Charlotte - is the largest city in North Carolina (NC) and the 20th largest in the USA, with a population of 651,101. The Charlotte metropolitan area population - 1,594,799. Charlotte is at the center of one of the fastest growing metropolitan regions in the United States. Second-largest banking center in the USA.
Climate - Charlotte is located in North America's humid subtropical climate zone. The city has mild winters and hot, humid summers.
Charlotte, North Carolina, is a city of newcomers. An influx of people from outside the South began arriving in Charlotte in the mid-1980s, making it North Carolina's largest city. Rolling farmland has been replaced by shopping malls, residential developments, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the busy Charlotte airport and the constant buzz of construction equipment. Still, Charlotte has managed to retain its softer edge and genuine friendliness.
A lot of this growth has happened because of banking - Charlotte is the nation's No. 2 financial center, after New York City. Bank of America's 60-story skyscraper dominates a revitalized downtown Charlotte, and the financial institution's moniker has been placed on the National Football League's Carolina Panthers' stadium and a major fall NASCAR race. The bank and other large corporations in Charlotte, such as Wachovia Corporation and Duke Energy, have helped create a growing cultural and arts scene. Charlotte, North Carolina, is a business city, though, so most visitors go there for work.
Sights - Historic Rosedale Plantation and Latta Plantation to learn about early life in the South; the Ben Long frescoes in the lobby of the Bank of America building; the Billy Graham Library to learn about the life and work of a Charlotte favorite son.
Museums - The Mint Museum of Art and its fine collection of decorative arts and pre-Columbian art; the Mint Museum of Craft plus Design's modern variations on the area's textile and pottery heritage; the Levine Museum of the New South.
Late Night - Catch live rock bands at Tremont Music Hall in the increasingly trendy South End district; sample the disco/martini scene downtown at clubs on and near North College Street; visit The Landmark Diner for refueling.
Walks - Turn-of-the-century homes in the Fourth Ward, an award-winning downtown neighborhood; the historic neighborhoods of Myers Park and Dilworth; the Overstreet Mall, linking Uptown hotels and skyscrapers; public art located in the Center City; funerary art in Elmwood/Pinewood Cemetery on the edge of Uptown; Biddleville, including the campus of Johnson C. Smith University, a well-known African-American center of higher learning.
For Kids—Discovery Place, a first-rate science museum; ImaginOn, a combination of the Charlotte Children's Theatre and Public Library; pizza at Fuel Pizza; thrill rides at Paramount's Carowinds; eagles and owls at Carolina Raptor Center.