Tours and Attractions

WEEKEND ACTIVITIES FOR FUN AND LEISURE
HOSTED BY HAMPDEN-SYDNEY COLLEGE

 

GOLF
Hampden-Sydney Founders Golf Outing at The Golf Club at Ballantyne.
No pressure-just lots of fun for ladies and gentlemen. Tee times will be reserved, but space is limited. You can create your own foursome or be assigned to a group by returning the registration card in the enclosed envelope by February 10, so we can arrange tee times and complete the pairings. The cost, including cart fees, a box lunch, and a shuttle to and from the Ballantyne, is $130 per person; please click reservation link.

RECREATIONAL COOKING CLASS
Whether you're a novice or a serious amateur (or somewhere in between), Johnson & Wales University College of Culinary Arts offers a hands-on cooking class taught by professional chef instructors in a modern facility. On Saturday from 9:45 am to 1:45 pm join H-SC Founders in "Little Havana." In this class you will learn about the cuisine of the island of Cuba from its Spanish roots to its Creole influences. This dynamic cuisine offers fresh flavors of the Caribbean from picadillo a la cubano to creole shrimp, fried plantains, and mahi mahi. $140 per person; please click reservation link.

MUSEUM TOUR
Join some of your H-SC friends on a tour of the Bechtler Museum and the Mint Museum of Art Uptown. We will be walking five blocks to the Bechtler Museum for a 10 am docent-led tour and then walking across the street to the Mint Museum for an 11:30 am docent-led tour. $15 per person; please click reservation link.

The collection presented at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art includes works by the most important and influential artists of the mid 20th century, including Miró, Giacometti, Picasso, Calder, Hepworth, Nicholson, Warhol, Tinguely, Ernst, Le Corbusier, Chillida, and many others. Only a handful of these wonderful artworks have been on public view in the United States. Until now, the collection was privately held by the Bechtler family of Switzerland.

Mint Museum of Art Uptown's name deserves an explanation. After gold was discovered northeast of town in 1799 and identified in 1802 at the Reed's farm, a gold rush began. From 1837 to 1861, the first branch of the U.S. Mint operated on the corner of W. Trade St. and Mint St. Uptown. In 1936, the building was moved and became the first art museum in North Carolina, called The Mint Museum. Its Mint Museum Uptown branch houses world-renowned Craft + Design, American, and Contemporary collections.

 

Discover true luxury in the Spa & Wellness Center that features four treatment rooms (including a couple's room), separate ladies' and gentlemen's Vitality Lounges with steam, sauna, and experience showers, a Fitness Center with private televisions on cardio equipment, an Aqua Lounge with whirlpool and swimming pool, movement studio, and Kinesis One cycle studio. The Spa & Wellness Center is open Monday through Friday from 12 pm to 8 pm, Saturday from 9 am to 8 pm, and Sunday from 9 am to 5 pm. For reservations, call (704)
547-2244.

MUSEUMS NEAR THE RITZ-CARLTON

 

THE HARVEY B. GANTT CENTER (5 block walk from The Ritz-Carlton)
551 South Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28202 (704) 547-3700
The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts & Culture exists to present, preserve and promote African American art, culture and history for the education and enlightenment of all. Admission: Adults $8, Seniors $6.

THE LEVINE MUSEUM OF THE NEW SOUTH (3 block walk from The Ritz-Carlton)
200 E. Seventh Street, Charlotte, NC 28202 (704) 333-1887
The New South means people, places, and a period of time-from 1865 to today. Levine Museum of the New South is an interactive history museum that provides the nation with the most comprehensive interpretation of post-Civil War southern society featuring men, women and children, black and white, rich and poor, long-time residents and newcomers, who have shaped the South since the Civil War. Admission: Adults $6, Seniors $5.

NASCAR HALL OF FAME (6 ½ block walk from The Ritz-Carlton)
400 East Martin Luther King Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28202
(704) 654-4400
If you're looking for some pedal-to-the-metal fun, look no further than the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The Hall is fueled with more than 50 interactive experiences like tire-changing stations, realistic race simulators, and a broadcast booth. We guarantee you'll get your adrenaline racing.
Admission: Adults $19.95, Seniors $17.95.

 

SOUTHPARK MALL
4400 Sharon Road, Charlotte, NC 28211
(704) 364-4411
Located in the heart of the South Park area, SouthPark, a Simon mall, is a Charlotte landmark and is one of the largest shopping malls in the region. Anchored by Nordstrom, Belk, Dillard's, Macy's, and Neiman Marcus, SouthPark offers stores ranging from luxury fashion such as Burberry and Louis Vuitton to casual staples such as J. Crew and Tommy Bahama.

RICHARD PETTY DRIVING EXPERIENCE
Charlotte Motor Speedway, 5555 Concord Parkway South, Concord, NC 28027-4600
(800) 237-3889
Richard Petty Driving Experience puts you in a NASCAR race car for an adrenaline pumping thrill of a lifetime that gets you as close to being in The Race as you will ever get! Choose from one of the Driving Experiences where your hands are on the wheel, your foot is on the gas, and 600 horses are ready to take you for 8 to 80 laps around your favorite speedway. Rather let someone else do the driving? No problem! Ride-along shotgun from the passenger seat as one of our professional instructors takes you for 3 laps around the track at speeds up to 165mph.
Packages start at $129.

U.S. NATIONAL WHITEWATER CENTER
5000 Whitewater Center Parkway, Charlotte, NC 28214
(704) 391-3900
The USNWC is home to the world's largest man-made whitewater river. With many different water and land activities, the USNWC is Charlotte's ultimate outdoor playground. Available activities include whitewater rafting, paddle boarding, whitewater kayaking, canyon crossing, rock climbing, and mountain biking.