Look closely at Charlotte and you`ll discover a lot. Charlotte is a city

Look closely at Charlotte and you’ll discover a lot. Charlotte is a city on the move, but growing
up hasn’t stripped this first-rate metropolis of its warmth and southern charm. Known as the Queen
City, Charlotte lives up to its royal namesake with its rich history and culture, flavorful culinary scene,
shopping, adventure and southern hospitality offered at every turn.
Fuel Up on Fun
From motorsports to microbrews,
Charlotte’s got a lot of ways to fuel up on
fun. Charlotte is home to the NASCAR
Hall of Fame, an interactive entertainment
attraction honoring the history and
heritage of NASCAR. Among more than
50 interactive exhibits including realistic
racing simulators and a Pit Crew Challenge,
guests can experience the newest homage
to the racing greats inducted into the
Class of 2015 this January including Bill
Elliott, Rex White, Joe Weatherly, Fred
Lorenzen and Wendell Scott (the Hall’s first
African-American inductee). The NASCAR
Hall of Fame’s newest exhibit “Stars and
Their Cars” features seven personal cars
belonging to well-known names like David
Ragan, Joey Logano and Clint Bowyer.
You’ll even find a London taxi cab owned by
NASCAR president Mike Helton and Dale
Earnhardt Jr.’s replica Corvette that he and
his father co-drove in the 2001 24 Hours of
Daytona sport car race.
Grab some peanuts and Cracker Jacks
and enjoy a favorite pastime at a Charlotte
Knights baseball game in the new 8-acre,
LEED-certified BB&T Ballpark in Uptown
Charlotte. With capacity for more than
10,000 fans, the new stadium smashed
attendance records in its first year.. The
development also includes the new 5.4-acre
Romare Bearden Park across from right
field, which has become an urban sanctuary
for community programming like yoga
classes, music series, festivals and more.
The recently unleashed Fury 325 at
Carowinds has garnered national attention
from the Today Show, Fodor’s and more as
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the world’s tallest and fastest giga coaster.
Charlotte was deemed “A Hornet’s Nest of
Rebellion” during the Revolutionary War,
and Fury 325 is inspired by the hornet’s
flight. Fury 325 races through a series of
hills, curves and steep transitions reaching
speeds up to 95 mph. The giga coaster is
the centerpiece of Carowinds’ new main
entrance plaza and is the first of many
improvements totaling $50 million that
Cedar Fair is investing to make this park the
company’s fourth largest in the country.
For an outdoor adventure like no other, head
to the 700-acre U.S. National Whitewater
Center just 15 minutes southwest of Uptown
and maneuver through class III-IV rapids
on the largest man-made recirculating river
in the world. Featuring nearly 30 miles of
mountain biking and running trails, one of the
nation’s largest climbing centers, a 1,100foot Mega Zip line, flat water kayaking, eco
trekking, an adventure course, a canopy
tour and more, you can’t fit it all into one
visit. The center’s popularity continues to
grow and new additions keep coming. In
2015, the venue welcomes a new Pump
House Biergarten with 40 taps, four new zip
lines, a new rappelling wall and 11 miles of
additional hiking, biking and running trails.
Cuisine to Crave
Charlotte’s got a refreshing roster of new
restaurants that you’ll be craving long after
you leave. In Uptown, enjoy panoramic
views of the city skyline at Charlotte’s first
open-air rooftop restaurant and bar—
Fahrenheit Charlotte. The hot, new culinary
concept from Food Network star Rocco
Whalen features American regional cuisine
with Mediterranean and Asian accents.
While southern food may be a specialty
here, Charlotte’s culinary scene spans the
globe. One of the city’s highest Zagat-rated
restaurants, Passion8 Bistro, joins the
upscale dining scene in Charlotte’s Elizabeth
neighborhood with Sorrento-born Chef
Luca Annunziata at the helm. His career
took him to London, Germany, Switzerland
and beyond where he developed a passion
for blending global cuisines. In the historic
Myers Park neighborhood, one of the first
streetcar suburbs in Charlotte, you can
travel from Italy to France within just a
few blocks. Housed in a historic mansion
known as “the villa,” Stagioni, which means
“seasons” in Italian, serves up authentic
Tuscan-style cuisine made from fresh,
locally sourced ingredients. Located near
Mountain Island Lake, Heirloom offers
locally sourced, globally inspired fare with
a constantly changing menu and unique
culinary experience.
For a more local experience, try the The
Asbury, a new southern farm-to-fork
restaurant that sources all ingredients from
within a 200-mile radius. The restaurant,
located in The Dunhill Hotel, the oldest
hotel in Center City, is named in honor of
Louis Asbury Sr., the Charlotte architect
who designed the hotel in 1929. Coming
soon, fourth generation oyster farmer Travis
Croxton brings quality raw bar cuisine with
the concept RockSalt. The unique location
in Charlotte’s Myers Park neighborhood
breathes new life into a spot that was
once a dry cleaner, while the menu takes
advantage of the bounty of seafood from the
Carolinas and Virginia. In South End, Nan
and Byron’s is serving up American cuisine
with a southern twist. The concept for the
restaurant from the creators of 5Church
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NoDa Brewing Company
U.S. National Whitewater Center
(soon to be opening a location in Charleston,
SC) came from Grant Wood’s well-known
1930 “American Gothic” painting of the
man and woman (Nan and Byron) holding a
pitchfork in front of a farm.
