Photography by 3Spade7Star @3Spade7Star_photography…read moreJanuary 25, 2026 - Sunday One of the quirkiest & pleasant things to do in Wilmington, North Carolina is to visit the Museum of the Bizarre. It is like a smaller version of Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum with a few surprise twists. The staff was friendly and helpful in answering all my questions. Museum fee is $3. If you want to explore the mirror maze of labyrinths, the ticket for both events is $5 . I was told that the museum was from a private collector, who owned the museum and collected all the artifacts in it. Most of the exhibits are not to be photographed unless you see a sign by the exhibit saying you can photograph it. Each exhibit has a scan code you can scan and find a link to - providing you info about the exhibit. I got permission to photograph the link info of each exhibit before proceeding further into the museum. A surprise highlight is the live performance of the sword swallower in the museum. Very fun and reminiscent of a circus performance. The kids loved it, and I liked the optimism of the performer. At the end of the museum visit, we explored the mirror maze labyrinth - very trippy. They make you wear plastic gloves to prevent smears on the mirror. Inside is a gigantic Minotaur at the end of the maze. This is a place to explore the weird and wonderful in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Unusual? Absolutely. And at $3 per person, it's a curious little detour that doesn't break the…read morebudget. We spent under an hour browsing their compact but densely packed collection of macabre, peculiar, and downright strange artifacts. Among the exhibits: letters penned by convicted serial killers, graphic crime scene photographs, purported human and animal remains, theatrical masks and vintage clothing, plus a lock of Alexander Hamilton's hair, Houdini's Ouija board, and a plaster cast of what's claimed to be a Bigfoot footprint. There were also a few movie props scattered throughout, adding a pop culture twist to the mix. Photography is off-limits except in clearly marked zones, so don't expect to document everything. We passed on the mirror maze this time around. Are all of this items authentic and real? Are they fabricated and fake? It hovers somewhere in that murky middle but it's compelling either way. And for the price, it's hard to argue. I'm not sure how much of this is appropriate for younger eyes, so parents should keep that in mind. [Review 1348 of 2025 - 4467 in North Carolina - 24900 overall]

I made my first visit to Wilmington, North Carolina, just a couple weeks ago. I was with my cousin…read moreand she couldn't wait to visit this one shop and the shop was Barouke Exotic Woods. I can see why now this little shop was filled with beautiful woodwork. I purchased a wooden chime that I'm listening to right now outside my kitchen window in California. The owner was so friendly and helpful. She packaged my chime up right away and shipped it to me. I will definitely return on my next visit to Wilmington.

The natural patterns of wood are something people don't often notice. One trip through Barouke and…read moreyou'll probably never look at wood the same way again. There are so many beautiful items here, in all types of wood. I didn't really think of using wood to make lamps or vases, but they're interesting in a weird sort of way. Barouke carries things you'd expect to find: puzzle boxes, small tables, frames and the like -- all of them beautiful. It's fascinating to see the different wood grains. Everything is cut and polished to bring out the striations. If natural is your decorating style or you just need something to round out the feng shui, chances are good you can't go wrong with a visit to this shop. There's nothing cheap about the things here, either in quality or in price, so if you don't mind spending money, you'll do fine. Otherwise, it's still an interesting shop to visit.

Such a cool place. Felt like I stepped into 1995! Played Duck Hunt on a real standing TV (idk what…read moreyou even call it now) brought in a cassette I found and heard a bunch of songs I recorded from the radio in the early 90s. Love it!

Fun place to play your favorite games. A pleasant trip down memory lane. The attendant on duty is…read morevery knowledgeable of the games and equipment there.

This is an arcade place, run and owned by The Roster and the Crow restaurant. It is across the…read morehall from the restaurant. It's a small arcade. A few pinball machines, arcade games, and other games you see at places like this (shooting basketballs, skee-ball, air hockey, etc.). I love having the option of playing games like this is downtown, however there are a few issues with this place. Downsides Some of the games do NOT list how much it costs to play. I lost several quarters trying to determine this. This issue is with the games like skee-ball. Some of the games don't work. Last time I was there, I lost money on the air hockey game because there was no puck. The skee-ball game just took our money without giving us the balls. If you come, bring some one, five or ten dollar bills. They do have a change machine onsite and most of the games only take quarters. If you are normally cashless like me, there is an ATMs just outside the arcade. You know, the ATMs you find at gas stations or strip clubs (so I have been told), that change you a $3 fee. Warning, when the ATM reads your card, it asks if you want to view your balance. Do NOT do this. It charges you just to look at the balance, then also charges you a fee on the money withdrawn. You can only get $20 bills. Be warned, $20 worth or quarters is a lot.

