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Hilton Garden Inn Steele Creek Charlotte, Charlotte

Things to do guide

The best things to do in Charlotte

Updated 7 October 2026 · 14 things to do

Pictured: Hilton Garden Inn Steele Creek Charlotte

Charlotte doesn't shout. It is a city of bank towers and tidy, tree-shaded suburbs, and first-time visitors sometimes wonder where the fun is hiding. The answer: in the engine noise. This is the home town of American stock-car racing, and between the Hall of Fame in the centre and the speedway up the road, you can spend a whole trip with the smell of hot rubber in your nose.

There is a softer side too. Old textile mills have become brewery quarters, the museums in Uptown are better than a city this size has any right to expect, and an afternoon of rafting, a roller coaster on the state line and a lake the size of a small sea are all within a short drive.

Don't miss

  1. 1NASCAR Hall of Fame
  2. 2U.S. National Whitewater Center
  3. 3Carowinds
  4. 4NoDa
  5. 5Lake Norman

The big sights

Speed, in one form or another, is what Charlotte does best.

  1. NASCAR Hall of Fame

    Museum

    The NASCAR Hall of Fame in Uptown Charlotte
    Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0

    Right in the middle of Uptown, this is the shrine of American stock-car racing, and it works even if you couldn't name a single driver. A banked ramp of historic cars sweeps up through the building, tilting steeper as it climbs, so you get a real sense of what a racing turn feels like underfoot.

    The rest is cheerfully hands-on: racing simulators, a pit-stop challenge where you race the clock to change a tyre, and enough battered bodywork and trophies to keep true fans busy for hours. Good for families, and for a rainy afternoon.

    Tip: It sits next to the convention centre, an easy walk from most Uptown hotels and a stop on the light rail.

  2. U.S. National Whitewater Center

    Activity

    Rapids on the man-made river at the U.S. National Whitewater Center
    Photo: Phrogfella, CC BY-SA 4.0

    West of the city, beside the Catawba River, somebody built a concrete river and filled it with rapids. The result is one of the most enjoyable days out in the Carolinas: guided rafting and kayaking on the man-made channels, with climbing walls, zip lines and rope courses rising around them.

    Miles of wooded trails for walking and mountain biking spread out behind, and the lawn by the water turns into a relaxed, beer-in-hand hangout towards evening. It suits active families, groups of friends and anyone who gets restless in museums.

    Tip: Bring a change of clothes and shoes that can get soaked. You will get wet on the rapids.

  3. Carowinds

    Activity

    The Fury 325 roller coaster at Carowinds
    Photo: Martin Lewison, CC BY-SA 2.0

    A big, loud, old-fashioned American theme park that sits squarely on the border, so you can stand with one foot in North Carolina and the other in South Carolina. Its roller coasters are the draw, led by Fury 325, a towering steel giant that is among the tallest and fastest of its kind.

    There are gentler rides for small children and a water park inside the gates for the hot months. Teenagers will want a full day here.

    Tip: Summer afternoons are hot and humid. Do the big coasters early, then head for the water park.

  4. Charlotte Motor Speedway

    Landmark

    The track and grandstands at Charlotte Motor Speedway
    Photo: Nascar1996 (talk · contribs), CC BY-SA 3.0

    Up the road in Concord, this vast oval is where the sport comes alive. Race weekends, above all the Coca-Cola 600 in late May, fill the grandstands and every hotel for miles, and the noise when the field comes past at full speed is something you feel in your chest.

    Outside race days the track is still worth a look for fans, and a string of race-team workshops in the surrounding towns show how the cars are built.

Museums and galleries

Uptown's cultural campus puts three good museums within a block of each other.

  1. Mint Museum Uptown

    Museum

    The Mint Museum in Uptown Charlotte
    Photo: Bz3rk, CC BY-SA 3.0

    The Mint is North Carolina's oldest art museum, and its Uptown building is the sleek half of the operation: floors of American and contemporary art, plus a craft and design collection (glass, ceramics, furniture, jewellery) that is strong enough to be the reason you came.

    The name is literal. The museum's original home, a few miles away on Randolph Road, is a former branch of the United States Mint, and it still holds part of the collection.

  2. Bechtler Museum of Modern Art

    Museum

    The Firebird sculpture outside the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art in Charlotte
    Photo: Prasit Frazee, CC BY-SA 3.0

    A small, terracotta-clad box designed by the Swiss architect Mario Botta, holding one family's collection of twentieth-century European art: Picasso, Miró, Giacometti, Warhol and friends. It is compact enough to see properly in an hour, which is a real virtue.

    You will spot it from down the street thanks to the Firebird, a tall mirrored-mosaic sculpture by Niki de Saint Phalle that stands guard at the entrance and stars in most visitors' photos of Charlotte.

  3. Discovery Place Science

    Museum

    The entrance to Discovery Place on Tryon Street in Uptown Charlotte
    Photo: Ken Thomas, Public domain

    Charlotte's hands-on science museum, in Uptown, is where local parents go when it rains. Expect an indoor rainforest, aquarium tanks, experiments you are meant to touch and break, and a giant-screen cinema. Children under twelve or so will be happy for half a day; adults will find themselves building things too.

