mandaramsey

There is something here for everyone. There is the aquarium and a big fleamarket that kids will enjoy, loads of things to see for history buffs (try the US Mint, a carriage ride, a graveyard visit,) things to see for people who LOVE nature- try a swamp tour, shopping (go to Magazine Street for antiques, the fleamarket, the shops downtown… etc) and LOADS of cute bed and breakfasts, ritzy hotels, etc.
Don’t forget the food! My GOD- the food!! Cafe’ Du Monde for coffee, and soooo many others to choose from for fancy fare!! Stop in at one of the grubbier-looking corner shops for the most amazing Po’boy sandwiches you will EVER eat!
Try the fried pickles and don’t forget to visit the various museums, House of Blues, and walk down the street with a Hurricane in a “go cup!” It’s one of the best places on Earth!
I recommend going in the winter if you don’t want to sweat!

There is a fabulous little downtown that actually has an underground downtown too! I was here 10 yrs ago, but we went in the old-fashioned soda shop and were surprised to find that there was a whole other downtown under the street! Pretty cool!

Also, the weather here is mostly adorable- lots of nice, sunny days. It has the first KFC ever, lots of open horse-type things to visit (parks, etc) and is a college town too, so there are lots of clubbish-type restaurants, etc.

TONS of trails of all levels to hike- paths, rock scrambles, overlooks…. LOTS of places to walk around gardens, lake, lawn, house, etc. GORGEOUS things to photograph everywhere. Bring lots of memory cards or film, because you will take a million photos (we took 500 in one week here and could have taken more if we’d had more memory!!)
Rooms are nice- have safes in the closet, little balconies with rocking chairs, nice comfy beds and big, deep soaker bathtubs with peppermint bath oils to take long baths after hiking!

Bring hair products if you are going in the summer- the humidity is crazy on your hair! And don’t worry about dressing up too much for dinner- it was more casual than the website made it look.

BORING!!!
The best things- they have local dairies, so you can get fresh dairy products. They have some cool houses and buildings that are really old and cool to drive by.
The weather SUCKS- raining, snowing, ICKY all the time. I think the local sunshine record is like 16 days/year.
I would NOT recommend this place. There are so many better places on Earth to visit!

Amazing at night. Lots of stars to be seen. Feels like you are very far away from civilization. We visited Mother’s Day weekend of 2004 and it was completely “un-busy” except for locals. There are only 2 restaurants here within a decent distance though, so be warned!
I hear it gets really crowded in summer, but if you can go on the off-season, I highly recommend it.
The lighthouse is on a military base and fenced off, so it is really not worth the visit if you are expecting to get up-close to it. Also, take the ferry to Ft. Fisher for shopping and sight-seeing there as well!

Beautiful!!! The sunsets are fabulous, the light pollution is minimal so you can see the STARS and the meteor showers (in August.) There is shopping close by in Sturgeon Bay, lots of artsy things to do and see, tons and tons of cherries! Cheese shops aren’t too far away, and lots of fabulous restaurants! Amazing!

A good place for picnics and lazy summer afternoons is the train station downtown. It is within walking distance to several antique stores and a wonderful New Orleans style snowball shop. Go get an icy snowball and hang out on the beautiful lawn and watch the trains go by! There are awesome old buildings behind the tracks with remnants of ads still painted on the outsides.