Things To Do
Holiday Lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway
This is hands down our favorite activity to do in the winter. Drive your car on a literal race track, tune your radio to the right station, and watch millions of lights sync to the music and dance. This is a super popular attraction, so we recommend getting in line ~45 min before it opens and don't skip on the fast pass if you can!
U.S. National Whitewater Center
We love the lights and ice skating rink at the WWC in winter! There are plenty of trails to hike and sometimes festive art installations.
Winterfest at Carowinds
Enjoy the holiday season at Carowinds with festive light displays, ice skating, live entertainment, and other holiday fun!
Paper Skyscraper
The cutest gift shop and a Charlotte staple! Stop here for the best Charlotte swag.
Midwood Smokehouse
Our favorite BBQ joint and just one of many locations around Charlotte. You can't visit without ordering the skillet corn bread, and the burnt ends don't disappoint.
Amélie's French Bakery & Café
We love stopping here for a little treat after we run errands (yes, we need a reward for going grocery shopping). Matt's usual is a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich with an iced espresso, and Markie gets the bacon, fig, and brie tartine with a lavender lemonade. Don't forget to admire the rainbow of macarons in their dessert case! *This is just one of multiple locations around the Charlotte area.
Optimist Hall
This one is a little farther out of the way, but it's worth it. Optimist Hall is an old textile mill turned food hall with 15+ vendors, from pizza to bao buns to burgers. There's also a cute gift shop and cocktail bar on the ground floor.
18 things to eat, see and do in Belmont
Check out this article from Charlotte Axios for some fun activities in Belmont!