Charlotte: A guide to short-term rentals

Charlotte is served by Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the biggest airport in North Carolina and one of the busiest in the U.S. If you’re traveling to Uptown (or Center City, another name for the city’s central business district) from the airport, the Sprinter Bus Service is a convenient and affordable way to go. Many visitors also choose to take taxis, either through local companies or ride-sharing apps, especially if they aren’t staying at a short-term rental right around the Uptown area.

Once you’re in the city, you can ride the LYNX Blue Line light rail or the CityLYNX Gold Line streetcar between neighborhoods. Biking is also a great option in Charlotte, given the city’s size, and bike-share stations and rental shops can be found scattered throughout the city’s neighborhoods. Bus routes operated by CATS also connect Charlotte’s far-flung quadrants. Many parts of Charlotte are eminently walkable, but it’s worth doing a little research before you commit to traveling by foot. Most residents and visitors rely on cars to get around because of the city’s layout.

NASCAR fans, rejoice: Uptown’s NASCAR Hall of Fame floors it with simulators and souvenirs in addition to exhibits on the history of the sport and tributes to its greatest drivers.

The Mint Museum Uptown is a center for international art and part of a cultural campus that includes the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art and the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts and Culture.

The Mint Museum Randolph, located in the former first branch of the United States Mint, has a range of ancient and global art in a calming park environment.

For a glimpse into the state and country’s troubled history, visit the Historic Latta Plantation, a dozen miles from Uptown, where more than thirty enslaved people picked cotton for the Latta family. Today the site is part of a nature preserve that includes the Carolina Raptor Center, where injured hawks and other predatory birds recuperate and live.

Charlotte has almost 200 neighborhoods, and each of them has something different to offer when it comes to eating. But many of the city’s best restaurants are concentrated Uptown, with a range of fine dining and fast casual options. Just east of Uptown, Plaza Midwood is a foodie destination, with a mix of trendy spots and expertly executed comfort food. For a delicious high-end meal, head to Elizabeth, next to Uptown and south of Plaza Midwood. There are fewer restaurants here, but their quality is unmatched.

Charlotte is rich in parks, many of which are connected by greenways, perfect for walking or biking. Freedom Park, located between the Dilworth and Myers Park neighborhoods, is a local favorite, with 98 acres of meadows, ponds, and trees. Reedy Creek Nature Center and Preserve is a great place to get away from the city (and bring a picnic). At the UNC Charlotte Botanical Garden, you can bask in the wonders of plant life by exploring thousands of exotic species.

In the early 1800s, not far from Charlotte, a jeweler paid a few dollars for a heavy rock a family had been using as a doorstop after a 12-year-old boy brought it home. The rock was almost solid gold. This initiated the first gold rush in the U.S., with prospectors and mining companies descending on the Charlotte area. Until the California gold rush, North Carolina was the country’s main gold producer, and the remnants of that era remain today in the form of old mines, some of which lie beneath the city’s Uptown neighborhood.