In the present experimental study we investigated the effects of surface characteristics, such as wettability and roughness, on nucleate boiling in de-ionized water at a vertical heater. In the experiments, bubbles were generated from an artificial nucleation site on a stainless steel heater surface. High-resolution optical imaging has been used to capture the bubble life cycle, that is, departure, sliding, and lift-off. We found, that the lower wettability leads to larger departure diameter, longer sliding and larger lift-off diameter of bubbles. Also surface roughness effects have been analyzed and it was found that bubble departure and lift-off diameters are smaller and departure period is longer for a smooth surface. Bubble sliding velocity was found faster for a rough surface compared to a smooth surface. It was also found that the roughness is very influential to bubble growth and departure, which can be explained by considering its interaction with the microlayer underneath the bubble. An “optimal roughness”, which accelerates the bubble growth, was found. The knowledge gained from this study shall be particularly useful to improve nucleate boiling models for numerical simulations.