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Going to Charlotte in July with 16 yr daughter. WE are dropping my son off at camp at the airport, so decided to make a weekend of it. We have never been to Charlotte and are from NY. We thought we would spend Sat and Sun walking around - being from NYC we walk a lot. Trying to do this on a budget so if no car is needed, we would not rent one. Arriving Sat morning and plan to leave late Sun or very early Mon morning.
-What area is the best to stay and see as much as possible?
-Suggestions of the top things to do with our limited time.
-What restaurants if we want some good southern style food?
-Shopping for my daughter without hitting a mall ( not our thing). Love to browse in hip/quaint type stores.
-Is it safe to walk around everywhere?
-Are there certain lines of public transportation we should use?
Thank you for any advice.
Going to Charlotte in July with 16 yr daughter. WE are dropping my son off at camp at the airport, so decided to make a weekend of it. We have never been to Charlotte and are from NY. We thought we would spend Sat and Sun walking around - being from NYC we walk a lot. Trying to do this on a budget so if no car is needed, we would not rent one. Arriving Sat morning and plan to leave late Sun or very early Mon morning.
-What area is the best to stay and see as much as possible?
-Suggestions of the top things to do with our limited time.
-What restaurants if we want some good southern style food?
-Shopping for my daughter without hitting a mall ( not our thing). Love to browse in hip/quaint type stores.
-Is it safe to walk around everywhere?
-Are there certain lines of public transportation we should use?
Thank you for any advice.
Wow. Well, Charlotte has walkable areas, but they are not all connected to one another, just FYI.
What I would recommend is that you plan to stay in uptown Charlotte.
There is lots to see and do uptown. Consider taking the Segway Tour - it's fun and informative and you can cover a lot of ground. Charlotte NC Tours - Charlotte Segway Tours
You can also walk to the Transportation Center and take a short bus ride over to the nearby Plaza Midwood neighborhood to check out unique funky shops and restaurants.
If you are ambitious walkers, you could even walk to this area from an uptown hotel. It would be a safe walk during the day and early evening (before complete darkness). The walk would even take you through the Central Peidmont Community College Campus, which I think is a nice walk.
Take the light rail just out of uptown and explore the Southend area too.
I feel certain you'd find enough to keep yourselves busy on such a short trip
If you're in Plaza Midwood, check out the Frock Shop & Buffalo Exchange on Central Avenue, Boris & Natasha, City Supply Co., Eco-licious, etc. Dish has pretty decent southern food.
In SouthEnd, there's The Boulevard on Tryon, Modern Fabrics & Price's Chicken Coop, for fried chicken, are on Camden. Atherton Mill and Farmer's Market is on South Blvd. They're open on Saturdays, so if you're interested in local foods, it's a great place to stop in. It has a great variety.
Downtown there's Mert's Heart & Soul for southern food, shopping is pitiful downtown. There's a handful of shops, nothing out of the ordinary.
If you can make it into NoDa, there are a handful of shops, restaurants, and galleries.
Keep in mind most places will be closed on Sunday. Have fun!
You might want to stay at 'The Blake' in Uptown its about cheapest of Uptown hotels and couple blocks from the transportation center.
I also recommend Plaza Midwood for your Saturday take bus #9 it runs pretty frequent even on the weekends. The drivers are friendly just tell them that is where you want off.
There a couple restaurants to check out 'Dish' for southern cookin and 'The Penguin'
If you stay downtown at a place like The Blake you will have no trouble getting a cab to get around. I would consider renting a car if you really want to get around. You could spend the day in Plaza-Midwood, but I doubt you will. There are some cool places there, but with a reasonably early start (10am), you'll be done there by 2pm1 at the latest unless you really take your time. I'd recommend checking out the BBQ joint over there for lunch if you like that sort of thing. Keep in mind that the heart of Plaza-Midwood is not that large. You could hop over to NoDa (3 miles away) and spend another hour or two there.
By the time you get a cab to a hotel, to P-M, to NoDa, and back, you could have paid for a $30/day rental. It's $15a to downtown. If not, close.
Thank your for this info. It really sounds like we are better off renting a car. So if we do, is Uptown still the best location to stay? And what do you all suggest to do on Sunday if many places are closed? I assume all the restaurants mentioned will be still be open.
Thank your for this info. It really sounds like we are better off renting a car. So if we do, is Uptown still the best location to stay? And what do you all suggest to do on Sunday if many places are closed? I assume all the restaurants mentioned will be still be open.
Is parking anywhere easy?
I still think for such a short visit you could definitely get by without a car.
The one thing you will love, is that parking is almost everywhere in the QC and free, except uptown. Just follow the signs for safety and make sure you are not parking in spaces meant for certain establishments guests.
If you rent a car and stay at a hotel uptown, you're going to end up paying for overnight parking.
If you have some areas that you have in mind, we could tell you if you need to stay away or not.
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