Main Attractions in Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem is home to a number of attractions that hearken to its rich past. Chief among them is the Bethabara Historic District, which encompasses the site where the Moravians settled in 1753. It takes you back more than two centuries with its open-air museum, which includes surviving buildings, a restored and furnished church built in 1788, archeological ruins, a reconstructed village, and a French and Indian war fort. There’s also a gift shop where you can buy handcrafted mementos, and the entire area includes hiking trails and a wildlife reserve.
There’s also Reynolda Gardens to check out. A spectacular 129-acre oasis of fields, gardens, woodlands, and wetlands, Reynolda Gardens is open daily with free admission. It used to be part of the country estate of R.J. Reynolds, a renowned North Carolina businessman who founded R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Reynolds is chiefly responsible for the city’s association with tobacco; after all, he is credited with creating the Camel cigarette, one of America’s most popular tobacco brands. And years after his death, his influence is very strong in many aspects of Winston-Salem society. Reynolda Gardens is adjacent to one of the campuses of Wake Forest University, which, interestingly enough, also bears the Reynolda name.
Not to be left out, though, are Winston-Salem's myriad points of interests showcasing the city’s love for the arts. This is reflected in art galleries and performance centers like the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts, the Piedmont Opera Theatre, and the Reynolda House Museum of American Art. The city plays host to several arts festivals, which include the National Black Theatre Festival, the Reynolda Film Festival, and the RiverRun International Film Festival. The University of North Carolina School of the Arts, founded in 1963, functions today as an arts conservatory, indeed, the first of its kind in the United States.
