North Carolina

A Food Culture That Goes Way Beyond Barbecue

North Carolina takes its food seriously, and nowhere is that clearer than the long-running debate between eastern whole-hog barbecue with vinegar sauce and the Piedmont-style tomato-laced variety. But the state's culinary story has grown far beyond pork pits. Charlotte has become a genuine dining destination, Raleigh's Glenwood South buzzes with chef-driven restaurants, and Durham's reinvented tobacco warehouses now house some of the most inventive kitchens in the South. Pair a meal with a local craft brew from one of the state's many respected microbreweries and you have an evening well spent.

College Towns With Character to Spare

The Research Triangle formed by Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill is one of the most intellectually lively corners of the American South. Home to Duke University, the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University, the triangle pulses with live music, independent bookshops, gallery openings and fierce basketball allegiances. Chapel Hill's Franklin Street has the unhurried energy of a town that has been doing things its own way since colonial times, while Durham's American Tobacco Campus shows how post-industrial reinvention done right can give a city an entirely new identity.

Outdoor Adventure From Peaks to Paddling

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park straddles the North Carolina-Tennessee border and draws millions of visitors to its hiking trails, autumn foliage and abundant wildlife. Whitewater rafters head to the Nantahala Gorge, kayakers explore the sounds behind the Outer Banks, and cyclists tackle the legendary road climbs around Brevard and Boone. When the summer heat builds on the Piedmont, the mountains offer cool refuge; when Atlantic hurricanes keep a respectful distance, the Cape Hatteras beaches deliver some of the best surfing on the East Coast.