New Bern was founded in 1710, making it the second oldest city in North Carolina. Thus, New Bern has many historical things to do and see. This blog post about visiting New Bern completes the first bucket list item from my About page. Keep reading to watch the accompanying YouTube video.
Downtown New Bern
After finishing the attractions listed below, I walked around New Bern’s charming downtown. The mascot of the city is the bear as bern is the old Germanic word for bear. As such, there are many fiberglass sculptures of bears throughout the city with all sorts of crazy designs. New Bern has pockets of green space throughout the downtown which adds a nice balance to the historic buildings. New Bern proved to be teeming with activity and life on a Friday night, most notably with a Footloose on the Neuse concert.
First the historic downtown…
Now the parks/nature…
And finally two of the bear sculptures…
Tryon Palace
My main reason for putting New Bern on my bucket list was to see Tryon Palace, and it did not disappoint. The Palace was built by and named after William Tryon, the Royal Governor of North Carolina. William Tryon turned New Bern from a small town to the capital of North Carolina in the early 1770s. Tryon Palace’s heyday only lasted a short time, as the town lost its status as a capital city in the early 1790s. In 1798, Tryon Palace burned down, and for many years the plot of land was subdivided into housing. Nevertheless, the foundations survived the fire, and after a complete reconstruction of the building and grounds, Tryon Places opened to the public in 1959.
A few steps away from Tryon Palace is the North Carolina History Center, which oftentimes felt more like a general history of the 19th century rather than a specific history of coastal North Carolina. However, I did learn that there were several failed attempts by the Spanish to colonize North Carolina. I also learned that turpentine comes from a tree. One unique exhibit was on the history of Pepsi, which is not something one normally finds in a local history museum. Which leads me to…
Birthplace of Pepsi Cola
The Birthplace of Pepsi Cola is nothing like the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, or even the Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco as my sister described it. Instead, it’s a gift shop and soda fountain that offers a couple of Pepsi products and popcorn. Unless you’re a big Pepsi fanatic, I only recommend coming here to grab a snack and beat the heat.
Conclusion
Overall, I enjoyed my time in New Bern, even if did not become one of my favorite small towns. I think one day is enough to explore all New Bern has to offer. However, you could use New Bern as a launching point to explore more of North Carolina, such as the Croatan National Forest located next door. For other away trips, I recommend visiting Edenton, Manteo, and the Outer Banks. And if you want to see Virginia’s colonial capital, Williamsburg is a nearly 4-hour drive away.
Below is my companion video about exploring New Bern and Tryon Palace. If you enjoyed the video, please like and subscribe.
Restaurants
There are quite a few restaurants in downtown New Bern. However, if you wanted to eat somewhere close to Tryon Palace, I suggest Savage’s Wood Burning Pizza, which is a six-minute walk to the North Carolina History Center. The restaurant not only serves pizza, but also pasta and subs.