Food tours have become the toasts (and
tastes) of the town with several companies
showing off the best that Charlotte is dishing
out these days. The charming character of
one of the city’s beloved neighborhoods
is on display during Feast Food Tours’
Dives to Dining Plaza Midwood Tour, which
even includes stops at Food Network’s
Diners, Drive-ins and Dives locales like
Dish. Feast Food Tours, Tour De Food
and Charlotte NC Tours offer a variety of
foodie adventures through Uptown, NoDa,
Midtown and more.
Sip & Savor
From microbreweries and brewpubs to
tasting rooms and wineries, Charlotte’s got a
lot to sip and savor. With over a dozen craft
breweries in operation and several on the
way, Charlotte’s overflowing with ways to
explore craft beer. The Olde Mecklenburg
Brewery (OMB) specializes in Germanstyle beers with a new 8.5-acre Brauhaus.
Just a few stops away on the LYNX Light
Rail, Triple C Brewing Co. serves up the
refreshing flavors of the Light Rail Pale
Ale and the Greenway IPA. The Unknown
Brewing Co. encourages craft beer lovers
to live without boundaries with their aptly
named signature brews like the Over the
Edge USPA. And Lenny Boy Brewing
Company is one of the first kombucha and
wild ale breweries in the Southeast and the
only certified organic microbrewery in North
Carolina.
In the historic NoDa neighborhood, you’ll
find three of the most notable breweries in
Charlotte. At NoDa Brewing Company try
Hop, Drop ‘N Roll, the gold medal winner
in the American IPA category at the 2014
World Beer Cup. Drop by on a Tuesday to
taste what could be one of their next award-
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winning beers as a part of the NoDable
Series. Then head next door to Birdsong
Brewing Co. to experience the eclectic
flair and flavorful favorites like the Jalapeño
Pale Ale. Heist Brewery, a contemporary
brewpub, offers handcrafted beers along
with unexpected culinary combinations
like the chicken and waffle sushi or the fire
roasted tofu steak.
Not to be outdone by its predecessors,
plenty of new brewery options are cropping
up making it one of the fastest growing
markets for the libation in the Southeast.
Sycamore Brewing uses fresh ingredients
and an all-natural brewing process at
their new brewery in South End, which is
housed in a former auto repair garage. Also
in South End, Sugar Creek Brewing is
committed to bringing high-quality Belgianinspired beer to Charlotte in a style and
commitment representative of Belgian
Trappist Monks. Charlotte’s first cidery, Red
Clay Ciderworks, is set to open in spring
2015 with Carolina-inspired flavors such
as Hoppin’ Good Thyme (a dry-hopped
cider infused with thyme) and Boot Leggin’
Bourbon Barrel.
In the North Carolina’s wine country, you’ll
find a winning blend of fine wines within
driving distance of Charlotte. Owned
by NASCAR legend Richard Childress,
Childress Vineyards produces dozens
of wines that have earned Gold and
Double Gold designations including their
Chardonnay and Meritage. Located in
the heart of the Yadkin Valley, Shelton
Vineyards is the largest family-owned
estate winery in North Carolina offering up
a bevy of award-winning wines along with
tours, tastings, dining, lodging, beautiful
picnic grounds and walking trails. For more
variety, take a tour with Yadkin Valley Wine
Tours to visit three wineries or explore
The Vineyards of Swan Creek, a cluster
of vineyards full of award-winning wines
including Raffaldini Vineyards, which
recently earned an “Editor’s Choice” pick in
Wine Enthusiast for its Sangiovese.
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Charlotte NC Tours
Reel Experiences
Charlotte’s stealing some of Hollywood’s
thunder as it becomes a popular destination
for well-known movies and television
productions. The family movie “Max”
starring Lauren Graham from “Gilmore
Girls” and “Parenthood” and the comedydrama “Ashby” starring Mickey Rourke, Nat
Wolff, Emma Roberts and Sarah Silverman
recently wrapped filming in Charlotte both
with a movie release date set for 2015.
The stars of the Emmy®-winning TV series
“Homeland” recently filmed three seasons
of the popular show in Charlotte. Doubling
as Washington, D.C., filming locations
in Charlotte have included government
buildings, high rises and hotels as well
as popular restaurants and bars like The
Diamond Restaurant in the eclectic Plaza
Midwood neighborhood, Ed’s Tavern in the
quaint Dilworth neighborhood, and Cutter’s
Cigar Bar & Lounge and The Capital Grille
in Uptown. And luxurious accommodations
like The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte and the
historic Duke Mansion bed and breakfast
were both featured in the series.
Other productions filmed over the years
included the first installment of “The
Hunger Games,” season eight of “The
Bachelorette” with Emily Maynard,
“Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky
Bobby” and “Shallow Hal” among others.
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