Start from 31 curated places around New Bern, NC, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Baker's Kitchen
New Bern's most-beloved all-day breakfast spot in a 1924 building at 227 Middle Street, baking all bread, biscuits, and pastries in-house upstairs every morning. The butter syrup — made from real butter and served warm over pancakes — has its own regional following. Everything is made from scratch and the kitchen doesn't take shortcuts even when the line is long.
The Chelsea
A multi-room restaurant in a 1912 building at 335 Middle Street once used by Pepsi inventor Caleb Bradham, offering a menu that spans New American, French, and Southern touchpoints — from shrimp and grits to Duck à l'Orange. The two-story building retains original tin ceilings and exposed brick, and the wine list is genuinely well-curated for a small-market restaurant.
Trails & outdoors
Trent River Paddle
A flat-water kayak or canoe route along the Trent River accessible from Union Point Park at the downtown waterfront. The river bends past residential neighborhoods on the southern bank and marshland on the north, opening up to views of cypress groves and osprey nesting platforms as you move east. Stillwater Kayaks rents from Union Point and the New Bern KOA offers launches from the campground.
Neuse River Paddle
North Carolina's longest river widens to nearly a mile at New Bern and offers open-water paddling with views of the undeveloped southern shoreline and the city skyline behind you. The Bridgeton Boating Access Area across the river provides an alternate launch for crossing the Neuse; experienced paddlers can do an out-and-back to the marshes on the south shore. Dolphins are a common sighting from April through October.
Things to do
New Bern Civic Theatre
A community theater in the 1910 Athens Theatre building at 412 Pollock Street that has been staging productions since 1968. The historic venue mounts about six mainstage shows per year — musicals, straight plays, and the occasional concert — and the talent level regularly surprises visitors expecting small-town community theater. The building's original plasterwork and balcony seating survive.
Bear Towne Escape Room
New Bern's escape room venue at 233 Middle Street Suite 107B, offering four themed experiences including a downtown outdoor scavenger hunt format called Spy Hunter that runs through the historic district. The indoor rooms — Detained, Secrets of the Pharaoh, and others — are well-designed for mixed groups. The venue handles everything from corporate team-building to date nights.
Landmarks & sights
Tryon Palace
The reconstructed 1770 royal governor's palace that served as North Carolina's first permanent state capitol. The 16-acre site includes the lavishly furnished main house, period kitchen office, formal gardens, and the North Carolina History Center. Costumed interpreters demonstrate colonial-era weaving, cooking, and crafts throughout the grounds.
The Birthplace of Pepsi-Cola
The spot on Middle Street where pharmacist Caleb Bradham first mixed and sold 'Brad's Drink' in 1893, which he renamed Pepsi-Cola in 1898. The working soda fountain pours original Pepsi syrup over ice in the same style as Bradham's original drugstore. The shop doubles as a Pepsi memorabilia museum with vintage bottles, advertisements, and company history.