A day of fun and adventure in Charlotte, NC

Charlotte, North Carolina is mostly known for its NASCAR circuit and for the numerous corporate headquarters it nestles in its modern skyscrapers. With a one of the biggest airports in the nation and a strategic location at the juncture of some major interstate highways, Charlotte represents the main gateway towards America’s hottest beach resorts (that spread along the Atlantic coast, from Myrtle Beach to Miami).

However, Charlotte is more than a financial center and a transaction city: its numerous sports facilities, museums, art galleries and thriving nightlife are attracting thousands of tourists every year. Although a beach vacation is mostly about enjoying the sun and doing nothing, it doesn’t hurt taking a vacation from your vacation from time to time and go sightseeing.

As describing Charlotte’s sights is not the purpose of this post, you will find some useful hints on Charlotte’s attractions, climate and transportation in this Charlotte Travel Guide. Now we are going to focus on those attractions that will allow you to spend a delightful day in the company of this charming American city.

You might want to start by visiting a couple of museums – if you’re in no mood for crafts and painting, just take some lessons of popular science at the Discovery Place, or get acquainted with the history of American aviation at Carolinas Aviation Museum. Both these museums are highly interactive and will fascinate kids and adults alike. Starting with the summer of 2010, you will be able to visit NASCAR Hall of Fame, which already announces to be a hit on the list of Charlotte attractions.

After all those amounts of information, maybe some whitewater adventure will do you good. The U.S. National Whitewater Centre was especially designed for your entertainment: an artificial river thrills you with the most daring man-made rapids, entire kilometers of hiking and biking paths take you through Carolina’s rich forests and hundreds of meters of rocks are waiting to be climbed on. All you need is a little bit of courage.

If you still have some energy left after all the effort you’ve put in climbing walls and riding the waves, the second most pleasant activity of them all, shopping, is next on our list. As any major economic center, Charlotte is the shopper’s paradise. From expensive boutiques to exotic handcrafts stores, you will find in Charlotte a complete shopping experience.

Some of the most popular shopping centers are: Waxhaw Historic District, Stone Crest at Piper Glen, the Carolina Place and SouthPark malls.

Last on the list is, as you already might have guessed from the previous paragraph, the most pleasant activity from them all: eating. After all those exhausting hours of adventure and bargain hunting, it’s time to settle down and get acquainted with the Southern cuisine.

Considered one of those ‘cities that sizzle’ by the editors of Restaurants News Magazine, Charlotte is the place where North meets South and international flavors put passers-by senses on alert – just drive along Lake Norman, East Charlotte, Ballantyne or University areas and some cozy little restaurant will definitely catch your eye. Another proof of Charlotte’s fine dining tradition is the fact that the city has its own culinary school, known as the Johnson & Wales University.

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