Photo: omersukrugoksu/iStock/Getty Images
North Carolina is home to vibrant big cities and extraordinary small towns that showcase the unmatched beauty the state has to offer, not just to the people who call it home but to anyone who visits to see what makes the Tar Heel State so special.
Thrillist compiled a list of the "must-visit small town" in every state, smaller destinations that offer "a respite from big-city life" and a glimpse of the "romanticism of small towns" in America. From beach towns promising white sandy shores to mountainside villages and idyllic coastal havens, the list is full of locales you simply have to see for yourself.
Of all the unique spots around North Carolina, the state's best small town to visit is Beaufort. With a population of around 4,500, this locale was described as the "best-rounded" of North Carolina's "idyllic beach towns." According to the site:
"Coastal North Carolina swarms with idyllic beach towns: Wrightsville Beach, Hatteras Island, Seaside. The best-rounded of them is Beaufort, where antebellum architecture and farmers markets under oak trees meet serene Southern coastline and vast, open prairies. Watch the sunrise over the ocean, then head out deep-sea fishing, dolphin-watching, or driving through fields full of wild horses. The wilderness here is actually wild, and while the houses along the shoreline are plentiful, nothing ever feels crowded. When you can end the day with a waterfront sunset in the same spot you watched a waterfront sunrise, it's a pretty special place."
Read up on more of the best small towns in the U.S. to visit at thrillist.com. You can also check out our previous coverage of the "most charming small town" in the state.