Things to Do

Downtown and the beaches, sorted out.

What there is to do here splits between downtown Wilmington and the beaches, and the two make for pretty different days. Downtown is the historic riverfront, with the Riverwalk, the Battleship NORTH CAROLINA moored across the Cape Fear on Eagles Island, and a few walkable blocks of restaurants, bars, and theaters. The beaches are separate towns a short drive out, on causeways that head in opposite directions from the city, so the geography is worth planning around before you lose an afternoon to the car.

Each beach town gives you a different day. Wrightsville Beach is the one for walking, paddling, and pier fishing, with a paved loop of just under 2.5 miles around Harbor Island and Crystal Pier reaching out over the Atlantic. Carolina Beach has the boardwalk and the amusements, plus a state park where Venus flytraps grow wild along the trails. Kure Beach is the quietest of the three, and Fort Fisher sits at the south end of the island.

Not every day is a beach day, and there's enough indoors to cover a rained-out afternoon, from the Cape Fear Museum to the filming locations that earned the city its Hollywood East nickname. If you're still working out when to come, our month-by-month look at the seasons covers crowds, water temperature, and what's open, and our orientation to Wrightsville, Carolina, and Kure sorts out which island fits your trip.