We will have a 5 and a half hour break on the way back from Las Vegas to London. Is the airport close enough to have a quick look round the town? What might be worth seeing nearby? Any suggestions welcome.
5.5 Hour StopoverThe Charlotte airport is fairly close to downtown. Options might depend on the day of the week. Two possibilities might be the Mint Museum (art)or a tour of the very nice close-in residential neighborhoods such as Myers Park. The NASCAR museum is also supposed to be nice but it%26#39;s a bit more remote.
5.5 Hour StopoverWe need to know the day of the week and times to make suggestions. Not much close by to see ( except the Billy Graham Library). Traffic could be formidable and you have to remember the time it will take to check back in once you leave.
Let us know your days and hours...and were you going to take a cab? Quite expensive for several hours.
Thanks for your help so far. It will be a Saturday, landing about 3.00pm, taking off again around 8.30pm. I think we would take a cab to wherever we are going, makes things easier then.
There%26#39;s not much to see downtown except some buildings and arts venues. There is little retail..there are some restaurants. The Museum of the New South is downtown - not sure their Sat. hours- you can check.Discovery Place Science Museum and Imax theater are also downtown.
The Mint Museum of Art is quite a ways from the airport but if you like art, it%26#39;s a nice venue.
SouthPark Mall is a straight shot down Tyvola Rd - 20 minutes on a Saturday - it%26#39;s an upscale mall with good restaurants nearby.
The Billy Graham Library and Museum is on Bill Graham Parkway - 5 minutes from the airport - if you are interested in his life and ministry - free admission.Nice place to walk, too.
The U.S. National Whitewater Center is ten minutes from the airport - you can walk the trails around the channel and watch people go down the rapids ( or try it yourself! Bring a change of clothes!).
Out of time...back later....
Back.... With travel times and going through security I%26#39;d plan on 3 hours or so at your destination.
Charlotte is a working/residential town- we really don%26#39;t have a lot of ';attractions';.
If you do go uptown, I%26#39;d really recommend Museum of the New South (if it%26#39;s open) and IMAX if something good is playing. The Old Settler%26#39;s Cemetery contains the graves of the city founders. There are few historical buildings left - they%26#39;ve been torn down for the new and glitzy ( sigh).
You made me think - I live 10 minutes from the airport - I need to start a company that caters to people who have layovers and would like to leave the airport for quick tours or shopping/dining off site. I might just do that when I retire soon!
Best wishes.
Many thanks for your help, much appreciated!
Bud%26#39;s right... Charlotte isn%26#39;t an attraction spot. And considering it%26#39;s an international flight, stay at the airport and consider yourself lucky.
NYC - you must have really had a bad experience in Charlotte. As much as I love visiting NYC, I could go on the NYC forum and talk all day about things that are wrong with it, but I don%26#39;t. If you have a specific item you%26#39;d like to critique, that could be helpful. But your general trashing of our home is distasteful and rude. How about some courtesy?
I find there are many great things to do in Charlotte- I make the trip down a couple of times a year from another NC town. If you have a 5 hr layover, I%26#39;d recommend hitting the US National Whitewater center. The front desk will keep your luggage (I%26#39;ve done it) and if you have some comfy clothes you can climb their natural-feeling rock walls, hike/bike the trails, or if you have a good change of clothes and a swim suit you could do a raft run down their Class IV man-made river. There%26#39;s a good place to grab a bite too if needed. It%26#39;s only about 10-15 min from the airport, but make arrangements with the driver to have someone pick you up again as it%26#39;s not in a place where you can flag down a cab.
If the weather is nice you should check out our US Whitewater Center:
http://www.usnwc.org/The-Facility.html
They have lots of fun things to do such as hiking, rafting, rock climbing. Hiking is free but all of the rest have a fee. Its fun to just watch the people raft and watch the olympic kayakers train.
They have a nice bar and good food also. Its about 15 minutes from the Airport and should be an easy taxi ride. Just make sure you call the taxi well before you need to leave the center since they do not have any taxis waiting at the center for people.
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