Recognized as North Carolina’s “City of Arts & Innovation,” Winston-Salem is a group tour destination for curious travelers. Conveniently located at the crossroads of major interstates, Winston-Salem’s attractions and tour stops highlight and celebrate a rich history, reinvention, and artistic expression. Here, sprawling tobacco farms were transformed into world-class wineries, treasured historic buildings were given new life as sophisticated boutique hotels, and abandoned tobacco factories were converted into a world-renowned biotech research center. Plus, with more than 5,300 hotel rooms and 50 lodging properties, tour planners will find accommodations to fit every budget.

History buffs will love exploring Winston-Salem’s rich history by following the adventures and experiences of the founding Moravians at Old Salem Museums & Gardens, a sprawling living history community founded in 1753. Art aficionados in your group will marvel at Winston-Salem’s first-in-class museums and art collections. Artistic treasures are housed in impressive institutions, including Reynolda House Museum of American Art and the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, to name just a few.

Reynolda House
Reynolda House
Photo courtesy of Visit Winston-Salem

Plan to visit during one of Winston-Salem’s arts events, like the biennial International Black Theatre Festival (formerly named the National Black Theatre Festival). This celebrity-studded celebration of performing arts and musical theater is slated for July 29 through Aug. 3 next year.

One of Winston-Salem’s newest attractions will be Kaleideum, an interactive learning museum for all ages opening in early 2024. Inspired by the geometric forms in a kaleidoscope, this $40 million space fuses art, science, and reading with nine hands-on exhibits and a state-of-the-art planetarium. Among the museum’s highlights is a multilevel “Rooftop Adventure” exhibit (the first of its kind in the Carolinas), offering a play area for kids, a 300-person event space, and skyline views.

Lead image:
Skyline from Old Salem
Photo courtesy of Visit Winston-Salem