Things to do in The South
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Cove
Far from the Beale St crowds, this hipsterish new dive rocks a nautical theme while serving retro cocktails (sidecars, Singapore Slings) and upscale bar snacks (oysters on the half shell, chips with fresh anchovies). A good place to meet locals.
reviewed
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A
Confederacy of Cruisers
Get yourself out of the Quarter and on two wheels – this super informative, laid-back bike tour takes you through Nola's non-Disneyland neighborhoods – Faubourg Marigny, Esplanade Ridge, the Tremé – often with a bar stop and the occasional jazz funeral pop-in along the way.
reviewed
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Closed for Business
Charleston's best beer selection and a raucous neighborhood pub vibe.
reviewed
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Civil Rights Memorial Center
With its circular design crafted by Maya Lin, this haunting memor-ial focuses on 40 martyrs of the Civil Rights movement, all murdered for countless senseless reasons, many of which have never been solved. MLK Jr was the most famous, but there were many 'faceless' deaths along the way, white and African American alike, that here provide some of the most somber moments in American history.
reviewed
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City Market
The historic market is the crowded center of the district, with vendors hawking junky souvenirs from open-air stalls.
reviewed
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City House
This signless brick building in Nashville's gentrifying Germantown neighborhood hides one of the South's best new restaurants. The food, cooked in an open kitchen in the warehouselike space, is a crackling bang-up of Italy-meets-New South – local chicken livers with red-onion jam, pizza with house-cured pork belly, root-beer layer cake with buttermilk buttercream. Cocktails are a high art here: try a Kubric (Tennessee whiskey, artisan pear brandy, ginger ale).
reviewed
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Churchill Downs
On the first Saturday in May, a who's who of upper-crust America puts on their pinstripe suits and most flamboyant hats and descends for the 'greatest two minutes in sports,' the Kentucky Derby. After the race, the crowd sings 'My Old Kentucky Home' and watches as the winning horse is covered in a blanket of roses. Then they party.
To be honest, they've been partying for a while. The Kentucky Derby Festival, which includes a balloon race and the largest fireworks display in North America, starts two weeks before the big event.
Most seats at the derby are by invitation only or they've been reserved years in advance. On Derby Day, $40 gets you into the paddock party scene (no…
reviewed
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Charlotte Motor Speedway
NASCAR races, a homegrown Southeastern obsession, are held at the visible-from-outer-space speedway, 12 miles northeast of town. For the ultimate thrill/near-death experience, ride shotgun at up to 165 miles per hour in a real stock car with the Richard Petty Driving Experience.
reviewed
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Charleston Footprints
A highly rated walking tour of historical Charleston sights.
reviewed
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Center for Southern Folklore
A well-tended community space with a cafe, craft gallery and frequent (free!) local music performances and film screenings.
reviewed
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Cathedral of St John the Baptist
Completed in 1896 but destroyed by fire two years later, this impressive cathedral, reopened in 1912, features stunning stained-glass transept windows from Austria depicting Christ's ascension into heaven as well as ornate Station of the Cross woodcarvings from Bavaria.
reviewed
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Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Extending some 70 miles from south of Nags Head to the south end of Okracoke Island, this fragile necklace of islands remains blissfully free of overdevelopment. Natural attractions include local and migratory water birds, marshes, woodlands, dunes and miles of empty beaches. Don't miss the 156ft striped Bodie Island Lighthouse, south of Nags Head. You can't climb it, but it's darn photogenic.
reviewed
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E
Butcher
Around the corner from Cochon, Chef Donald Link makes his in-house cured meat philosophy accessible to all budgets at this don't-miss butcher shop–deli and bar. Sandwich highlights here include milk-fed pork Cubans, Carolina-style pulled pork, the Cochon muffaletta and the Buckboard bacon melt. Pair it with pancetta mac 'n' cheese and bacon pralines. This is an empire in the making.
reviewed
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Burke's Book Store
A delightfully disorganized 122-year-old bookshop, with an emphasis on Southern literature.
reviewed
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Broadway at the Beach
With shops, restaurants, nightclubs, rides and an IMAX theater, this is Myrtle Beach's nerve center.
reviewed
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Brick Store Pub
Beer hounds geek out on Atlanta's best beer selection, with some 17 meticulously chosen draughts (so underground, they're striking oil) and a separate Belgian beer bar upstairs. In total, nearly 200 by the bottle and a cool quotient approaching exhausting.
reviewed
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Bowling Green Assembly Plant
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F
Bourbon Street Blues & Boogie Bar
A Printer's Alley standby, with low ceilings, sweet blues and Mardi Gras beads everywhere.
Tired of country?
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G
Boot Country
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Bocado
The name loosely translates as mouthful/morsel/bite from Spanish/Portuguese/Italian, but there's nothing little about the flavor packed into the viciously creative sandwiches and salads on offer at this West Side farm-to-table newcomer. Hello roasted poblano (a type of chili) and pimento cheese sandwich with bacon and fried green tomatoes, it's a pleasure to meet you.
reviewed
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Boat Tours
reviewed
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Blues City Tours
A variety of bus tours, including an Elvis tour.
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Blowing Rock
reviewed
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Blind Tiger
A cozy and atmospheric dive, with stamped tin ceilings, a worn wood bar and good pub grub.
reviewed
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Billy Graham Library
Those interested in the phenomenon of Christian evangelism in America will be fascinated (or annoyed) by this multimedia 'library,' a tribute to the life of superstar evangelist and 'pastor to the presidents' Billy Graham, a Charlotte native. The 90-minute tour starts with a gospel-preaching animatronic cow and ends with a paper questionnaire asking whether or not you've been moved to accept Christ today.
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