This is a place made for walking. Strollers will enjoy the boardwalks along the downtown harbor and past the stately Tranquil House Inn and a waterfront park. Downtown Manteo also houses an easily walkable five blocks of stores, from galleries and clothing establishments to gift shops and a working blacksmith studio.
Go a little deeper into the heart of town, and you'll find lovely and mostly modest homes from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Some of the largest and most historic have been converted into bed-and-breakfasts. Many houses have front porches, and if you see folks sitting on any, you'd best smile and wave, because they will.
You'll want to amble over to Roanoke Island Festival Park, formerly Ice Plant Island. The 27-acre park holds a museum, settlement site, museum store, aforementioned boardwalk, and the town's signature ''land"-mark -- the Elizabeth II, a composite replica of a 16th-century sailing vessel, which is berthed on the waterfront. It was conspicuously absent the weekend we visited in May, as the sailing crew had taken it out on a rare training run.
After an hourlong stroll, you've seen it all, at least downtown.
''That's why we moved here," said Joan Sprague, a transplant from New Jersey. ''Whenever we would come down, we loved to walk in Manteo. We looked at places from Maine to Florida. As soon as I crossed Pirates Cove into Manteo [from Nags Head], I knew: This is it. It's a wonderful place, very friendly. Everyone says hi."
Interestingly, though Manteo is one of the few towns in the coastal region that has retained (and even gained) charm, relatively few people, even North Carolinians, think of it as an Outer Banks destination.
Lisa Grogan, who owns Lady Banks, a clothing and accessories store downtown, said it amazes her how Manteo remains a well-kept secret.
''Even today I'll have customers say, 'We've been coming to the Outer Banks for 30 years and never knew this was here.' Once they knew it existed, they were absolutely thrilled," Grogan said.
