The third-oldest town in North Carolina (1709), Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge wreck site, and the boat dock to Cape Lookout National Seashore.
A 1709 colonial port town on the Beaufort Inlet at the eastern end of the Crystal Coast, Carteret County's seat and the third-oldest town in North Carolina after Bath (1705) and New Bern (1710) — Blackbeard's flagship Queen Anne's Revenge was found in 25 feet of water at the inlet in November 1996 (the cited 1718 Edward Teach pirate-fleet flagship, with the recovered cannon, anchors, and navigational artifacts now displayed at the North Carolina Maritime Museum on Front Street), the 1731 Old Burying Ground behind the Ann Street United Methodist Church holds the "Little Girl in a Rum Barrel" grave (a 1700s sea-captain's daughter buried in spirits when she died on the voyage home), the Beaufort Historic Site complex on Turner Street preserves the 1796 Joseph Bell House and the 1825 Carteret County Courthouse, the Front Street waterfront strip runs the cited Crystal Coast restaurant lineup (Beaufort Grocery Co., Aqua, Aroma), and Front Street is the embarkation dock for the 30-minute ferry to Cape Lookout National Seashore (the 1859 black-and-white-diamond Cape Lookout Lighthouse, the wild Shackleford Banks horses, and Portsmouth Village ghost town).
The North Carolina Maritime Museum's Queen Anne's Revenge artifacts, the 1731 Old Burying Ground, the Beaufort Historic Site, the Cape Lookout ferry, and the Front Street waterfront strip.
On Front Street in the historic district — the state-run museum on the Outer Banks shipwrecks, with the Queen Anne's Revenge artifact gallery (cannon, anchors, and navigational tools recovered from the 1718 Blackbeard wreck site at Beaufort Inlet), the Watercraft Center boat-building demos across the street, and the natural-history hall with the Outer Banks-and-Crystal-Coast permanent exhibits. Free admission; the cited Beaufort week's first stop.
Behind the Ann Street United Methodist Church on Ann Street — the 1731 colonial-and-Civil-War cemetery, with the "Little Girl in a Rum Barrel" grave (a 1700s sea-captain's daughter who died on the voyage home and was preserved in spirits for burial in Beaufort), the British naval officer Otway Burns marker (1837), and the cited "America's Coolest Small Town" 2012 photographer's pivot. Free; sunrise-to-sunset.
The Beaufort Historic Society complex on Turner Street — six restored 18th and 19th century buildings, including the 1796 Joseph Bell House, the 1825 Carteret County Courthouse, and the 1859 Apothecary Shop & Doctor's Office. Adult admission $12; the guided historic-walking tour runs Tuesdays through Saturdays at 11 AM and 2 PM.
From the Front Street waterfront — the 30-minute Island Express Ferry to Cape Lookout's Shackleford Banks and the 1859 Cape Lookout Lighthouse. Round-trip fare $20 adult; the cited Beaufort week's full-day Cape Lookout pivot. The wild Shackleford Banks horses (about 110 wild Banker horses) roam the 9-mile undeveloped barrier island.
The 0.5-mile historic-district waterfront stretch from the Maritime Museum to Town Creek — the cited Crystal Coast restaurant strip (Beaufort Grocery Co., Aqua, Aroma), the Beaufort Boardwalk for the Front Street boat-watching, and the cited Beaufort week's evening-stroll-after-dinner default. Free; sunrise-to-sunset.
Across Taylor's Creek from Front Street — the 2,315-acre Rachel Carson Coastal Reserve, with the cited wild horses on the Town Marsh, the Carrot Island and Bird Shoal estuarine-research zones, and the kayak-paddle access from the Front Street public dock. Free; the under-the-radar Beaufort wildlife pivot.
The annual mid-April Crystal Coast wine-and-food weekend at the Beaufort Hotel — the cited NC-and-VA winemaker dinner schedule, the chef-driven food-pairing classes, and the most-cited Beaufort spring-weekend event. Tickets sell out in February; the cited Beaufort restaurant-and-wine pivot.
On Front Street across from the Maritime Museum — the boat-building shop where the museum's apprentices and volunteers build traditional Carteret County boats by hand. Free admission; demos most weekdays. The cited Beaufort week's quiet maritime-history pivot.
Beaufort, North Carolina is the cited "America's Coolest Small Town" 2012 winner — 1709 colonial port, Blackbeard's wreck site, the Old Burying Ground from 1731, and the dock for the Cape Lookout ferry to the wild Shackleford Banks horses. The Front Street waterfront is the cited Crystal Coast dinner-strip anchor.
Cape Lookout National Seashore via the Front Street ferry, Atlantic Beach 5 minutes west across the Bogue Sound bridge, Harkers Island for the Cape Lookout Visitor Center, and Tryon Palace in New Bern.
30-minute ferry from Front Street — the 56-mile undeveloped barrier-island national seashore, the 1859 black-and-white-diamond Cape Lookout Lighthouse, the wild Shackleford Banks horses (about 110 wild Banker horses on the easternmost island), and Portsmouth Village ghost town. Ferry $20 round-trip; the cited Beaufort week's most-cited "once in a lifetime" outing.
5 minutes west across the Atlantic Beach Causeway — Atlantic Beach village's strip and the Fort Macon State Park 1834 brick pentagonal Civil War-era fort at the eastern tip of Bogue Banks (the most-visited NC State Park, with the casemates open daily, the half-mile Elliott Coues Nature Trail, and the protected swimming beach). The cited Beaufort week's beach-day pivot.
