New York Times showcases Wilmington over the weekend

By ROBERT WILLEY

Stroll along the Cape Fear River in Wilmington, N.C., and you can feel a little Savannah or Charleston just itching to get out.

The city’s downtown has been that way for years: highly walkable, with pockets of real beauty and charm, forever promising a sleepy coolness that never quite materialized. But the area is starting to wake up.

There’s a handsomely renovated amphitheater a short hop from the main drag, Front Street. And the dining and night-life scene is finally hitting its stride, with a serious cocktail spot unencumbered by speakeasy shtick, a new farmhouse-inflected restaurant that shows big-time chops in the kitchen, and more. The return of beach weather isn’t the only thing to look forward to around here.

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http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/12/19/travel/20101219-wilmington-surfa.html