There is no better introduction to Charlotte than a drive down Queens Road in Myers Park, where some of the city’s grandest homes are framed by a canopy of willow oaks. Myers Park emerged from a cotton farm in south Charlotte in 1911, when landscape architect John Nolen was hired to create a “garden suburb.” Nolen opted for curving streets that followed the landscape. Don’t miss: Festival in the Park at Freedom Park each year at the end of September. Getting lost at the baffling intersection of Queens Road, Queens Road, Providence Road, and Providence Road.