Wilmington is one of the most beautiful cities on the North Carolina coast. Founded over 250 years ago on the shores of the Cape Fear River, it has a rich past that is visible in its architecture — the Wilmington Historic District is one of the largest listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with street after street of intact antebellum and Victorian buildings.
The USS North Carolina battleship moored across the river is the city's most impressive single attraction — a 728-foot WWII warship that earned 15 battle stars, open for self-guided tours. The Cape Fear Museum covers the city's history honestly, including the 1898 Wilmington massacre — a largely forgotten episode in which a white supremacist mob overthrew the city's elected government. Thalian Hall, one of the oldest operating theatres in the country, hosts concerts and performances year-round. And the Cape Fear Serpentarium — a private collection of venomous snakes in a downtown building — is one of the stranger attractions in the American South.
When evening approaches, sit in Riverfront Park and watch the light change over the river. The Cotton Exchange, a converted 19th-century warehouse complex, has restaurants and shops on the waterfront. The city is also a film industry hub — sometimes called "Wilmywood" — and EUE/Screen Gems Studios offers tours.
The beaches are a short drive east. Wrightsville Beach is the closest and most popular, a classic Atlantic beach town with surf shops, restaurants, and a fishing pier. Carolina Beach and Kure Beach to the south are more relaxed, and the Fort Fisher State Historic Site at the southern tip tells the story of the Civil War's largest amphibious assault.