The lines at Charlotte Douglas International are proof that people are craving travel. After spending most of a year locked up by pandemic restrictions, people are once again heading to the beaches and mountains in droves!
While ‘we’ head out of town, Charlotte is a popular destination for visitors. In fact, it’s easy to forget that you don’t have to leave town to enjoy the vacation vibe of the Queen City. Sometimes we get so busy living our lives that we forget all the many reasons OTHER PEOPLE come here to get away from it all.
Outside of all the great things the city has to offer (we’ll get to that in a minute) Charlotte is a short drive away from Lake Norman (rent a boat!), a good hike (Crowders Mountain, or Grandfather Mountain) and seriously fun urban whitewater rafting at the U.S. National Whitewater Center (zip lines too!)
If you want to experience some vacation vibes without leaving town, here are a few options to try.
BUZZY FUN FOR GROWNUPS
Check out Top Golf’s newly opened second Charlotte location in the University Area. The University City sports-entertainment complex features 102 climate-controlled, high-tech hitting bays. It also has an outdoor patio and rooftop terrace if you want to enjoy your wings and brew with a view.
Stroke in Plaza Midwood is an urban golf club mixed with a retro cocktail lounge. It’s the kind of place you’d take friends if they were in town… so why wait to go?!
EDUCATIONAL FUN FOR KIDS
When’s the last time you checked out a local museum? Like the Carolina Aviation Museum, The NASCAR Hall of Fame or the Levine Museum of the New South?
POOLSIDE DREAMS
For real vacation vibes you might think you need a beach but how about Charlotte’s only rooftop pool instead? And you don’t have to be a guest at the Omni to enjoy it. For a fee you can book a day pass and get the VIP treatment for you and some friends.
FOODIE FUN
Forget the usual and try someplace new for a change. Splurge at one of Charlotte’s best like 5Church . The Chef-Owner is Top Chef alum Jamie Lynch. Or head to Leah and Louise for a modern interpretation of Southern classics. The modern juke joint in Camp North End run by James Beard-nominated chef Greg Collier and his wife Subrina .
Or get kooky and try the nostalgic Day and Night Exotic Cereal Bar … straight from Los Angeles.
GETAWAY WITHOUT LEAVING TOWN
If you want a night away there are some truly great hotels in Charlotte to explore and make you feel like a tourist. Charlotte also has a lot of cool airbnb’s to give you a vacation without leaving town.
Several of our real estate agents have or have had Airbnbs over the years. An Airbnb is a fantastic way to not just visit Charlotte but experience Charlotte like a native in one of our fabulous small-town feeling neighborhoods. Take the Elizabeth neighborhood nestled between and betwixt Plaza Midwood, Myers Park, Uptown, and Oakhurst. Our agent Cassee Cunningham has rented her backyard cottage as an Airbnb. Complete with full kitchen and laundry. The guests that stay here can live in Elizabeth for a long weekend and explore Charlotte on foot or by the bikes provided for the guest. Check out breweries, amazing food, and music within a few blocks of this Airbnb.
If you want a unique setting. Check out this Charlotte Treehouse!
While you are out and about check out Charlotte’s murals and explore the neighborhoods around them. Or just take some good Instagram selfies that make people WISH they were in Charlotte too!