Uptown Charlotte: A Self-Guided Audio Tour to the Heart of Queen City
Description
Explore Uptown Charlotte at your own pace with this affordable walking tour. • Get acquainted with the who’s who of Charlotte’s fearless patriots and hear the controversial and contested story of how North Carolina declared independence from the British a full year before the rest of the colonies • Hear from producer Phil Biedron, an actor with a knack for hosting tours and telling stories. • Do it all in two hours or linger at stops along the way with complete control over when you start and finish • Get unlimited use before your booking date and after it • Use the virtual tour option at home Once you’ve booked, you’ll receive a ticket with instructions and a unique code listed under “Before You Go”. Then simply install the VoiceMap app and enter your code. The app displays directions to the starting point, and when you’re in the right place, just pop in your headphones and tap start. VoiceMap has automatic GPS playback, with turn-by-turn directions. It also works offline.
Tour Options
Itinerary
This self-guided audio tour starts opposite Thomas Polk Park. You'll hear the history of the city and see the park before starting your walk.
The tour passes by the First Presbyterian Church, the oldest recognizable structure in the city.
You'll pass by the Old Settlers Cemetery, where you’ll find the graves of American Revolutionary War heroes, and the predecessors of US Presidents.
You’ll pass the Dunhill Hotel where a dozen businessmen leapt to their deaths which locals believe is still haunted by their ghosts to this day.
The tour passes by St Peter's Episcopal Church. You'll hear about the church and its history while you walk.
The tour passes by the small theatre which is housed in the former First Baptist Church.
The tour passes by Charlotte Mecklenburg Main Library. The main library for the city of Charlotte closed for construction on October 29th, 2021 but you'll hear about it while you walk.
You'll pass by The Green, Charlotte's literary-themed park where part of The Hunger Games movie was filmed.
The tour passes by the oldest Catholic Church in Charlotte dating back to 1851, and it was the only Catholic church in the city for nearly 100 years!
The tour passes by the Mint Museum and the original Branch Mint which was moved to this location, brick by painstaking brick.
The tour passes by the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. You'll hear about the building while you walk.
The tour passes through the Latta Arcade. You'll hear about the arcade while you walk.
By the time we reach Romare Bearden Park, where our tour ends, you’ll have a much greater appreciation for the Queen City, its history and its cultural corners.
The tour goes through Uptown in the city center.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Service animals allowed
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Reviews(36)
Great tour! We enjoyed learning about Charlotte’s history while exploring Uptown. The route was easy to navigate.
The Uptown Charlotte Self Guided Audio Tour is very good. It took me to various points throughout uptown Charlotte. The tour gave me the history of the area before the establishment of Charlotte and then the reasons for the establishment of Charlotte and showing me different points of interest. Since it was self-guided I started the tour at my convenience. I was unable to finish the last half hour of it because it started to rain so I finished it the next day at a time that worked for me. I recommend this tour and I may look at other cities in their inventory to take those tours too.
We liked that all we really had to do was walk, and it would automatically play when we were in range of the next talking point stop. Unfortunately it still needs improvement. There are a few parts where the guide doesn’t verbally explain in what direction you need to walk next, so you also need to depend on a visual map in the app. We got confused during one stretch where the route map went up and back on the same street, with different talking stops in each direction, so we thought the app was broken as we passed by some marked points and there was no talking, but we later realized that we needed to walk past those first marked spots and then come back later to those spots to hear the right stuff in order. That wasn’t clear from the map nor the verbal instructions. Once we figured that out, all went smoothly.
I don’t think there was anything wrong with the tour in and of itself, but I contacted customer support to determine if I could do this in my car versus walking and it does not work. This is not good to do other than a walking tour because I was all turned around and confused. I’m not from here so it was very difficult to understand when there’s a lot of one-way streets. I didn’t even complete the tour and just drove myself around in circles.
Hi, As you pointed out, this is a walking tour and advertised as such. We've matched the audio time to the talk time so it isn't possible to do this tour via a car and have the same experience. It also follows a set route so that we're able to provide clear and concise directions for someone walking. Thanks, Alicia
Interesting tour of Charlotte. Good information about its history and current life. East walk and just right amount of time. Charlotte is a beautiful city and people are so nice. Got a bit lost a few times--all timing, but system did get you back on track.
It was good for the first 15 minutes which gave me a lot of useful information. Then something happened and could not get the audio to sync with my location.
Hi there, I'm happy to hear you enjoyed the start of the tour. It sounds like you got a little off track. When this happens, you can always check the map on your phone, you should be able to find your location as well as the locations on the route and navigate your way back to the route using the map. I'm sorry that you weren't able to complete the tour, since it is a highly rated experience. In future, please contact us via phone or email us at support@voicemap.me so we can help you with any technical problems. Best, Helene
Great way to learn your way around uptown at your own pace. Great information and the enjoyable tone. Worth the $12. Learned a ton i did not know about Charlotte and North Carolina. I would to everyone especially if you are knew to the area
It was great, however at times difficult to understand due to the noise around. Plus, the narrator speaks way too quick for foreigners. But it was an interesting experience.
We chose this self guided tour because of the flexibility. It was a good tour, except that there were 2 locations no longer up to date. And when I pressed pope, he stopped it altogether and I had to restart it. Otherwise it was very informative.
Tour was great, the app is sensitive to distance, I would expand proximity to trigger the audible so it starts soon or you can find shade. Otherwise great!
