Charlotte is North Carolina's largest city and the second-largest banking center in the United States after New York. But beyond the glass towers of Uptown, the city has genuine Southern character and a history that stretches back to the eighteenth century.
Walking through the center of the city is like walking back in time. The Historic Latta Plantation, Historic Rosedale, and the beautiful historic neighborhoods give you an impression of what life in the Old South was like. Charlotte was twice occupied by enemy troops during the Revolution, earning it the nickname "The Hornet's Nest" for the fierce resistance of its residents.
For something more modern, Discovery Place is one of the nation's top hands-on science museums, with a planetarium and IMAX theatre. The NASCAR Hall of Fame tells the story of stock car racing from its moonshining roots to the present. The city's food scene has grown considerably, with a concentration of good restaurants in the South End and NoDa districts.
Charlotte's cultural district in Uptown clusters some strong museums within a short walk of each other: the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, the Mint Museum Uptown, and the Harvey B. Gantt Center make for a genuinely good museum day. The U.S. National Whitewater Center on the Catawba River is one of the most unusual outdoor facilities in any American city.