• Explore the Crystal Coast area (website: www.crystalcoast.com), which includes the deep-sea port of Morehead City, the historic waterfront town of Beaufort, and many beautiful beaches.

• Visit Wilmington, North Carolina's largest seaport, and once the site of sailing ships bringing treasures from around the world. The Cotton Exchange (website: www.shopcottonexchange.com), a 19th-century structure converted into shops and boutiques, once exported more cotton than any other port in the world.

• In Raleigh, explore the North Carolina Botanical Gardens (website: www.ncbg.unc.edu), containing almost every plant found in the state.

• Go for the adrenaline rush on thrilling rides at the state's biggest theme park, Carowinds (website: www.carowinds.com), 10 minutes south of Charlotte. It pays tribute to the film Wayne's World with a white-knuckle, wooden rollercoaster ride called Hurler, which soars riders through eight inversions.

• Step back in time in Old Salem (website: www.oldsalem.org), a preserved and restored 18th-century Moravian village. Attractions include the Old Salem Visitor Centre offering tours of the districts, the St Philips Moravian Church (the oldest extant African-American church in North Carolina), the Old Salem Toy Museum and the restored Herbst House.

• Hike, drive, ski or camp in the magnificent North Carolina Mountains, including Mount Mitchell (2,040m/6,684ft), the highest peak in Eastern America. Two hundred peaks in the Appalachian Mountain chain reach more than 1.6km (1 mile) high.

• Travel along the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway (website: www.nps.gov/blri), which winds 755km (469 miles) along the spine of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains from Tennessee to Virginia.

• Enjoy a ride on the Tweetsie Railroad (website: www.tweetsie.com), a steam locomotive that carries passengers through mountain passes and a frontier village close to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

• Tour George Vanderbilt's elaborate 250-room Biltmore Estate (website: www.biltmoreestate.com) located in the western Blue Ridge Mountains town of Ashville. The estate includes a winery with a visitor centre, tasting room and shop where bottles of the local vintage are sold.

• Experience the grace and luxury of the historic Grove Park Inn Resort (website: www.groveparkinn.com). The list of people who have stayed at this high-class hotel includes Thomas Edison, F Scott Fitzgerald, George Gershwin, Henry Ford, Franklin D Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.
 
See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.