Things To Do
Downtown Riverwalk
Walk along the historic Cape Fear River in the heart of Downtown Wilmington on the nearly two-mile scenic walkway. Stretching from Nunn Street to the Isabella Holmes Bridge, the Riverwalk is lined with an assortment of markets, unique boutiques, and art galleries, as well as outdoor cafes and narrated tours.
The Cargo District
The Cargo District is a unqiue part of downtown where the buildings have all been made out of repurposed shipping containers. This is by far our favorite area of downtown to hangout at, with so many diverse local shops, bars, eateries, and more. Fermental is our spot, it's the bottle shop where we had our first date and we are absolutely regulars here! Some of our other faves in this area are the Alcove Beer Garden, End of Days Distillery, and CheeseSmith (best grilled cheese you'll ever have!)
Coffee Shops
Have to say...we have some amazing coffee shops in Wilmington! Some favorites to check out are: Hidden Grounds Coffee, Drift Coffee & Kitchen, Concorde Espresso Bar, and Port City Java. Drift has great breakfast and lunch options, as well. PCJ offers quick grab and go breakfast - Taylor may or may not get a latte and a Med wrap about once a week here :)
Bars & Breweries
We have so many cool, local breweries and bars in the downtown area to check out! Some of our best recs are: Palate Bottle Shop, Whiskey Tango Cocktail Bar, Cloud 9 Rooftop Bar (in Embassy Suites!), Satellite Bar & Lounge, Underfront Bar, Flytrap Brewing, The Husk, Ponysaurus Brewing, The Vine Winery
Restaurants
So many great, diverse options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! If you have time to explore around, check out some of our favorites in the area: Indochine (Thai/Vietnamese) - the BEST! YoSake (asian/sushi) The Half (sandwiches) The Kitchen Sink (brunch/lunch) Benny's Big Time (best pizza ever) The Copper Penny - featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Drives! Block Taco
Beaches
Wilmington is home to some of the most gorgeous beach towns on the east coast. We hope you get an opportunity to explore while you're here! ~WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH~ WB is 20 minutes from Downtown Wilmington and has so much to offer. There is a 2.5 mile walking loop around the main island, with many cool places to stop and check out. Zeke's Bowls has great coffee, juices, acai and poke bowls! The Oceanic is a restaurant on the pier - recommend going for drinks and apps! Sunday's is a cafe across from the beach, with a laidback atmosphere - beers, coffee, smoothies and snacks. Ben proposed on South End WB, so this place is very special to us! ~CAROLINA BEACH~ CB is such a fun town about 30 mins away. From the amazing State Park to the huge Boardwalk, there is so much to see! Highly recommend Hurricane Alley's and the Fat Pelican dive bar! ~KURE BEACH~ Right beyond CB is home to the historic, insanely beautiful Fort Fisher. You can find trails to walk here, as well as the NC aquarium.