10 miles west on Hwy 58 — the residential Bogue Banks village, the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores (one of three NC State Aquariums, with the 306,000-gallon Living Shipwreck tank, $13.95 adult), and the Theodore Roosevelt Natural Area's 265-acre maritime-forest preserve.
30 minutes east on Hwy 70 — Harkers Island, the cited Down East fishing-village heritage, the Cape Lookout National Seashore Visitor Center on the south side of the island, the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center, and the cited boat-shuttle access to Shackleford Banks horses ($25 round-trip). The cited Beaufort week's quiet-Down-East pivot.
5 minutes north across the Atlantic Beach Causeway — the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament hub (the second week of June, the East Coast's signature sport-fishing tournament), the Sanitary Fish Market (the 1938 Carolina seafood institution), and Floyd's 1921 Restaurant. The cited Beaufort week's Crystal Coast big-port pivot.
55 miles west on Hwy 70 in New Bern — the reconstructed 1770 royal-governor's palace and the Pepsi-Cola birthplace pharmacy, with the 14-acre formal gardens, the African American Heritage Tours, and the New Bern historic district waterfront. Adult admission $20; the cited full-day Beaufort colonial-history pivot.
30 miles west on Hwy 70 — the 161,000-acre coastal pocosin national forest, with the Cedar Point Tideland Trail (1.4-mile boardwalk through the salt marsh), the Neusiok Trail (the longest National Recreation Trail in North Carolina), and Pine Cliff Recreation Area on the Neuse River. Free; dawn-to-dusk; the under-the-radar Beaufort hiking-day pivot.
30 minutes east on Harkers Island — the cited Down East heritage museum on the Carteret County waterfowl-decoy carving tradition, the Core Sound Decoy Carvers Guild gallery, and the cited Beaufort week's quiet-historical pivot. Adult admission $5.
On Turner Street — the Beaufort Historic Society's guided tour of the 1796 Joseph Bell House, the 1825 Carteret County Courthouse, and the 1859 Apothecary Shop, runs Tuesdays through Saturdays at 11 AM and 2 PM. Adult admission $12; the cited Beaufort week's history-anchor.
On Front Street in the historic district — the boutique-and-gift-shop strip with the Beaufort Linen Co., the Scuttlebutt Nautical Books & Bounty, the Tidewater Gallery, and the Old Beaufort Shop. The cited Beaufort week's no-beach-day shopping pivot.
On Front Street at Town Creek Saturday mornings April through October — the Carteret County farmers market with local produce, the cited Aquaculture Coalition seafood booth, and the Beaufort week's Saturday-morning anchor. Free; cash and card.
Beaufort Grocery Co. for upscale Lowcountry, Aqua for the chef-driven New American, the Spouter Inn for the harbor view, and the Front Street Grocery for the morning bagel.
On Queen Street in Beaufort — chef-owned Lowcountry-and-Outer-Banks fine dining since 1990, the cited 30-bottle wine list, the Saturday-night chef's tasting menu, and the rooftop dining for the Beaufort harbor view. Reservations a week ahead Friday and Saturday in summer.
On Middle Lane in Beaufort — chef-driven New American kitchen, the cited Carteret County mussel-and-saffron broth, the locally-sourced summer-tomato menu, and the most-cited Crystal Coast wine pour. The Beaufort week's special-occasion night.
On Front Street on the Beaufort waterfront — the cited harbor-view restaurant with the most-cited Front Street Atlantic-and-Pamlico view, the locally-loved crab cakes, and the cited Beaufort week's lunch-with-a-view pivot. Cash and card; opens at 11 AM.
On Front Street in the historic district — the 1905 Beaufort fixture in a restored historic building, the locally-iconic shrimp-and-grits, the cited Beaufort week's family-tradition Sunday-brunch pivot. Cash and card; reservations on weekends.
On Queen Street near Beaufort Grocery — chef-driven mid-tier kitchen with the cited locally-loved bouillabaisse, the seasonal-menu rotation, and the cited Beaufort week's no-Beaufort-Grocery-tonight pivot. Reservations on weekends.
On Front Street in Beaufort — the cited locally-loved breakfast counter and locally-roasted-coffee bar, the morning bagel-and-lox special, and the post-Burying-Ground-walk dessert pivot. Opens at 7 AM; cash and card.
On Turner Street near the Beaufort Historic Site — the locally-roasted-here coffee bar with the cited cinnamon-roll, the rotating local-art wall, and the cited Beaufort week's history-tour-warm-up pivot. Opens at 6:30 AM.
On Front Street in Beaufort — the small chef-owned Mediterranean kitchen, the Saturday-night paella, and the under-the-radar Beaufort week's no-Lowcountry-tonight pivot. Reservations on weekends.
On Front Street near Town Creek — the cited Crystal Coast pan-Asian fusion kitchen, the locally-loved miso-glazed flounder, and the cited Beaufort week's no-seafood-platter-tonight alternative. Reservations on weekends.
Best season, the New Bern-vs-Raleigh airport question, the historic-district-vs-Beau-Coast choice, the rental-car decision, and what a Beaufort week actually costs.
Every property in our Beaufort collection is hand-checked, hand-photographed, and backed by twenty-four-hour concierge support. The guide is the warm-up. The home is the trip.
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