This destination offers a lot to do when the temperatures drop.
With temperatures averaging around 50 degrees from December to March, an off-season trip to Wilmington, North Carolina won’t necessarily tan, but there’s more to this coastal enclave than its beach reputation suggests. Although it’s still the damage caused by Hurricane Florence in the fall, the community is well on its way to recovery and it’s a great time to visit. From riverside walks to history lessons, art excursions and five-star Restaurants, you can spend a winter weekend in the port city.
1. get out
It may not be warm enough to sunbathe, but even at below-average temperatures, Wrightsville Beach is a great destination for collecting shells and taking long walks in the sand, especially at sunrise. In addition, parking is free from November 1 to March 1. Just above the dam, the huge Airlie Gardens are a haven of peace, with old oaks dripping with Spanish moss and a sculpture garden paying to the fascinating work of Minnie Evans, a prolific and self-taught African-American visionary who only started drawing or painting at the age of 43. Don’t miss the Bottle Chapel, a 3D representation of Minnie’s paintings in cement, metal and colored glass bottles. Downtown, Pop at Pineapple Studios (lovepineapplestudios.com ) for a pottery or Yoga class, take a break for a beverage at the Front Street Brewery (frontstreetbrewery.com ) or The local outpost of For Taphouse (pourtaproom.com ), and walk along the Riverwalk, 1.75 miles of trails along the Cape Fear River with shops, restaurants, and water views.
2. Take a history lesson
The city of Wilmington, founded in 1739, has known many things, from the revolutionary debate to the cessation of the civil debate through the shipbuilding of the World Debate II. a trio of historic houses, each open to visitors, shows how the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were built in Burgwin-Wright in 1770. Wright is a Georgian house built directly on the old cage and is the only colonial building in the city open to the public. Discover the original kitchen and the old cells, then take a break in the terraced garden that you can Explore for free. Completed in 1852, Latimer House was the Victorian estate of a wealthy merchant family – and before the emancipation of the 11 slaves who served them. A guided tour offers a vivid insight into life at the time, while a walking tour of the Bellamy Mansion, built around 1861, mainly by enslaved workers, shows a restored shed and the original quarters of the slaves. A few minutes from the city, opposite the Wrightsville Beach seawall, is the Wrightsville Beach Museum of History, housed in a 1909 cottage, which presents the history of the swimsuit and a model of the beach with a miniature work trolley.
3. walking and talking
Wilmington offers a variety of walks to help you see the sights. Led by Beverly Tetterton, former research librarian and longtime member of the city’s Conservation Commission, alongside Tech guru Dan Camancho, Wilmington.towers offers four app tours, three of which focus on the city’s general past and the Civil War, as well as a Pub tour that spreads the dirt over 13 watering holes-although it is not recommended to cover the baker’s dozen in one night. (The site warns: “Wilmington.tours is not responsible for hangovers or deplorable behavior. We also do not guarantee to impress your friends and your dates. If you are not impressed, you have done something wrong or silly friends or both.”)
On the less scientific end of the spectrum, Haunted Wilmington leads one of our favorite ghost walks in the United States, a creepy walk through the historic downtown. The Gothy guides adjust the itineraries for each excursion, but the stops may include the cemetery of the Episcopal Church of St.James, where an unfortunate young man was allegedly buried alive, and the aforementioned Latimer House, where five of the nine children in the family did not grow up. The company also offers a Hollywood location filled with Spots that you probably know from teen movies and dramas.
4. eat your heart out
For a small town, Wilmington has great restaurants, and even the Food Network noticed – Last year Guy Fieri filmed an episode of dinners, Drive-Ins and dives here that caused a stir. This confirms what the locals have always known: this is a city that loves to eat. With creative southern-inspired variations of the standard food, PinPoint offers some of the best bites in town. Between the Latin American pleasure fare at Savorez, the modern plates at former upscale Keith Rhodes at Catch and the special-occasion pun-loving menu at Manna, there’s no shortage of options for fish lovers here. And what’s a day at the beach without an ice cream cone? In both locations, including one downtown, the family-run boombalatti served homemade ice cream with milk from grass-fed cows, and the flavors are out of this world-especially the lime pie.
5. Enjoy your artistic side
College towns often foster a creative environment, and Wilmington is no exception with its high-end galleries, studios and event spaces. Every fourth Friday of every month (artscouncilofwilmington.org/four-fridays ) a selection of art spaces open after hours, offering drinks, snacks, indulgences and the opportunity to chat with the artists themselves. Art in the flower gallery offers a mix of fine photographs, paintings, mobile phones and stunning pieces of hand-blown glass, while the new Elements Gallery offers paintings and crafts by local and regional talents. The works of art, a group of workshops and galleries installed in an old factory also participate in the fourth Friday, but the more than 45 studios also have regular opening hours, allowing you to spend a weekend and visit the artists at their work. Performance Wise, Thalian Hall has been operating almost continuously since it opened in 1858, welcoming everyone from Buffalo Bill Cody to the Beatles cover bands. Today it is a venue for theatrical performances, contemporary films and unique acts such as the bluegrass Bash and Mutts Gone Nuts, a “comedy dog show” that promotes rescue adoptions. And over there, at the Wilson Center, an outdoor venue affiliated with Cape Fear Community College, not only Broadway shows, contemporary dance groups and musicians as diverse as Air Supply and Chick Corea, but an Outreach Initiative is also offering free passes to underserved communities so that children from all walks of life can experience