip-roaring Uptown museum hurtles you onto the track and into a 15-car race that feels surprisingly real. Elsewhere,…
Charlotte
A stunning modernist edifice tucked between mighty skyscrapers, the Uptown portion of Charlotte’s Mint Museum consists of two distinct halves. One makes a…
Charlotte
The US Mint opened its first-ever outpost in Uptown Charlotte in 1837, using gold mined from the mountains nearby. Transported 3 miles southeast a century…
Charlotte
This 19th-century cotton plantation occupies a small corner of a scenic nature preserve, a dozen miles north of Uptown Charlotte. Exhibits in the visitor…
Coastal North Carolina
Self-guided tours take you through the decks of this 45,000-ton megaship, which earned 15 battle stars in the Pacific theater in WWII before it was…
Charlotte
Illustrating simple scientific principles with eye-catching displays, Discovery Place is targeted largely at kids. It centers on a steamy rainforest that…
Outer Banks
Dolphins are commonly spotted on Ocracoke's gorgeous, undeveloped 16-mile stretch of sandy beach. Swimmers should be aware of rip currents. Find parking…
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Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
Outer Banks
In the late 1580s, three decades before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, a group of 116 British colonists disappeared without a trace from their…
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Coastal North Carolina
This remarkable five-sided fort, with 26 vaulted rooms, is one of North Carolina's most visited attractions. Completed in 1834, it was the site of the…
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Coastal North Carolina
On the National Registry of Historic Places, this small but fascinating cemetery features the weathered tombstones of both Revolutionary and Civil War…
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Wright Brothers National Memorial
Outer Banks
Self-taught engineers Wilbur and Orville Wright launched the world's first successful airplane flight on December 17, 1903 (it lasted 12 seconds). A…
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Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge
Outer Banks
Although not strictly on an Outer Banks island (it's part of the mainland), this 154,000-acre wildlife reserve of wild lands and waters is managed by Dare…
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Outer Banks
Go on a swashbuckling adventure at this 25-acre park, telling the story of the first English settlement attempt in 1585. Visitors can climb aboard a 16th…
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Outer Banks
At 193ft (or 198ft to the lighting rod), this striking black-and-white-striped edifice is one of North Carolina's most iconic images. The first version of…
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Asheville
Part gallery, part store, and wholly dedicated to Southern craftsmanship, the superb Folk Art Center stands directly off the Blue Ridge Pkwy, 6 miles east…
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Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum
Outer Banks
Exhibits about shipwrecks, piracy and salvaged cargo are highlights at this maritime museum at the end of the road. There have been more than 2000…
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Outer Banks
The sunflower-yellow, art nouveau–style Whalehead Club, built in the 1920s as a hunting 'cottage' for a Philadelphia industrialist, is the centerpiece of…
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Coastal North Carolina
Pickled specimens, occult memorabilia, a taxidermied two-headed lamb, a bigfoot imprint and plenty of other oddities are on show at this truly peculiar…
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Currituck Banks Maritime Forest Trail
Outer Banks
A hidden 0.3-mile Boardwalk Trail (with disabled access) and a 0.75-mile Maritime Forest Trail snake through sections of the 950-acre Currituck Banks…
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Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Outer Banks
Extending some 70 miles from south of Nags Head to the south end of Ocracoke Island, this fragile necklace of islands remains blissfully free from…
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Outer Banks
From the National Park Service's observation deck, you can catch views of Ocracoke's formerly 'wild' ponies, which have been penned in here since the late…
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Outer Banks
This very pleasant manicured park in Corolla preserves 39 acres of gorgeous sound-front and sound-side property that was once the waterfowl- and duck…
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Outer Banks
Built at the turn of the 20th century, this was the home of Captain David Williams and his family and is a good example of how those in Ocracoke lived 100…
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Charlotte
An Uptown landmark, thanks to sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle’s huge mirror-tiled Firebird out front, this showcase for 20th-century art was donated to the…
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Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
Outer Banks
At the northern end of Hatteras Island, and named after the dune peas that grow in the sand, this 5834-acre (land portion only) reserve is a bird-watcher…
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Reynolda House Museum of American Art
North Carolina
Tobacco magnate RJ Reynolds started operations in Winston-Salem in 1875, and the family business prospered through world-beating brands including Camel …
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Charlotte
There’s a lot to read at Charlotte’s history museum, in a restored mansion 6 miles east of the center. Wordy displays explain the city’s origins, and its…
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Charlotte
A pleasant woodland stroll within the Latta Plantation Nature Preserve leads past aviaries holding predatory birds that have suffered injuries – you may…
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Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts
North Carolina
Only accessible with combined admission to Old Salem’s other historic sites, this showpiece museum extends way beyond the local Moravian heritage to…
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North Carolina Maritime Museum
Coastal North Carolina
The pirate Blackbeard was a frequent visitor to the Beaufort area in the early 1700s. In 1996, the wreckage of his flagship, the Queen Anne's Revenge, was…
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Coastal North Carolina
It's not the most impressive aquarium out there, and is a tad pricey, but offers a good option for small children or those wanting to explore the waters…
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Asheville
An incongruous survivor of old Asheville, this downtown clapboard structure was the childhood home of Look Homeward, Angel author Thomas Wolfe (1900–38)…
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Outer Banks
A pleasant waterfront boardwalk with 27 shops and eateries dotted around it. Peruse local design shops, do a Village Yoga session, or grab a bottle of…
