New Bern NC – these are a few of my favorite things!

I live in a pretty amazing small town! Here are some reasons you should come visit New Bern NC.

New Bern NC, My Beautiful Small Town

I live in a gorgeous small town in Eastern North Carolina. New Bern NC is full of history and old homes and is located on two beautiful rivers, the Neuse and the Trent which allows LOTS of fun on the water. I was asked to write a guest blog for a friend and decided to write it for her and for my own website.

I headed out this morning to walk my downtown to get my own pictures, and over the course of an hour was reminded of how blessed I am to have lived here for 20 years. It’s a spectacular town with amazing people and I think everyone should take a few days to come and visit for themselves. I’ll share a little bit about New Bern NC, and then a few of my favorite things.

A Quick History

New Bern NC is the second oldest European settled town in North Carolina. It was first settled in 1710 by the Swiss who named it after Bern, Switzerland where many of the new settlers had come from. It was also the first colonial capitol from 1770 and 1792 and Tryon Palace was the governor’s palace during those years until the capitol was relocated to Raleigh. You can tour the Tryon Palace during your visit. Here is all the information you need to visit Tryon Palace. In addition to tours the palace hosts many unique events that are great to check out especially around Christmas.

History is all around you in New Bern NC from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War and even to tales and rumors of Blackbeard having lived here. If history is your thing, make sure you visit the NC History Center while you are here in town. It’s a perfect spot for the history buff. Click here for info on the North Carolina History Center.

When you arrive in New Bern NC you quickly see how the downtown is dominated by the two rivers. The views are stunning all times of day. You really need to drive around and see the downtown and then park and walk it. It’s an easy town to walk and take in the sights and there are many places to park, get snacks, use the restroom, and read information about the area. Definitely take the time to walk and explore the downtown area.

One of visitor’s favorite things to do downtown in New Bern NC is to search for the New Bern bears. For our 300th anniversary in 2010, a non-profit, Bear Town Bears, was created and they recruited local artists to decorate fiberglass standing and walking bears with hats, clothes, flowers, and other creative designs.

Local businesses sponsor the bears in the historic downtown and also in other areas around New Bern NC. Visitors and locals alike enjoy going on a bear hunt when in town. You can pick up a bear hunt map at the New Bern NC Chamber of Commerce or click here to download your tour information and map.

Places to See and Things to Do in New Bern NC

Historic Trolley Tour

When you are visiting New Bern NC, you need to take a local tour to learn more about this cool town and its history. There are lots of options, but I’ll share a favorite and then link to others. Take a 90-minute Historic Trolley Tour to get a more comprehensive history, stories, and information about New Bern.

Here is the link for the Trolley Tour. The Trolleys are also rented for events, and we actually attended a wedding downtown where the bridal party arrived in the Trolley. So much fun. For information on guided river boat and other local tours check out this link.

Visit the Birthplace of Pepsi

Everyone who knows me knows that I am a Diet Coke girl. It’s hard for a Diet Coke girl to live in the Birthplace of Pepsi but luckily this girl also likes history. So, for me it’s pretty cool to live in the Birthplace of Pepsi.

While you are in town you need to check out the Pepsi store and see the site where Caleb Bradham first made his sweet concoction. In the Pepsi store you can have a Pepsi at the old-time soda fountain, see lots of history in their shop and shop Pepsi gear in their gift store. Check out more info about the Pepsi store here.

New Bern NC Firemen’s Museum

One of my favorite New Bern NC destinations is the New Bern Firemen’s Museum. I’m so proud to live in a town that honors its public servants with such a fantastic museum. It’s very well done and a really neat place to check out for all ages of the family. Click here for more info on hours and ticket prices.

Local Art

When you wander around downtown New Bern you will see lots of other fun activities. There is a lot of art in this town, including galleries and stores where you can purchase art from local artists.

Downtown Bridge, Park and River Views

I mentioned walking the downtown area and if you do, please be sure you walk along the shoreline. The views are out of this world. You will notice how high the water gets in various parts of the downtown. I’ll share more about that later when I talk about our hurricane history.

Don’t miss Union Point. There is a great gazebo, playground for kids, ducks to feed and several New Bern bears. There is also a great grassy area with wooden benches, picnic tables and grills. So many fantastic events are held at Union Point Park year-round including movies in the park, great music concerts on the lawn, yoga in the gazebo and so much more.

It’s a great place to make a picnic lunch or pick up some food to bring down and have a nice lunch or dinner. To find out more info about Union Point and the events held there click here.

Historical Homes

You can’t have a 300+ year old town without beautiful historic homes and we have a LOT of them. My husband and I love to take different routes walking downtown to see all the beautiful homes.

People here take such great care of their old homes, and our historic society makes sure they are kept in their historic state. The New Bern Historical Society does a historic homes tour each year which is great to catch if your trip allows.

Some of the big old homes are now Bed and Breakfasts and others are doing their best to keep them as family homes. Hurricanes do their darnedest to mess with downtown New Bern, but our city is resilient. During your walks check out the signs near the homes doors listing the year it was built.

Downtown Beautiful Views

As you are wandering downtown look for all the little nooks and crannies to take pictures, sit and visit and to people watch. There is a lot to see and do. Many of the stores and buildings are historic like the houses and they are truly beautiful.

Farmers Market

If you are in town on Saturday, you need to check out the Farmers Market. You will meet lots of great local people, see their crafts, foods and goodies, and get a chance to visit with other locals and visitors alike. Even my grandkids love to go down and visit the Farmers Market. Click here for more information on the market and their hours.

