By Winston-Salem sits less than 30 miles west of downtown Greensboro, close enough that you can be sipping coffee in the Camel City before you would have finished your second cup at home. The drive is short, the parking is easy, and the payoff is one of the most distinctive small cities in the South: a place where 18th-century Moravian craftsmen, a tobacco fortune turned art museum, and a downtown stacked with breweries all live within a few minutes of one another. Here is how to turn a quick hop down the highway into a full and satisfying day.
Getting There From Greensboro
The two cities are connected by a straight, fast corridor. From most of Greensboro you will jump on Interstate 40 West (or Business 40, now signed as Salem Parkway, for the downtown exits) and cover the roughly 29 miles in about 30 to 40 minutes depending on traffic. There is no toll, the road is wide, and the exits for Old Salem, downtown, and Reynolda are all clearly marked.
A few practical notes for the day:
- Leave by 9 a.m. if you want to fit in two major attractions plus lunch and a downtown stroll. Most museums open between 9:30 and 10 a.m.
- Mind the closure days. Reynolda House closes Mondays, and Old Salem operates Wednesday through Saturday, so a midweek-to-Saturday trip gives you the most options. Old Salem is also closed the entire month of January.
- Parking downtown is plentiful and cheap compared with bigger cities, with metered street spots and several decks near Fourth Street.
Morning: Step Back Three Centuries at Old Salem
Start your day where Winston-Salem started. Old Salem Museums & Gardens is one of the most comprehensive living-history sites in the country, a nearly 100-acre district of roughly 100 restored buildings that preserves the town the Moravians founded in 1766. Costumed interpreters work the gardens, fire up the blacksmith’s forge, and bake bread in wood-fired ovens, while the streets themselves look much as they did before the American Revolution.
Wander past the Single Brothers’ House, step into Salem Tavern (a National Historic Landmark where George Washington once stayed), and visit St. Philips Moravian Church, the oldest standing African American church building in North Carolina, where the site tells the fuller, often difficult story of enslaved and free Black Moravians. History buffs can add a stop at MESDA, the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, on the same campus.
Do not leave without something from the bakery counter. The Moravian sugar cake and paper-thin spiced cookies are local institutions, and they make an excellent mid-morning snack to carry as you walk the cobbled streets.
Plan Your Visit: Old Salem
- Address: 900 Old Salem Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27101
- Phone: (336) 721-7350
- Hours: Generally Wednesday through Saturday. Spring and fall run roughly Wed to Fri 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sat 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; summer shifts to 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed in January. Confirm seasonal hours before you go.
- Admission: Two-stop on-site tickets run about $22 for adults and $12 for students and children, plus tax; free for ages 0 to 3. All-day and all-in-one options are also sold.
- Website: oldsalem.org
Midday: Lunch and a Walk Through Downtown
From Old Salem it is a five-minute drive (or a pleasant walk) north into the heart of downtown, where the action centers on Fourth Street and the historic West End. This compact, walkable core is the easiest place to refuel and stretch your legs between museum stops.
For lunch, you cannot go wrong with Foothills Brewing, the brewpub that helped put Winston-Salem on North Carolina’s craft beer map. The original brewpub at 638 West Fourth Street pours its flagship beers alongside burgers, wings, and pub fare, and it is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to midnight, phone (336) 777-3348. Downtown alone is home to nearly a dozen craft brewers, so beer lovers can easily fashion a self-guided crawl, with stops like Incendiary Brewing inside the restored Bailey Power Plant in the Innovation Quarter.
If you would rather skip the beer, the surrounding blocks are full of independent restaurants, coffee shops, and the well-loved Bookmarks bookstore. The Visit Winston-Salem downtown dining guide is a reliable, current list if you want to scan menus before you arrive.
Bringing the Kids?
Families with young children should detour to Kaleideum, the hands-on science and children’s museum that opened its new downtown building in 2024. Splash zones, a design studio, and nature exhibits make it easy to burn off midday energy before the drive home.
Afternoon: Art and Gardens at Reynolda
Spend your afternoon at Reynolda House Museum of American Art, the 1917 country estate of tobacco magnate R.J. Reynolds and his wife Katharine. The bungalow-style mansion now holds an outstanding collection of American paintings, with works by artists such as Frederic Church, Mary Cassatt, and Georgia O’Keeffe hung throughout the original rooms. It is a rare chance to see major American art inside a lived-in historic home rather than a sterile gallery.
Surrounding the house are the free Reynolda Gardens, more than 100 acres of formal gardens, greenhouse plantings, woodland trails, and open meadow that are open daily from sunrise to sunset. Adjacent Reynolda Village, the estate’s former farm buildings, now houses shops and eateries if you want a coffee or a treat before heading back to Greensboro.
Note that as of mid-2026 a portion of the historic wing was undergoing renovation, though the main galleries remained open. It is worth a quick check of the website for the current gallery status and any special exhibitions.
Plan Your Visit: Reynolda
- Museum address: 2250 Reynolda Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27106
- Gardens address: 100 Reynolda Village Way, Winston-Salem, NC 27106
- Phone: 888-663-1149 (museum); 336-758-5593 (gardens)
- Hours: Museum open Tuesday through Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.; closed Mondays. Gardens open daily, sunrise to sunset.
- Admission: Garden grounds are free; the museum charges admission with tickets available online. Check current rates before you visit.
- Website: reynolda.org
If You Want to Stay the Night
While Winston-Salem makes a clean one-day trip from Greensboro, the downtown dining and nightlife are good enough that some visitors decide to linger. The compact downtown puts several hotels within walking distance of Fourth Street’s restaurants and breweries, and you will find everything from boutique properties to recognizable national brands. Browse and book hotels, inns, and bed-and-breakfasts through a major travel site so you can compare rates and locations, and choose a downtown address if you want to walk to dinner.
Building Your Own Itinerary
The beauty of this trip is how easily it adapts. History lovers can spend a full half-day at Old Salem and add MESDA. Art and garden people can pair Reynolda with a slow lunch downtown. Beer enthusiasts can anchor the day around a Fourth Street brewery crawl, and families can swap in Kaleideum for one of the museums. For event listings, seasonal hours, and trip-planning help, the official Visit Winston-Salem site is the best starting point, and Visit NC can help you stitch Winston-Salem into a wider Triad or Piedmont road trip.
One last planning tip: because Old Salem closes earlier than the downtown restaurants, do it first, eat lunch downtown around midday, and save Reynolda or your brewery stops for the afternoon and early evening. You will beat the crowds at the living-history site, hit downtown when it is liveliest, and still make the easy 30-minute drive back to Greensboro before dark.