Wilmington

Wilmington exists as two separate cities in the United States, each with distinct stories and places to explore. In Delaware, you'll find Wilmington where the Christina River meets Brandywine Creek. Here, the Delaware Art Museum displays American art from the 1800s to today, including Europe's second-largest group of Pre-Raphaelite paintings. The Riverfront area has transformed old factories into baseball stadiums, small shops, and restaurants with water views. In North Carolina, Wilmington stretches along the Cape Fear River with a paved path running 1.75 miles past former cotton trading buildings, the retired USS North Carolina battleship, and docks leading to Wrightsville Beach. Both locations preserve their past through brick churches, yearly food festivals, and museums that explain their roles in early industry and wartime history.

Wilmington, Delaware: Museums, Riverfront Development and Events

Begin at the Delaware Art Museum, which holds more than 12,000 works including paintings by Howard Pyle and John Sloan. From there, head to the Christina Riverfront where former industrial buildings now contain Frawley Stadium for minor league baseball games, specialty stores selling local crafts, and seafood restaurants overlooking tugboats. Every June, Rodney Square fills with music during the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival – seven nights of free performances honoring the city's famous trumpet player. Spend an afternoon at Hagley Museum, where waterwheels still turn at the original Du Pont gunpowder mills, and hands-on displays demonstrate 19th-century manufacturing techniques.

Visit Old Swedes Church to see one of America's oldest surviving churches, built from local stone in 1698, then walk to the Fort Christina Monument marking where Swedish settlers landed in 1638. For trips to Philadelphia, take the train from Wilmington Station – a major stop on the Northeast Corridor line with hourly departures.

Wilmington, North Carolina: Waterfront History and Movie Productions

Walk the paved path along the Cape Fear River downtown, passing brick warehouses that once stored cotton exports. Board the USS North Carolina to climb through nine levels of the WWII battleship, including gun turrets and crew quarters. Plan a spring visit to catch the Azalea Festival's street fair with live bands, floral displays, and food stalls serving fried shrimp and hushpuppies. About 15 minutes from downtown, EUE/Screen Gems Studios has produced shows like One Tree Hill and films such as Iron Man 3 – some tours let visitors see active soundstages.

Drive 20 minutes east to Wrightsville Beach for swimming in ocean waves or paddling through tidal creeks. At Bellamy Mansion, guides explain how enslaved workers built this 1859 plantation home, now displaying period furniture and exhibits on Reconstruction-era politics. The Cape Fear Museum uses scale models and artifacts to illustrate regional history, from Civil War blockade runners to modern marine biology research.

Festivals and Food

Delaware's Wilmington hosts a September celebration with salsa dancing lessons, domino tournaments, and a parade down 4th Street featuring colorful floats. In October, North Carolina's Riverfest brings craft vendors, blues bands, and fireboat demonstrations to the Cape Fear River docks. Local menus highlight regional ingredients: Try crab-stuffed flounder at North Carolina dockside eateries or Ethiopian stews served with injera bread in Delaware's Trolley Square area.

Getting Around and Planning

Delaware's downtown can be explored on foot, with free trolleys running between Market Street shops and the Riverfront every 15 minutes. North Carolina's Wilmington requires a car or bike to reach beaches, gardens like the 67-acre Airlie property with its butterfly trail, and Screen Gems Studios. Check event schedules for classic movie nights at Thalian Hall's 1858 opera house or summer concerts under the stars at Tubman-Garrett Park along the Christina River. Both cities provide printable maps online for self-guided tours of Civil War sites, Victorian homes, and locations tied to Harriet Tubman's Underground Railroad network.