Merchant & Trade Rooftop Bar

Nineteen floors up on the roof of the Kimpton Tryon Park Hotel, Merchant & Trade puts Charlotte’s skyline at eye level — close enough to the Duke Energy and Bank of America towers that the whole Uptown grid lights up around you as the sun goes down. It’s the city night our lake guests tend to want after a few slow days on the water: a proper cocktail list, a decent wine selection, and a terrace that stays comfortable well into the evening. Go for golden hour, roughly an hour before sunset, and you’ll get the view twice — once in daylight and again when the lights come on. There’s no booking for the terrace, so arrive early on Fridays and Saturdays or expect a wait downstairs; midweek you can usually walk straight up. Smart-casual is the rule and trainers are fine. It’s a short walk from the Blue Line light rail, which is the easiest way in and out if you’d rather not drive — and given the run back to the lake, that’s our advice. Twenty-five minutes from South Charlotte, forty from Lake Norman.