North Carolina's largest city is just 2 hours from Asheville, a.k.a the perfect distance for a day trip or weekend getaway. But with a population of 859,035 (more than 10 times the size of Asheville), it can be overwhelming to know where to start. To save you the Googling, we put together a 24-hour guide to the Queen City.

Saturday

Get on the road early, and make your first stop coffee + breakfast.

9 a.m. | Central Coffee, 719 Louise Ave. – the OG Plaza Midwood location, not the new one in South End

What to order: Dirty chai + spinach quiche. It’s not uncommon to see the line for them out the door + down the sidewalk.

10 a.m. | Head to the U.S. National Whitewater Center. With rock climbing, kayaking, white-water rafting + more, it's the ultimate adventure-station. Buy a pass and join in or simply watch the fun for a few hours.

Photo by U.S. National Whitewater Center

1 p.m. | It’s 5 o’clock somewhere, right? Something that these N.C. cities have in common is the plethora of breweries – and all within close proximity of each other, too. Sycamore, Wooden Robot + Triple C are staples in South End, and all along the Light Rail (Charlotte’s transit system). So if you’ve enjoyed a few too many beers, hop on the light rail to Uptown and do some exploring. Here’s how to use it.

2:30 p.m. | Assuming you’ve decided to catch a ride to Uptown (and left your car at the brewery), these are all fun things you can walk to:

7th Street Public Market | The Light Rail will drop you off at the market’s front door, and if you didn’t cave + eat lunch from a food truck at one of the breweries, this place has it all. Remember when we mentioned it in our food halls story? You can grab food from Local Loaf, Hazelnuts Creperie, Pure Pizza or Bonsai Fusion; do a little more shopping from all the local vendors; or continue your beer drinking at Tank’s Tap.

Romare Bearden Park |The views of the city are prime from this park. And we would definitely recommend that you go back at night – so you can see the rainbow wall all lit up. It’s also right next to the Charlotte Knights’ stadium – so if a baseball game is going on the day you visit, look into getting tickets + posting up for a few.
Museum hopping | Levine Museum of the New South (including a fascinating history exhibit about how Charlotte developed from “Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers”), the Mint Museum (a huge art museum that just reopened after renovations) + Discovery Place (for the kid in you, or the real kid with you).

5 p.m. | Now it actually is 5 o’clock somewhere. Time for pre-dinner cocktails. Here are two different vibes:

- Fahrenheit | This place screams Charlotte. If you want city views, this is your spot.
- The Cellar | An underground speakeasy that takes you back to the Prohibition era.

Fahrenheit’s outdoor deck | @andrew_gordon7

Stoke | They have several cocktails on tap, and delicious deviled eggs. ‘Nuff said.
Haberdish | Their mixologist is a genius. I mean, she freezes flowers in their ice cubes. And their punch bowls are literal artwork. If you’re really feeling yourself here, I’d stay for dinner (and obvi order the deviled eggs, ha).

7 p.m. | A must-visit is Seoul Food Meat Company. Order everything: wings (normal + tofu, trust us about the tofu), ramen mac n’ cheese, pimento corn cheese, potato swirl, bao buns – and a side of pulled pork to stuff them. Eat like this is your last meal. Then go outside and play soccer pool, cornhole, beer pong, etc. Their patio is awesome. AND. You can rent karaoke rooms here...

9:30 p.m. | At this point, you’re staying the night. Check out hotels here. (Or try your hand with Airbnb.) If you're still looking for a nightcap, head over to The Roxburry for an 80s + 90s throwback dance party, or just hang in the Epicenter – because that Tin Roof always has really good live music.

Sunday

10 a.m. | Brunch at little spoon. They play 90’s hip-hop + serve coffee in a bowl. Order the 8-minute cookies as your app. And then do as you please for entrees; you can’t go wrong with anything here.

If you’re not ready to leave the Queen City just yet, we suggest you make the trek to IKEA – and walk off your brunch in the amusement park they call a home store. That should take at least a few hours.

... Then, it'll be just the right time to hop back on the highway + head back towards the mountains.

Shoutout to Sam with the COLAtoday team for giving us all the Charlotte pro-tips. She spent a few years living there before returning to her S.C. roots and joining our sister publication.

What is your favorite part about Charlotte?Reply + let us know.

- AVLtoday team