The Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden is a 450-acre (1.8 km2) world-class botanical garden located on New Hope Road southwest of Belmont. Daniel J. Stowe, a retired textile executive, set aside the property and established a foundation to develop the Garden. The first gardens opened to the public in 1999.

The Downtown Belmont Historic District has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1996. The district covers 1,700 acres and contains 264 buildings including examples of Tudor Revival, Bungalow/Craftsman, and Colonial Revival architectural styles.

Stowe Manor, at 217 South Central Avenue, is the 1920’s mansion built for textile magnate S.P. Stowe.

The campus of Belmont Abbey has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973. The Abbey Basilica of Mary Help of Christians is the central feature of the campus. Built in the German Gothic-Revival architectural style, the Basilica was the largest Catholic church in North Carolina at the time of its construction.

The U.S. National Whitewater Center is located just across the Catawba River from Belmont in Mecklenburg County. Situated on the east bank of the river, the Center is a non-profit outdoor recreation facility for whitewater rafting, canoeing, and kayaking. It opened for public use in 2006.

Recently, the downtown area of Belmont has been expanding and adding new attractions like restaurants, bars, and comedy clubs.