Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The largest city in North Carolina and the biggest US banking center after New York,
Charlotte has the sprawling, sometimes faceless look of many New South suburban me-
galopolises. But although the Queen City, as it's known, is primarily a business town, it's
got a few good museums, stately old neighborhoods and lots of fine food.
Busy Tryon St cuts through skyscraper-filled 'uptown' Charlotte, home to banks, ho-
tels, museums and restaurants. The renovated textile mills of the NoDa neighborhood
(named for its location on N Davidson St) and the funky mix of boutiques and restaur-
ants in the Plaza-Midwood area, just northeast of uptown, have a hipper vibe.
Sights & Activities
Billy Graham Library
RELIGIOUS
(
www.billygrahamlibrary.org
; 4330 Westmont Dr; 9:30am-5pm Mon-Sat)
This multi-
media 'library' is a tribute to the life of superstar evangelist and 'pastor to the presidents'
Billy Graham, a Charlotte native. The 90-minute tour starts with a gospel-preaching an-
imatronic cow and ends with a paper questionnaire asking whether or not you've been
moved to accept Christ today.
Levine Museum of the New South
MUSEUM
(
www.museumofthenewsouth.org
; 200 E 7th St; adult/child $8/5; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat,
noon-5pm Sun)
This slick museum has an informative permanent exhibit on post-Civil
War Southern history and culture, from sharecropping to sit-ins.
US National Whitewater Center
ADVENTURE SPORTS
(
www.usnwc.org
; 5000 Whitewater Center Pkwy; all-sport day pass adult/child $54/44, individual
activities $20-25, 3hr canopy tour $89; dawn-dusk)
A beyond-awesome hybrid of nature
center and waterpark, this 400-acre facility is home to the largest artificial white-water
river in the world, whose rapids serve as training grounds for Olympic canoe and kayak
teams. Paddle it as part of a guided rafting trip, or try one of the center's other adventur-
ous activities: ziplines, an outdoor rock-climbing wall, ropes courses, paddleboarding,
aerial canopy tours of the surrounding forest, miles of hiking and mountain-biking trails.
Parking is $5.
Charlotte Motor Speedway
SPEEDWAY
(
www.charlottemotorspeedway.com
; tours $12; tours 9:30am-3:30pm Mon-Sat, 1:30-3:30pm
Sun)
Nascar races, a homegrown Southeastern obsession, are held at the visible-from-
