Under $100: Charlotte, N.C.

The beautiful Queen City, Charlotte, N.C,, makes for a charming weekend getaway that won’t break the bank.

Grab breakfast at a newly opened restaurant serving upscale sustainable dining — Haymaker. The brunch menu features such delights as cinnamon doughnut holes with a bourbon raspberry sauce ($6) and a Dutch baby with sorghum butter, bourbon-macerated raspberries and candied pecans ($10).

Walk off your breakfast at Anne Springs Close Greenway. The park is a short drive out of downtown and provides more than 2,000 acres to bike and hike, including some remote trails. A daily entrance fee of $5 applies.

If you’d rather stay in the city, though, take a bike ride around Charlotte using the city’s B-cycle program, just $8 for 24 hours. Enjoy the various green spaces and maybe even head to Johnson C. Smith campus, for picturesque spots worth an Instagram photo or two.

Grab a casual lunch at the cute and new Caswell Station. The lunch favorite is a soup and salad or sandwich combo, with hearty sandwiches including a meatloaf sandwich with barbecue gravy and a turkey melt with cranberries and pecan relish. Other options include a pimento BLT and hummus wrap. Regardless of which option, lunch is less than $10.

Get a little history in with visits to two free admission spots. The Light Factory features photography and film from new and established artists, as well as lectures in the evenings. The James K. Polk Historic Site celebrates the nation’s 11th president. A tour guide will show you the Polk family’s estate, including recreations of the buildings constructed there in the early 1800s.

Another free and fun afternoon activity is a visit to the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens. Set across 10 acres, the beautiful gardens include various water features, a greenhouse and plenty of picture-perfect spots.

End your day with dinner and drinks at The Stanley, a new farm-to-table restaurant by a James Beard nominee. A wide array of small plates take up the majority of the menu, starting at $9 and including tempting options like foie gras with funnel cake and strawberries, and broccoli and cauliflower tempura with a blue cheese sauce. Craft cocktails start at $11 and include options like the Penicillin, with scotch, local honey, ginger ale and lemon, and the After Dinner, with bourbon, coffee and Italian liquer.