Neighbourhoods to wander

  1. NoDa

    Neighbourhood

    North Davidson Street in the NoDa district of Charlotte
    Photo: City Dweller 2, CC BY-SA 4.0

    Short for North Davidson, the street it grew along, NoDa is a former mill village turned arts district, and the most characterful corner of the city. Murals cover the brick walls, old shopfronts hold galleries, music venues and tattoo parlours, and the breweries spill out onto pavements.

    Come in the late afternoon and stay into the evening, when the bars fill and bands start up. The light rail runs straight here from Uptown.

  2. South End

    Neighbourhood

    Just south of the towers, South End has swapped textile mills for taprooms. The Rail Trail, a walking and cycling path beside the light rail line, threads the whole district together, passing breweries, food halls, design shops and a lot of people with dogs.

    It is younger and looser than Uptown and makes an easy evening out: ride the tram down, walk the trail, and stop wherever looks busiest.

  3. Freedom Park

    Nature

    Charlotte's favourite park sits between the handsome old neighbourhoods of Dilworth and Myers Park, wrapped around a small lake. There are paths, playgrounds and wide lawns, and the surrounding streets, roofed over by enormous willow oaks, are some of the prettiest in the South for an aimless walk.

Eat and drink

  1. Carolina barbecue

    Food

    In North Carolina barbecue means pork, cooked slowly over wood until it falls apart, and people will argue about it for as long as you let them. The east of the state cooks the whole hog and dresses it with vinegar and pepper; the Lexington style, from just up the road, uses the shoulder and adds a little tomato.

    Charlotte sits happily in the middle and serves both, with hush puppies, coleslaw and sweet iced tea. Order a plate of chopped pork and decide for yourself.

  2. Craft breweries

    Food

    Charlotte has taken to brewing with real enthusiasm, and dozens of taprooms now fill old warehouses and mills, most thickly in South End and NoDa. Many have big beer gardens, food trucks parked outside and a relaxed attitude to children and dogs, which makes them the city's default meeting place at weekends.

    Tip: The light rail links South End, Uptown and NoDa, so nobody needs to drive.

Day trips

  1. Lake Norman

    Nature

    Lake Norman in North Carolina
    Photo: DiscoA340, CC BY-SA 4.0

    North of the city, the Catawba River was dammed to make the largest man-made lake in North Carolina, with hundreds of miles of wooded, wriggling shoreline. Locals come to swim, paddleboard, fish and potter about on boats, and waterside restaurants in the lake towns catch the sunset.

    Lake Norman State Park, on the northern shore, has a swimming beach and forest trails if you want the water without the engines.

  2. Asheville and the Blue Ridge

    Day trip

    The Biltmore Estate in Asheville
    Photo: Blake Lewis, CC BY-SA 2.0

    Around two hours' drive west, the land rears up into the Blue Ridge Mountains and the small, arty city of Asheville. People come for the Biltmore Estate, a colossal Gilded Age mansion built by the Vanderbilts, and for the Blue Ridge Parkway, a slow, winding mountain road with a view at every bend.

    It is a long day from Charlotte but a rewarding one, and at its best in autumn, when the hillsides turn copper and gold.

Where to stay in Charlotte

Not sure which area suits you? Read our guide: Where to stay in Charlotte →

Getting around

Uptown is walkable, and the LYNX Blue Line light rail joins it to South End in one direction and NoDa and University City in the other. For everything else, including the Whitewater Center, Carowinds, the speedway and Lake Norman, you will want a hire car or a taxi.

When to go

Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons, mild and often sunny. Summers are hot and humid, which suits the lake and the water parks more than city walking. Race fans should plan around the big weekends at the speedway, when rooms fill up early.

Questions about visiting Charlotte

What is Charlotte best known for?
Banking and motor racing. Charlotte is one of the biggest financial centres in the United States and the home of NASCAR, with the sport's Hall of Fame in Uptown and Charlotte Motor Speedway in nearby Concord.
Is Charlotte worth visiting?
Yes, for a few days. It has good museums, lively brewery districts in South End and NoDa, the Whitewater Center and Carowinds for active days out, and it makes a handy starting point for the Blue Ridge Mountains.
What is there to do in Charlotte with kids?
Discovery Place Science and the NASCAR Hall of Fame are the best indoor options. Outdoors, Carowinds theme park, the U.S. National Whitewater Center and a day on Lake Norman will keep most ages happy.
How many days do you need in Charlotte?
Two or three days covers Uptown, the neighbourhoods and one big day out. Add another day or two if you want to see a race or drive to Asheville and the mountains.
Do you need a car in Charlotte?
Not for Uptown, South End and NoDa, which are linked by light rail. You do need a car or taxis for the Whitewater Center, Carowinds, the speedway and Lake Norman.

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