Food, Shopping, Lodging and More – My Favs

Breakfast in New Bern, NC

My absolute favorite place to go for breakfast in New Bern NC is Bakers Kitchen and it’s located downtown right on Middle Street. They make amazing everything, but my favorites are their pancakes with their house made butter syrup (they bottle it and you can take it home) and their biscuits which are huge and yummy. Check out their baked good as you leave to take some snacks for later. They are open for breakfast and lunch and serve breakfast all day. Click here for menu and more information. Don’t miss this spot.

Lunch in New Bern, NC

Without question my favorite lunch spot in New Bern NC is The Carolina Bagel Company. It’s not downtown so you will need to drive a few minutes, but the bagels are amazing and when they make them into a sandwich it’s just downright yummy. They have great breakfasts too. While you are there grab a dozen bagels to take home or try their cookies. They are the bomb. Click here for directions and their menu. They are definitely worth the 10-minute drive.

Dinner in New Bern, NC

I have a very special place in my heart for my favorite dinner restaurant. My husband and I got engaged there many moons ago. The Chelsea is a favorite for a lot of New Bern residents. The food here is fantastic. My favorite is the New Orleans Pasta, and my hubby loves the Shrimp and Grits. He compares the rest of the world’s shrimp and grits to this recipe.

My local girl friends and I visit The Chelsea monthly for girls’ night and we always ask for the table in the back corner that we have dubbed the “mafia table”. It’s our catch-up table for sure. This place is fun, busy, and fantastic. I highly recommend. Here is info for directions, hours, and menu.

Shopping in New Bern, NC

There is a LOT of good shopping in New Bern, especially downtown. So much fun shopping and I’m not even a big shopper. I try to shop local when at all possible, so downtown is a great place. I’m including my 3 favorite places to shop in downtown New Bern. But you definitely need to walk the downtown area because there are so many more that I can’t include here.

Kids Shopping

A great place for kids is Snap Dragon (Way Cool Toys) at 214 Middle Street downtown. They have a great selection of toys and games for all ages and a great section of books. It’s small and often crowded on the weekends and holidays and so much fun to bring your kids to!

A Traditional Old Fashioned Everything Store

Mitchell Hardware is an awesome fun store to poke around in. My husband and I like to go every Christmas to do our Christmas stocking shopping. There is so many cool fun little things you can get here that are unique.

They have a great back section which is all gifts and holiday decor as well as some beach and garden items. It’s quite large and they change it up. There are your traditional hardware items and other garden stuff up front as well. This store is worth checking out. It’s not just hardware here! Here is a link to their webpage for more info.

Local Gift Shop

My favorite downtown shopping is Nautical Wheelers. Their website says they feature cool stuff, local gear, good things to eat, home, bath and body and this is just about right. They have all kinds of fun stuff. I can find gifts here as well as clothes, shoes, wine and kid’s goodies. It’s a fun place to check out during your visit. Check out their website here!

Where Should You Stay?

New Bern has lots of lodging choices including hotels, B&B’s and Airbnb’s. You have so many options. Here is a list of many of those choices. This is a shameless plug (but this is my website), but my family has an Airbnb about 10 minutes from town that is perfect for a visit to New Bern. If you want to check it out click here.

So What About Hurricanes?

New Bern does tend to be in the middle of quite a few hurricanes. It’s something we think about just about every year. My home the last 17 years is on the Trent River, and we’ve had 3 hurricanes that really affected our house. It’s quite scary but it always works out ok and everyone has something where they live, be it tornadoes, earthquakes, fires, or hurricanes. You do your best to deal with it, and it sure doesn’t take the shine off of New Bern NC.

The worst hurricane I have been through since living here in New Bern was Hurricane Florence in 2018. She came up the river from the coast and sat on New Bern for 24 hours and wreaked havoc. It took a LONG time for this sweet town to regroup and recover but we did it and came out stronger.

A couple special occasions in New Bern NC

Mumfest

New Bern has lots of amazing events. I couldn’t possibly list them all here. But I did want to share two of my favorite things to do in New Bern. One is MumFest and it’s a pretty huge weekend. In 2022 over 80,000 people visited MumFest. It’s a lot like it sounds. A big festival takes over most of downtown New Bern and there are food vendors, rides, crafts, snacks, entertainment and music. And of course, MUMS. Kids love it and it’s something for the whole family! When I was out walking this morning, they were setting up the mums for the festival.

Christmas Lights

The Canterbury Christmas lights aren’t downtown but not far. Canterbury Road is is Trent Woods in New Bern NC and you need to take a drive or a stroll down Canterbury to check out their lights and Christmas balls. This event grows every year and now several streets around Canterbury have started doing their own version of lights. Make an evening of it and grab some cookies and hot chocolate and visit the gorgeous light show.

The other lights you have to check out on your visit are in Bridgetown just across the Neuse River at 101 New Street. This is the home of the Luper’s who are dear friends of ours and they love to decorate their house for everyone to enjoy. They start putting lights up in October.

They even have their own bucket truck to reach all the high places. It’s set up as a drive through light show and it’s a lot of fun. There is a box set up for food or monetary donations for RCS, Religious Community Services, if you want to bring along a donation.

Like I mentioned before, there is so much to do and see here in New Bern that I couldn’t possibly list it all. Hence a list of my favorite things. I hope this gives you a little bit of an idea of what you can do when you visit our small town. It’s so amazing and you need to make a date to do it.

If you want to read more about how my blog came to be check out this blog post to read about my journey.

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Keep on exploring!

Stephanie

Seymore of the World with Me