At the very heart of National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) country, 14 miles northeast of Uptown, Charlotte’s prestigious motorsports arena accommodates almost 90,000 spectators. The season lasts from April to November, with daily speedway tours and lesser events supplementing showcase NASCAR races such as May’s Coca-Cola 600.
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Charlotte Motor Speedway
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Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
16.49 MILES
The Sullenberger Aviation Museum, honoring Captain Chesley Burnett “Sully” Sullenberger III, is located at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
Levine Museum of the New South
12.16 MILES
Tracing the story of the ‘New South’ that emerged from the ashes of the Civil War, this committed museum explores the years of Reconstruction, Jim Crow…
12.92 MILES
The US Mint opened its first-ever outpost in Uptown Charlotte in 1837, using gold mined from the mountains nearby. Transported 3 miles southeast a century…
12.73 MILES
The race-car simulator ($5) at this rip-roaring Uptown museum hurtles you onto the track and into a 15-car race that feels surprisingly real. Elsewhere,…
12.73 MILES
A stunning modernist edifice tucked between mighty skyscrapers, the Uptown portion of Charlotte’s Mint Museum consists of two distinct halves. One makes a…
13.82 MILES
This 19th-century cotton plantation occupies a small corner of a scenic nature preserve, a dozen miles north of Uptown Charlotte. Exhibits in the visitor…
12.2 MILES
Illustrating simple scientific principles with eye-catching displays, Discovery Place is targeted largely at kids. It centers on a steamy rainforest that…
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12.7 MILES
An Uptown landmark, thanks to sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle’s huge mirror-tiled Firebird out front, this showcase for 20th-century art was donated to the…
Nearby Charlotte attractions
1. Charlotte Museum of History
9.37 MILES
There’s a lot to read at Charlotte’s history museum, in a restored mansion 6 miles east of the center. Wordy displays explain the city’s origins, and its…
2. Levine Museum of the New South
12.16 MILES
Tracing the story of the ‘New South’ that emerged from the ashes of the Civil War, this committed museum explores the years of Reconstruction, Jim Crow…
12.2 MILES
Illustrating simple scientific principles with eye-catching displays, Discovery Place is targeted largely at kids. It centers on a steamy rainforest that…
12.6 MILES
This small park celebrates the African American artist and writer Romare Bearden, born in Charlotte in 1911. A pretty spot to admire the Uptown skyline or…
5. Bechtler Museum of Modern Art
12.7 MILES
An Uptown landmark, thanks to sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle’s huge mirror-tiled Firebird out front, this showcase for 20th-century art was donated to the…
12.73 MILES
The race-car simulator ($5) at this rip-roaring Uptown museum hurtles you onto the track and into a 15-car race that feels surprisingly real. Elsewhere,…
12.73 MILES
A stunning modernist edifice tucked between mighty skyscrapers, the Uptown portion of Charlotte’s Mint Museum consists of two distinct halves. One makes a…
12.78 MILES
This thriving Uptown art museum was named in honor of former city mayor and civil rights champion Harvey Gannt. Its three small galleries host changing…