We popped by to grab an adult beverage and a taco and we were not disappointed. It's got more of a…read morequirky bar vide but the staff was amazing and so was the entertainment. They have different kinds of music all during week and weekend but we went on Wednesday and it was a Gypsies, belly dancing type music.. I really enjoyed it. The band was very nice and stopped to chat with us. Not a lot of people were there at time but got busier as night rolled on. We grabbed our beverages and sat out back and the staff brought the tacos to us. Not your normal run of mill tacos! They had meat and rice and nice semi spicy sauce and lettuce. Each taco was 3.50 which isn't bad at all. They have great selection of beers as well as ciders in cooler and few on tap.. cool place to hang out for bit..

Cool little place to stop for drink ... bartender was amazing and friendly. Like to feel when you…read morewalk in

Wow, what a change for the better with the new ownership, with improved interior, a more…read moresophisticated vibe outdoors in the courtyard. Thumbs up for a place to go any night of the week when you're looking for a good cocktail, music that's enjoyable, and a place where it's nice to be able to talk to the people around you.

WOW, this place was a pleasant surprise. We were spending the day exploring the Brooklyn Arts…read moreDistrict and Bottega was on our list. We walked in and right away you are at the bar. It is a smaller room and once you get your drinks you can follow the hall back to this huge beer garden outside area. It was a lovely night and with the comfy chairs a great place to hangout with friends and enjoy some adult beverages. They had beer and wine here and sometimes have a DJ. We will definitely be coming back.

I visited in the early 2000's, went back on 2026-04-11, and had a great time on the self-guided…read moretour (~2 hours). Be prepared for a lot of walking and climbing steps. Most areas are kind of confined, some more than others! The ladders can be a little challenging but just take it easier. I found it easiest to go down ladders (aka stairs) backwards, facing the steps. The signage could use improvement. Sometimes it was hard to know which way to go or how to exit. It's a little like a maze! More photos at https://postimg.cc/gallery/SqN0YdB

This is my 2nd time on this amazing ship and I was just as amazed this time around as I was the…read morefirst time. Just to know that this boat was active once upon a time is amazing! The ship has been well maintained and preserved. The amount of how much of this ship history that has been preserved in simply astounding. From the sick recovery rooms, where surges were perform, the communications center, dining area, ship store, divers, laundry room, shower room, the ship is massive. Appreciating each and every person who served, appreciating those that have preserved this ship. The price was super affordable, staff were very friendly and informative. My son and I covered a great amount of the ship in two hours and u found rooms on the ship that I didn't see the first time around. Plenty of free parking and a nice gift shop as well.

We've had a great time every time we visit. Our family was…read moregifted a membership for Christmas and have attended the new year's noon event and the kids Olympics, along with a weekday visit, so far. The events are heavily discounted for members, which we love. The employees are great and there's not many people there during the weekday in the winter, anyway. This is a smaller museum, so it's great for our almost 4 year old. There's a little outdoor area with a few things. We love the school bus. Fun place to visit when the weather isn't great.

My kids had a great time here! Lots of different areas for kids to venture through. They offer…read morediscounts for military or educators so that was a plus! Spent two hours here and my kids still weren't ready to leave. Reminds me of a more simple version of marbles museum in Raleigh. 3/5!

This was... interesting. I had no idea what Pachinko was all about but after reading the entry on…read moreAtlas Obscura https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/pachinko-world, I had to stop by. I spent about 15 minutes learning how pachinko works and then playing through $10 worth of pachinko balls. The object is to shoot the balls (basically ball bearings) so that they land in the right spot to win prizes. The moving parts are all behind glass so there's no danger but there are lots of flashing lights, ringing bells and interesting animations to keep you hooked. This was definitely unusual and I'm glad I made the stop at the only pachinko parlor in North America. [Review 18874 overall - 3359 in North Carolina - 2397 of 2022.]

All COVID rules are being followed, we have never been to a place such as this , super nice guy…read moreinside took the time to grab some balls and explain how the game was played, we had our grandson and daughter and her boyfriend playing while grandma and grandpa took pictures, We enjoyed watching everyone have fun and encouraged them to be loud and have fun, great place to have some fun, recommend

Went as a family all adults the Mini golf was a lot of fun and very challenging! We enjoyed…read moreourselves very much and definitely would visit again was a great afternoon . Drinks were great and the girl behind the bar was really nice and pleasant and friendly. If you want some adult time drinks and fun this is the place to visit!!

This spot was a bummer for us. We were looking forward because of the social media post we saw in…read morethe past but it was lackluster. The spot is very small. The putts are interesting but for $10 a person with the space is did not seem worth it. Let alone they had 4 draft beers (for a sports bar we just thought there would be more variety) and they had a TouchTunes. I love a TouchTunes and both of the songs we picked were ended early and skipped. So all in all both another spot we will be visiting