Greenville earned another shout out from Travel + Leisure Magazine, and once again the Upstate city is considered one of the South’s best-kept secrets.
Longtime Greenville Mayor Knox White said it reminds him of a consultant the city worked with long ago who said at some point you don’t want to be a surprise.
“Greenville is still a surprise,” he said.
The magazine called Greenville “small but vibrant.” With a population hovering around 100,000 — a marked increase in the past 10 years — Greenville fights above its weight.
“In recent years, Greenville has become popular for its walkable downtown (complete with a waterfall in the middle), in addition to plentiful shopping, drinking and dining opportunities,” the magazine said.
Greenville has been featured several times in the magazine and in other national publications in recent years as being friendliest, best place to live, best small city and best place to work remotely.
Travel + Leisure listed some oft-repeated activities such as bike or hike the 20-mile-long paved Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail, shopping along Main Street and a visit to the 32-acre Falls Park on the Reedy.
Newly added was a candle-making class at Greenville Soy Candle Company, which sells candles but also offers small-group classes to mix and match colors and scents.
But one thing they missed: the 60-acre Unity Park built in a former downtrodden warehouse area that opened in May. It includes various activities for children such as a splash pad and a huge lawn, where people picnic, visit and enjoy the open space.
White said the park is attracting people from around the region. A few weeks ago a family from Pickens was there for a family reunion and at the July 4 fireworks celebration there were so many people — estimate 20,000 — “you couldn’t see a blade of grass.”
And it’s lived up to its name as a place for all people, all ages, all races, he said.
Travel + Leisure listed mostly new restaurants for dinner such as Jianna, a second-floor Italian restaurant; Urban Wren, “plates that resemble edible works of art (the chorizo-lobster corn dogs and tuna poke are personal favorites);” Camp, contemporary American. The Lazy Goat, Mediterranean-inspired, was the only longtime restaurant listed.
White said Greeville’s only getting started on restaurant variety, coming soon are a French restaurant and Bricktop’s, which has locations in such places as Naples and Palm Beach in Florida and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Travel + Leisure recommended staying at The Westin Poinsett, a 12-story Beaux Arts building built in 1925 that fell into disrepair along with Greenville’s downtown in the 1970s. It was once decayed and unoccupied, but has been fully restored.
The magazine also cited Grand Bohemian Lodge, scheduled to open August, which overlooks Reedy River Falls and Liberty Bridge.
“Its specially curated art collection is just an added bonus,” the magazine said.
The magazine also listed several other restaurants for breakfast, lunch and snacks as well as bars, including two on the tops of downtown hotels — Up on the Roof at Embassy Suites and Juniper at AC Hotel.
