One of the best pleasures of my traveling life is to discover hidden gems, places that don’t figure in the usual Grand Tour of tourism and that, instead, ought to be.
Charlotte, NC, is one such place. Before visiting, I had never really spent time thinking about it and, when I did, I assumed it would have been some sort of provincial town, lacking any interest or attractiveness. But boy was I wrong. Charlotte turned out to be a charming city, with the surprising characteristic of having a city centre that didn’t just host skyscrapers and parking lots, but that was lived in by locals all week round. It had streetcars, parks, sidewalks, restaurants and people moving about on their own legs – something that, on this quite snobbish side of the Atlantic, we are de facto assuming that Americans don’t do anymore.
Briefly, everything about Charlotte was a surprise and its inhabitants were part of this surprise as well. But I shall speak about them in another dispatch; for now, let’s have a look at a city made of glass, stone and metal.
click on the photos to start the slideshow.
CLT’s skyline from downtown
Something I was inclined to think existed only in films.
Lots of history, at least for American standards.
The Charlotte Settlers’ cemetery, a well preserved piece of history downtown.
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The top of one of those skyscrapers looks more like a castle! A lovely combination of old and new. Looks like a great place to appreciate architecture. 🙂
It is quite an interesting mix indeed, Jane. The top one is the Bank of America Tower and, apparently, the story goes that no other skyscraper ought to be taller than it. Judging by the way it looks and how it’s lighted at night, I’d expect Mr Blofeld to be sitting at the very top, stroking a cat…
What a fascinating gallery you have here. Very interesting… I mostly appreciated the hints to the Confederate’s history and the dancing boy statue in the fountain! 🙂
Waiting for the next related dispatch then…
Marco
Thanks!