Living in Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem is home to a growing foodie scene, featuring a variety of culinary experiences—from food trucks to fine dining, from cafés and bakeries to international cuisines and Southern soul food. The downtown features restaurants, bars and breweries in an easily walkable area and even more in surrounding neighborhoods. Enjoy a night on the town or spend your weekends exploring the many wineries, breweries and distilleries around the area. Here are some local resources to learn more about our food scene:

• Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership Directory
  A guide to downtown and downtown-adjacent restaurants and other amenities
• Innovation Quarter Dining
  A list of restaurants, bars and cafés that off er a variety of treats and dining experiences located in Innovation Quarter.
• Visit Winston-Salem: Food and Drink
  A broad directory of local restaurants that includes featured dining experiences such as Craft Draft Crawl in downtown Winston-Salem.

From getting out of town, to getting out downtown, Winston-Salem creates space for the outdoor lifestyle you’re looking for. Winston-Salem is home to numerous parks and greenways, including Bailey Park, a 1.6-acre green space located in the heart of downtown, and the Long Branch Trail, 1.7-mile greenway that allows urban dwellers to stretch their legs, both conveniently accessible from the School of Medicine’s home, the Bowman Gray Center for Medical Education.

There are many other places to get outdoors in Winston-Salem, with 25 miles of greenway and 79 parks throughout the city that create space for cycling, jogging, walking, as well as golfing, playgrounds, swimming and skating in many cases. Places like Salem Lake and Tanglewood Park are popular destinations for families and sun-seekers throughout the region. Winston-Salem is also home to numerous walks, runs and cycling races throughout the year, as well as outdoor yoga events for every level of practitioner. 

Outdoors enthusiasts will also fall in love with the variety of state parks that provide opportunities for camping, hiking and other outdoor activities. Within 20 minutes to an hour, find yourself at Pilot Mountain, Hanging Rock State Park or Stone Mountain, popular locations for hikers, campers and climbers. Travel a little farther to check out one of the 34 North Carolina state parks that stretch from mountain to sea, or some of the national attractions that bring visitors from across the country: Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the famous Blue Ridge Parkway.

Whether you are a sports fan, a music lover or an art connoisseur, Winston-Salem has a lot do. Explore some of the major local attractions found in the City of Arts and Innovation, and see the Resources at the bottom of the page to dig deeper into all that the city has to offer.

Art and Museums

• Downtown Arts District Association
  A non-profit organization consisting of artists’ studios, galleries, shops, retail businesses, restaurants, bars and residences.
• Diggs Gallery 
  One of the largest exhibition spaces dedicated to the arts of Africa and the African Diaspora in North Carolina
• Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) 
  A collection of objects made by the craftsmen of Old Salem and the South 
• Reynolda House Museum of American Art   
  A museum of American art housed in the restored 1917 mansion of R.J. and Katharine Reynolds
• Sawtooth School for Visual Arts 
  A non-profit community arts school and gallery that offers classes in many fine arts and crafts 
• Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) 
  A non-profit visual arts organization that supports contemporary visual art exhibitions, music, dance, theater, and education

Historic Sites

• Historic Bethabara 
  A historic site that preserves the buildings and heritage of Bethabara, a Moravian settlement founded 1753
• Innovation Quarter
  An innovation district that re-imagines historic tobacco and manufacturing buildings as sites for innovation of all kinds
• Körner’s Folly 
  A 22-room Victorian house museum of artist and designer Jule Gilmer Körner built in 1880
• Old Salem  
  A collection of historic sites and museums preserving the history of the Moravian settlement of Salem
• Reynolda House and Gardens
  The restored 1917 mansion and gardens of R.J. and Katherine Reynolds, key figures in the industrialization of the New South

Music and Performance

• Piedmont Opera 
  A nationally recognized and acclaimed regional opera company
• The Ramkat
  A two-level, 1,000-person-capacity live-music venue located in the downtown arts district
• Summer Music Series
  Music abounds in the warmer months, with various series around town
• University of North Carolina School of the Arts  
  A top-ranked creative and performing arts conservatory that offers theater, music, film and dance performances throughout the year
• Winston-Salem Symphony 
  A symphony offering a wide range of concerts, including classical orchestral music, choral performances, ballet and popular music

Sports 

• Bowman Gray Stadium
  A NASCAR-sanctioned racing track, the Bowman Gray Stadium is NASCAR’s first and longest-running weekly track.  
• Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum
  Located close to Wake Forest University’s main campus, the LJVM coliseum hosts numerous sporting events, including men’s and women’s university basketball, football and hockey
• The Winston-Salem Dash 
  Winston-Salem’s minor league baseball, the Dash play at Truist Stadium and offer fun events for the whole family.  

Every year, Winston-Salem hosts a multitude of festivals, from ones centered around music and film to festivals focused on wine and food. Each celebrates a part of the city’s vibrant, diverse community. Check out some of our most popular events:

• Bookmarks Festival of Books
• Carolina Classic Fair
• Downtown Arts District Gallery Hop
• Gears & Guitars Music Festival
• Greek Festival
• Hispanic League Fiesta
• National Black Theatre Festival
• North Carolina Wine Festival
• Piedmont Craftsmen’s Fair
• RiverRun International Film Festival
• Spirits of Summer
• Tanglewood Park Festival of Lights
• Triad Cultural Arts’ Juneteenth Festival
• Winston-Salem Cycling Classic 
• Winston-Salem Open

Beyond these annual events, there are sporting, pop-up art, live music performances and other types of events that occur regularly in establishments across the city. 

In addition to all the activities in Winston-Salem itself, there’s even more available just a few hours away. With the Blue Ridge Mountains within easy driving distance, you can easily visit such locations as Asheville, Grandfather Mountain and the Blue Ridge Parkway. But if you’re more of a beach person, we’ve still got you covered. Head east for a dose of sun and sand at the Outer Banks, the Crystal Coast, the port city of Wilmington, or Wrightsville and Carolina beaches.  

A day trip can also get you to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, the Biltmore Estate in Asheville or a variety of public museums in Raleigh. 

Enjoy local sports? Winston-Salem is home to a couple of minor league and college teams such as the Winston-Salem Dash (MiLB), Carolina Thunderbirds (FPHL), and of course your Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

For the professional sports fan, a drive of just a couple hours can get you to sporting events for the Carolina Panthers (NFL), the Charlotte Hornets (NBA), the Charlotte Motor Speedway (NASCAR) and the Carolina Hurricanes (NHL).