Charlotte flights and travel guide

The largest city in North Carolina, Charlotte, is also the second-largest banking centre in the country. It’s also one of the fastest growing cities in the US, attracting visitors from all over the world to book flights to Charlotte.

The top attraction in Charlotte is Discovery Place, a hands-on science and technology museum that features permanent exhibits such as a tropical rain forest, an aquarium, dinosaurs with robotic models that roar and move, and an IMAX Dome theatre. The child-oriented Charlotte Nature Museum exhibits the animals and plants of the area including a Butterfly Garden.

To step back in time, take a historic walking tour through Uptown. Charlotte dates from Revolutionary War times (it is named after King George III’s wife, Queen Charlotte) and its Uptown area includes the Fourth Ward neighbourhoods, Charlotte's "old city." The architecture and sensibility of this neighbourhood provide a glimpse of life in a less hectic time.

Although primarily a business town, complete with futuristic high-rises and elevated walkways, travellers book flights to Charlotte to visit its museums and restaurants, and explore its fascinating history.

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When to Fly to Charlotte

Winter temperatures dip to -1 degrees. Summer temperatures are in the 30s, with July reaching 40, and it can be humid. July is typically the warmest month and January the coldest.

Peak season

Spring is probably the most attractive season to take a flight to Charlotte with all the trees and shrubs in bloom. Folk, craft, art, and music festivals tend to take place in summer, as do sports events. State and local fairs are held mainly in August and September, with a few in early July and October. Fall has spectacular foliage.

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Getting Downtown Charlotte

Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)

Distance: eight miles west of Charlotte.

Drive time: 20 mins.

You can get to downtown via bus, limousine/shuttle, taxi, or car hire. All ground transportation is located on the curbside of the lower Baggage Claim level of the terminal with the exception of City Bus Service, which picks up on the east end of the upper ticketing level of the terminal. Hotels and motels that have courtesy vehicles can be contacted through one of four Traveler Information Centers on the Baggage Claim Level. See the Ground Transportation page of the airport web site for more information.

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Getting Around Charlotte

If you’re staying in Charlotte, you can walk around the Uptown area or take the Gold Rush shuttle, which provides free service throughout Uptown. There’s trolley service from Historic South End to Center City Charlotte, and the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) provides public transportation throughout the city.

To tour the outlying areas you’ll need a car. As with most major cities, traffic can be difficult during the rush hour.

When driving around Charlotte, pay attention to street names. Several major streets have a name change after an intersection. Also, several roads have the same name; they may all connect in some way, but it can be confusing for a driver who’s not paying attention.

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Charlotte Insider Information

• It could be argued that the most popular attraction is NASCAR. Charlotte is a car racing hub: the majority of NASCAR teams and race shops are within an hour's drive of Charlotte, and most NASCAR drivers maintain a residence in or near the city. It is said that 73 per cent of American motor-sports employees are based within two hours of Charlotte. For those interested, fifteen minutes from downtown Charlotte will have you at the Lowe's Motor Speedway.
• The Charlotte area is rich with gardens. The Botanical Gardens at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte have orchids, carnivorous plants, butterfly and hummingbird gardens, a tropical rain forest, and plants indigenous to the area.
• Latta Plantation was a successful cotton plantation and is now a living history farm. Visitors can experience what life was like for planters, farmers, and slaves of the North Carolina backcountry in the early 19th century.
• Kings Mountain National Military Park, 30 miles west of Charlotte, is the site of a significant victory by American Patriots over American Loyalists during the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War. The battle destroyed the left wing of Cornwallis' army and effectively ended Loyalist ascendance in the Carolinas. The park has a museum and a trail around the battlefield sites.
• The Mint Museum of Art, built in 1836 as a US Mint, has permanent collections of American, European, African, pre-Columbian, and Spanish colonial art; porcelain and pottery; regional crafts; and historic costumes.
• Reed Gold Mine, east of Charlotte, is where Conrad Reed discovered a 17-pound nugget in 1799 and started America's first documented gold rush. Guided underground tours of the gold mine are available, as well as seasonal gold panning, walking trails, and a stamp mill.
• The best places to find antiques are reputed to be the towns of Waxhaw, Pineville, and Matthews. Shops are usually open from Monday through Saturday in Pineville and Matthews. In Waxhaw, some shops are open on Sunday but closed on Monday, and Waxhaw holds an annual antiques fair each February.

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Charlotte Airports

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