North Carolina Tourism and Travel Guide. Discount Hotels Guide.

North Carolina Tourism and History. North Carolina Tourism, Travel Guide and Discount Hotels Guide. Includes: Asheville and Black Mountain, Beaufort, Boone, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Durham, Edenton, Raleigh, Wilmington, Winston Salem and More.

NORTH CAROLINA, although the most industrialized of the Southern states, remains relatively rural and poor, with just six million people spread over an area larger than England. It suffered heavily during the Civil War, and Reconstruction brought mixed fortunes: although poverty and hostility were still endemic the Democrats, once they regained control in 1870, were effective in stamping out the Ku Klux Klan. Since then there have been parallel traditions of radical black, and white racist, activity. Greensboro, for example, where Jesse Jackson served his political apprenticeship, was the site of the 1960 lunch-counter sit in by black students, and also of the Greensboro Massacre of 1979, when Klansmen killed five people at a Communist Workers Party demonstration.

We offer you Discount Hotels at Great Rates at these top North Carolina Destinations: Asheville Hotels, Black Mountain, Beaufort, Boone and Chapel Hill Hotels. Additionally: Charlotte Hotels, Durham Hotels, Edenton Lodging, Raleigh Hotels, Wilmington Hotels, Winston Hotels and Salem Hotels.

Geographically, the State of North Carolina breaks down into three distinct areas, running from east to west, the coast, the Piedmont and the mountains that help make it one of the more interesting states to tour around. For tourists, the coast is the most promising area, with great beaches, beautiful landscapes and a fascinating history. The inner coast consists largely of the less developed Albemarle Peninsula, with colonial Edenton nearby. The central Piedmont is dominated by manufacturing cities, and by the academic institutions of the prestigious Research Triangle: Raleigh North Carolina, the state capital, is home to North Carolina State University. Duke University is at Durham, and the University of North Carolina at trendy Chapel Hill. Winston and Salem combines tobacco culture and Moravian heritage, while Charlotte bills itself as the next boom city of the South, though for the moment it's distinguished by little but its downtown skyscrapers. In the mountains, one of the most stunning stretches of Appalachia, the only towns of any size, Boone and Asheville, are linked by the spectacular Blue Ridge Parkway, while the Great Smoky Mountains National Park overlaps the border with Tennessee.

Charlotte North Carolina Tourism
More than anywhere else in the region, CHARLOTTE North Carolina, at the junction of I-77 and I-85 near the South Carolina border, can genuinely claim to have made it: a banking and transportation center that has become the largest city in the state, "boosted," in much the same way as Atlanta, by ambitious business and city leaders. They like to project the image of a sophisticated, fast lane cultural metropolis, in fact its center is somewhat soulless, though many nearby neighborhoods are delightful and stuffed with good places to eat. Served by direct British Airways flights from London, however, it does make one of the best and most manageable arrival points in the region.

The chief attraction in downtown Charlotte, an unlovely mass of skyscrapers and concrete known as "uptown," is Discovery Place, 301 N Tryon St, a kids oriented science museum with an indoor rainforest and an OMNIMAX theater hosting a planetarium tel 704/372-6261 for hours and prices. There is also the Nature Museum at 1658 Sterling Rd Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 1pm-5pm; tel 704/337-2671, geared toward children seven years and under, and replete with rabbits, hamsters and ponies, as well as puppet shows and a butterfly room. Another major landmark, on the east side of downtown, is the gigantic Ericsson Stadium, home of the N.F.L. team, the Carolina Panthers.

Although most Charlotte restaurants and stores are tucked away inside the city's skyscrapers, Tryon Street is downtown's busiest thoroughfare. At the intersection of Tryon and Trade streets is Independence Square , where at each corner giant modern statues stand - depicting transportation, commerce, industry and the future. Just a few blocks away, the newly renovated Levine Museum of the New South , 200 E 7th St (Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 1am-5pm; $6), looks at the growth of the region from Reconstruction onwards. Interesting vignettes examine musical history, with the spotlight falling on local names such as gospel legends the Golden Gate Quartet. The Mint Museum of Art , three miles further southeast at 2730 Randolph Rd on bus #15 (Tues 10am-10pm, Wed-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm; $6; tel 704/337-4820), has a good array of Indian, pre-Columbian and African art, plus a noted collection of pottery and porcelain. The Mint Museum of Craft and Design at 220 N Tryon St, is also worth a stop for its eclectic collection of metal, glass, wood, fiber and ceramic works (Tues-Thurs 10am-7pm, Fri 10am-9pm, Sat 10am-7pm, Sun noon-5pm; $6; tel 704/337-4920).

For those interested in NASCAR racing, fifteen minutes from downtown in the suburb of Concord is the Lowes Motor Speedway , where guided tours are available, and in late May the Coca Cola 600 comes to town.

