North Carolina Top Things To Do
• 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.
Fresh ideas are just one click away...
Travel Deals for North Carolina
-
Finland Activity & adventure holidays Finnish Lapland has enormous areas of untouched wilderness and mile upon mile of wild rolling fells. This vast open countryside, sparkling in the winter sunshine, just begs to be explored by
-
Orlando Adrenaline Whether you’re enjoying the hair-raising delights of the world’s only flying rollercoaster called Manta at SeaWorld or racing through the Everglades on an airboat in search of alligators, one thing’s for
-
Cambodia Luxury holidays Today Cambodia is symbolised by awesome Angkor Wat, the largest man-made religious structure in the world. However, Cambodia is also home to some of the finest boutique hotels in the world
-
Laos Inspire Me When the French colonised Indochina they had a saying: "The Vietnamese grow the rice, the Cambodians watch the rice grow, and the Lao people listen to the rice grow." This is
-
Vietnam Cultural breaks Vietnam is a country with a rich and varied history that is now firmly focused on her bright future. This is why it has become one of the hottest destinations for
-
Dominican Republic Family holidays The Dominican Republic has soared in popularity as a tropical hotspot for families seeking sun, sand and an affordable holiday in the Caribbean. The island's main attraction is magnificent golden sand
Quick links
