Start from 27 curated places around Greensboro, NC, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Machete
The crown jewel of Greensboro dining — a seasonal small-plate restaurant rooted in NC ingredients with global flavors, an oyster bar, and the kind of laid-back atmosphere that makes the serious accolades (James Beard semifinalist, Wine Enthusiast Top 50 Wine Restaurants in America) feel like something you're discovering rather than being told about.
Undercurrent Restaurant
Greensboro's fine dining anchor for nearly 30 years — a white-tablecloth restaurant that has maintained quality and service standards long enough that the regulars' loyalty feels generational. The seared scallops, crab cakes, and salmon have been the benchmarks for that long, and the room is polished without being stiff.
Trails & outdoors
Country Park Lake Loop
A paved, accessible loop around the Country Park lake — the most consistently rated trail in the Triad on AllTrails (4.6 stars, 443 reviews). Gentle grades, lake views throughout, and the kind of trail that draws the full range of Greensboro residents: runners, dog walkers, families with strollers, and elderly regulars who have been lapping it for decades.
Country Park Copperhead Trail
The 3.2-mile wooded singletrack inside Country Park — a shared-use trail with mountain bikers and the best workout available within Greensboro city limits. Switchbacks through dense forest, 249 feet of elevation gain, and the experience of being genuinely in the woods despite being two miles from downtown.
Things to do
International Civil Rights Center & Museum
The 1960 Woolworth's lunch counter where the sit-in movement began — still bearing the original stools where four students changed American history. This isn't just a museum; it's the experience of being in the actual room where something irreversible happened. The guided tour format means a human being walks you through it.
Carolina Theatre of Greensboro
Opened Halloween night 1927 as 'The Showplace of the Carolinas' — one of the first air-conditioned buildings in North Carolina. Now a 1,101-seat nonprofit venue drawing 100,000+ visitors per year with indie and classic films, concerts, stage shows, and community events. A genuine downtown institution with community loyalty you can feel in the room.
Landmarks & sights
International Civil Rights Center & Museum
The actual Woolworth's lunch counter where, on February 1, 1960, four students — David Richmond, Frank McCain, Ezell Blair Jr., and Joseph McNeil — sat down and refused to leave. The original counter and original stools are still there, not replicas. Fourteen permanent gallery collections trace the full arc of the Civil Rights Movement from this room outward. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2024.
Revolution Mill
An 1898 Cone brothers textile mill turned thriving mixed-use campus with art galleries, restaurants, an outdoor social district, and rotating community events. Locals use this as a weekly destination — the Stacks & Social District outdoor venue and Gallery 1250 are the creative anchors — while tourists miss it entirely because it's two miles north of downtown.