Philadelphia to Charlotte drive: Distance, time & best stops
The best road trip stops on the Philadelphia to Charlotte drive are Washington DC, Richmond VA, and Durham NC. The distance from Philadelphia to Charlotte is 540 miles, with a 8h38m driving time.
Planning a Philadelphia to Charlotte road trip itinerary
The Philadelphia to Charlotte drive connects the biggest cities in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
Historic Philadelphia has a series of absolutely stellar attractions. Independence Hall, the Eastern State Penitentiary and the National Constitution Center are all utterly engrossing.
Other key attractions in Philadelphia include the Museum of the American Revolution, the Independence Seaport Museum and the Penn Museum. For great Philadelphia tour options, try the Old City historic walking tour, a night tour exploring the city’s dark side or an It’s Always Sunny-themed tour of South Philadelphia.
If looking for Philadelphia accommodation, the Club Quarters Rittenhouse Square is often great value, while the Kimpton Hotel Monaco has style and personality.
Charlotte is the biggest city in North Carolina. Major attractions include the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the thrill-packed Carowinds amusement park and the Billy Graham Library. Another popular option is the Sea Life aquarium.
For top Charlotte activities, try historical city tours by golf cart, Segway tours through the Uptown neighbourhood and after dark ghost tours.
Well-reviewed and central Charlotte accommodation options include the AC by Marriott and the Hyatt House.
Philadelphia to Charlotte distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Philadelphia to Charlotte is 540 miles. You can expect a driving time of around eight hours and 38 minutes. The quickest route is along the I-95 and I-85.
Given roughly even driving intervals, the best stops to add to a Philadelphia to Charlotte road trip itinerary are Washington DC, Richmond VA and Durham NC.
For more suggestions, check out the guides to the individual legs of the journey.
- Philadelphia to Baltimore drive.
- Baltimore to Washington DC drive.
- Washington DC to Richmond VA drive.
- Richmond VA to Durham NC drive.
- Durham NC to Charlotte drive.
Philadelphia to Charlotte drive: Washington DC
Washington DC has an enormous range of tours, experiences and attractions available. You could happily spend weeks in the Smithsonian Museums alone. Top choices, however, include the nighttime monuments and memorials tour, small group guided visits to the Capitol and National Library of Congress and Lincoln assassination tours that visit Fords Theatre.
Memorable Washington DC accommodation options include the Willard, where Martin Luther King Jr wrote his I Have A Dream speech. There’s also the Watergate Hotel, a luxurious conversion of the offices from the Watergate scandal.
Philadelphia to Charlotte road trip attractions: Richmond VA
Once the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond VA is not entirely weighed down by its history. The surprisingly wild James River runs through it, and the west end feels energetic and more of the North than the South.
The top attraction, though, is the huge American Civil War Museum at the historic Tredegar Ironworks. After that, walk the suspension bridge to Belle Isle in the middle of the James River, see the dubious Confederate monuments on Monument Avenue, or see the grandiose tombs of the Hollywood Cemetery.
Other good Richmond experiences include food tours of the Arts District or Church Hill, Segway tours of the city landmarks, nighttime ghost walks and guided hikes along the James River.
For Richmond accommodation, the Moxy Richmond Downtown brims with fun, youthful energy. The Residence Inn by Marriott, meanwhile, is a short walk from the lively Shockoe Bottom neighbourhood.
Best stops between Philadelphia and Charlotte: Durham NC
Durham NC is a big tech research center, and home to Duke University. The latter is home to the Nasher Museum of Art and the soaring Gothic Duke Chapel.
Nature-lovers can go walking through the Sarah P Duke Gardens and take a tour of the Duke Lemur Center. The biggest crowd-pleaser, however, is the Museum of Life and Science. There are several sections to this, both indoor and outdoor. It’s mainly button-pushing, kid-friendly science indoors and black bears, butterflies and red wolves outside.
More Philadelphia road trips
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More Charlotte road trips
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