Asheville North Carolina Tourism
Encircled by a ring of interstates, and skirted to the east and south by the Parkway, modest ASHEVILLE, roughly 100 miles southwest of Boone, retains an appealing downtown core. It's also something of a New Age center, with ephemera stores, holistic healing sessions and a tradition among the region's farmers of growing medicinal herbs. Two miles south on Biltmore Avenue, the Biltmore Estate is the largest private mansion in the US daily 8.30am-5pm; $33; tel 828-255-1776. Built in the late nineteenth century by George Vanderbilt and loosely modeled on a Loire chateau, it's a wild piece of nouveau riche folly, from the Victorian chic of the indoor palm court to the landscaped gardens.

Asheville North Carolina's Greyhound Trailways terminal is inconveniently located at 2 Tunnel Rd, two miles out of downtown on bus #13 or #4 stopping at the Innsbruck Mall. Central motels include the American Court , 85 Merrimon Ave tel 1-800 233-3582, fax 828 253-2507, $75-100 for a bit of pampering, head for the luxurious Cedar Crest B&B, 674 Biltmore Ave tel 828 252-1389, fax 828 253-7667, $130-160. The nearest campground is Bear Creek RV Park, 81 S Bear Creek Rd, off I-40 to the west tel 828 253-0798, from $26 per night.

There are several upmarket places to eat, among them tiny Salsas, 6 Patton Ave tel 828 252-9805, serving up an aromatic blend of Mexican and Caribbean dishes, though tables can be hard to come by. The Laughing Seed Café , 40 Wall St tel 828 252-3445, has wonderful vegetarian food check out the meatloaf, while Beanstreets Coffee, 3 Broadway tel 828 255-8180, is a fun place to hang out. Although Asheville is small, there are enough students to keep a reasonable nightlife scene going; Barleys, 42 Biltmore Ave tel 828 255-0504, is the best brewpub in town and offers good food and live music. Ashville Music Zone , 81 Broadway tel 828 255-8811, is a very popular venue which caters to all sorts of music tastes, and Jack of the Wood, 95 Patton Ave tel 828 252-5445, is an enjoyable pub.

Pick up information on the numerous local summer music and craft festivals from the downtown visitor center, 151 Haywood St tel 828 258-6101 or 1-800 257-1300. Augusts Mountain Dance and Folk Festival features bluegrass and traditional dancing, while the hugely enjoyable Leaf Festival, a folk music and arts and crafts gathering held in mid-May and October in BLACK MOUNTAIN , fourteen miles east on I-40 one bus a day, showcases Appalachian and world folk music, usually attracting major European and African musicians. There's little to do in Black Mountain otherwise, though the clear fresh air, pretty views and relaxed pace make a stroll worthwhile. The Monte Vista there, at 308 W State St tel 828 669-2119, fax 828 669-0596, $75-100, is a small, very comfortable hotel with regional decor, while the Town Pump, 143 Cherry St tel 828 669-4808, is a tavern music venue.

Twenty miles southeast of the Parkway on US-64/74, the natural granite tower of Chimney Rock sticks out from the almost-sheer side of Hickory Nut Gorge summer daily 8.30am-5.30pm rest of year daily 8.30am-4.30pm park stays open about an hour and a half past last ticket sale; $10; tel 828 625-9611 or 1-800 277-9611. After taking the elevator to the top, you can clamber up and down steps and walk along protected walkways atop the impressive cliffs. Many of the climactic moments of The Last of the Mohicans were filmed here; you may recognize the mighty waterfall that drops 400ft from the western end of the gorge. From the top you can see Lake Lure , where the movie Dirty Dancing was filmed.

Raleigh North Carolina Tourism
RALEIGH , North Carolina's capital, stands on I-40 at the very heart of the state, focusing around the central, pedestrianized Capitol Square. The Capitol itself is worth a look if only to see the copy of Canovas bizarre statue of George Washington in Roman garb Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 1-5pm free. Just steps away the North Carolina Museum of History , 5 E Edenton St Tues-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm free tel 919 715-0200 is impressively far-reaching, a chronological trot through the states history from the viewpoint of its people, with particularly strong sections on women. Opposite is the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, 11 W Jones St Mon-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 1-5pm free tel 919 733-7450, which looks at local geology, as well as animal and plant life, going all the way back to the dinosaur age.

The four block City Market , south of the capitol, arranged around Martin Street and Moore Square, holds a number of fantastic shops and dining options; check out the local artists and sculptors at work in Artspace, 201 E Davie St Mon-Sat 9am-5pm. American President Andrew Johnson was born in a small hut just north of where the capitol now stands, his birthplace has since been moved to Mordecai Historic Park, north of town at 1 Mimosa St: Mon and Wed-Sat 10am-4pm, Sun 1-4pm; $3-6. Here you can also see the Mordecai House, built by a wealthy plantation owner and continuously inhabited by the same family for two centuries. A little way out to the northwest via I-40, the impressive North Carolina Museum of Art , 2110 Blue Ridge Blvd. Tuesday - Thursday and Saturday 9am-5pm, Fri 9am-9pm, Sun 11am-6pm tours daily 1.30pm; free; tel 919 839-6262, has an eclectic display of works from Africa, Europe and the US. It also boasts the particularly good Blue Ridge Restaurant which is open for lunch Tuesday to Friday, for brunch at the weekend and dinner on Friday tel 919 833-3548.

North Carolina Tourism and Hotels Guides
North Carolina Tourism