Fayetteville (North Carolina)

Fayetteville is a city in Cumberland County, in the western part of the North Carolina Coastal Plain region. It is the county seat of Cumberland County, and is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city.

Fayetteville has received the prestigious All-America City Award from the National Civic League three times. According to the 2020 United States Census estimate, the city has a population of 208,501. It ranks as the sixth-largest municipality in North Carolina. With an estimated population of 529,252, the Fayetteville metropolitan area is the largest in southeastern North Carolina, and the fifth-largest in the state.

Get in

By plane

Or, fly in to the Raleigh-Durham airport (RDU IATA). The drive south to Fayetteville is 1-1½ hours long.

By train

There is an 🌍 Amtrak station downtown at 472 Hay Street, served by the Palmetto and Silver Meteor routes. These trains lead to various points along the East Coast, but to get to other major cities in North Carolina you'll have to transfer.

By bus

Megabus. Service from Atlanta, Athens, Columbia, Durham, Richmond, and Washington, D.C. Buses stop at the Fayetteville Transit Center, at East Russell Street and Old Wilmington Road.

Get around

By bus

The Fayetteville Area System of Transit (FAST) serves the Fayetteville and Spring Lake regions, with ten bus routes and two shuttle routes.

See
  • 🌍 Market House, Gillespie and Hays Streets. Fayetteville's premier historical landmark, built in 1838 to replace the state house that burned down in 1831, and marking the city's center point. (updated Sep 2022)
  • 🌍 Airborne and Special Ops Museum, 100 Bragg Blvd (in downtown Fayetteville), ☏ +1 910-643-2778, . A military museum dedicated to the nation's premier warriors. Several eras of Special Operations missions are on display. Free (donations accepted). (updated Nov 2016)
  • 🌍 Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex, 801 Arsenal Ave, ☏ +1 910-486-1330. The historical complex includes the museum building with more than 400 years of history seen in exhibits; the 1897 Poe House, a late-Victorian house museum; and the historic Arsenal Park, the remains of an ordnance factory that served both the Federal and Confederate governments. Free. (updated Nov 2016)
  • 🌍 The Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum, 325 Franklin St, ☏ +1 910-433-1457. Tu-Sa 10AM-4PM. A former train station with some vintage cars and exhibits. Could be a little sleepy, maybe if you like looking at cotton pickers and stuff it's going to be okay. Free. 
  • 🌍 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum, C-6841, 5108 Ardennes St, Fort Bragg (on base, access through Fort Bragg Visitor Center after being cleared), ☏ +1 910-432-5307. Tu-Sa 10AM-4:30PM. Learn aboutthe 82nd Airborne Division here, with demonstrative parachuting aircraft on display. Free. 
  • 🌍 Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N Eastern Blvd, ☏ +1 910-486-0221. Different cultivated gardens and landscapes along the Cape Fear River. $10 general adult, less for other groups. 
  • 🌍 Carvers Creek State Park, 2505 Long Valley Rd, Spring Lake, ☏ +1 910-436-4681. Daily 8AM-8PM. State park providing opportunity to explore Sandhills North Carolina geologic zone and swamps, with a pioneer type house called the Rockefeller House. Free. 

Do

Downtown Fayetteville. The downtown area of Fayetteville (Hay Street) has undergone a massive clean-up over the last few decades and now provides a few blocks of tourist-friendly shops and restaurants. 

  • Festival Park, a few blocks away from downtown, is a natural community gathering place featuring weekly outdoor concerts with a Southern, hometown atmosphere.
  • 🌍 Clark Park Nature Center, 631 Sherman Dr, ☏ +1 910 433-1579. M-F 8AM-5PM, Sa 10AM-4PM. A place where you can hike to your heart's content and check out Cape Fear River habitats and inhabitants, like turtles. Free. (updated Sep 2022)
  • Carver's Falls is a virtually untouched 55-acre area of forest in the Sandhills of North Carolina. The area is named after the waterfall that is over 150 feet wide and two stories tall nestled in the heart of the property. For centuries, Carver’s Falls has been closed to the public and few even knew of its existence. The falls are privately held, but can been seen as part of the ZipQuest Waterfall and Treetop Adventure

The Climbing Place, 436 W Russell St, ☏ +1 910 486-9638. M-Th Sa 10AM-10PM, F 10AM-11PM, Su 12:30PM-6:30PM. An indoor rock climbing gym in downtown Fayetteville. $13 all-day. 

Events
  • Fayetteville's 4th Fridays are monthly celebrations of the arts and downtown Fayetteville, taking place the fourth Friday of every month, from 6 to 10PM open to all ages, visitors enjoy art and entertainment while enjoying the small galleries, bookstores, bistros and shops full of unique items. Exhibits, entertainment and featured artists all come together to bring the art of Fayetteville to everyone at no charge. Businesses in the 4-block radius of historic downtown Fayetteville participate with artistic venues, featuring the arts in all forms. Every month, 4th Friday features a theme or special event, live entertainment, unique restaurants, cafes and shops.

Annual Dogwood Festival (Spring), Downtown. A Spring festival with a carnival, car show, games, and concerts. Free admission, $20 for concerts.  Dogwood Fall Festival, Downtown. A Fall festival with live music, food trucks, hayrides, and haunted trails. Free admission. 

Buy

Crosscreek Mall is the only mall in Fayetteville, and serves as a home for many major fashion retail chains.

Smaller shops and antique shops can be found near downtown on Hay Street.

Fayetteville also has several flea markets on Bragg Blvd, Raeford Rd and Macpherson Church Rd, all of which sell various eclectic goods on weekends.

Eat

Historic Downtown area
  • Blue Moon Cafe, 310 Hay St. Traditional fine dining with enjoyable ambience 
  • Pierro's Italian Bistro, 217 Hay St. Romantic Italian restaurant. 

Elsewhere
  • Luigi's, 528 N McPherson Church Rd. Named the best Italian restaurant 10 years running by the Fayetteville Observer. 
  • Mi Casita, (several locations). A local Mexican restaurant chain in the Fayetteville area. 
  • 🌍 Sandpiper Buffet, 411 N Eastern Blvd, ☏ +1 910 483-8906. Inexpensive Southern cooking buffet for when you just want to feed your face type of thing. (updated Sep 2022)

Drink

The Mash House Brewery on Sycamore Road offers a wide range of brews from Heifeweizen, IPA and Porter. Reasonable prices, a large restaurant area including an outside dining area, and an interesting mix of people in the bar.

Sleep
  • Marriott Courtyard Fayetteville, 4192 Sycamore Dairy Road, ☏ +1 910-487-5557. 
  • The Wingate Inn on Sycamore Dairy Road is centrally situated (along with some other chains) and accessible to the Fort Bragg area as well as downtown. Large, clean rooms with excellent service at both the front desk and housekeeping. Complimentary breakfast from 6AM-9AM. Small fitness room and whirlpool.

Go next
  • Research Triangle – Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, a trio of cities home to major universities and cultural attractions, not to mention the state capital
  • Wilmington – the beach, as well as Battleship North Carolina and Fort Fisher for military history buffs
Routes through Fayetteville
Washington, D.C. ← Selma ←  N  S  → Florence → Savannah
Washington, D.C. ← Rocky Mount ←  N  S  → Florence → Savannah
Richmond ← Benson ←  N  S  → Lumberton → Savannah


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