Authentic Travel Stories & Cultural Connection

Wilmington, North Carolina is a hidden gem with hidden gems within it. If you have been following my series on the Port City, you know we have already covered a lot, but to wrap it up, I wanted to highlight some areas that even locals don’t realize how special some of these things are. That brings us full circle on something I believe in deeply, the need to travel locally and explore your own backyard.
What you will find below is not a list of tourist attractions. It is a guide to the places Amanda and I have come to love as residents: the creative energy of the Brooklyn Arts District with its food truck park, neighborhood pubs, and Saturday Social District; the eclectic antique shops and boutiques of Castle Street; the only shipping container neighborhood in North Carolina; and a 250-acre park that most visitors drive right past on their way to the beach.
It also covers where to shop like a local in two of downtown’s most historically interesting buildings, how to get around the five downtown districts for free, where to take your 4WD onto the beach at Fort Fisher, and where to find some of the best wine scenes this side of the Cape Fear River.
Wilmington is already underrated as a destination, and these spots are the hidden layer within it. This is the post I wish someone had handed me when I first moved here.