What are the five best things to see and do in Raleigh-Durham?
With three major universities nearby, Raleigh-Durham boasts plenty of great things to see and do. Composed of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, the area is anchored by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University and North Carolina State University. The five best things to see and do in Raleigh-Durham are:
1. The North Carolina Museum of Art is home to a surprising collection of Rodin sculptures and more than 5,000 years of art, from the primitive to the post-modern. Get your fill of art in the free museum.
2. Eno River State Park’s hiking trails, flanked by wildflowers and a tangle of vines, run alongside the 40-mile Eno River or disappear into the woods. You’ll pass spots with names like Coon Foot Island and Buzzard Rock; pause to perch on rocky outcroppings and commune Thoreau-like with nature. Some points on the river, such as Sennett’s Hole, are deep enough for swimming.
3. Walk through the historic campus of the University of Chapel Hill, one of the oldest universities in the country. Stroll across the quad of the first public university in the U.S. to admit students back in 1795, brush your fingers across its centuries-old bricks, drink from the Old Well for good luck and hope for a sighting of Tarheels head basketball coach Roy Williams.
4. For kids, nothing beats the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science in Durham. Exhibits about rocks and robots will vie for your attention, along with the Magic Wings Butterfly House, a farmyard full of animals and hands-on wind experiments.
5. For a respite from museum going, take a spin around this gorgeously landscaped 55-acre Sarah P. Duke Gardens; it’s a perennial favorite of both visiting parents of Duke University students and gardening enthusiasts alike.
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On May 7Natalie Wearstler answered the question:
What’s the best time to visit Raleigh-Durham?
I personally think that fall is the best time to visit Raleigh-Durham. The air is crisp, leaves are changing colors all around the city and the weather is just right — not quite chilly enough (yet) to necessitate a heavy winter coat, but cool enough to wear your favorite sweaters and boots comfortably. It's a beautiful time of year to get out and explore the city on two wheels with a Triangle Glides segway tour or swing by the North Carolina Museum of Art to take in the collection of outdoor sculptures and works of art as you stroll along more than a mile of paved and unpaved walking paths outside of the museum's main buildings. You could also museum hop through Downtown, as several of the city's most popular cultural outposts are clustered together in a walkable radius. -
On May 7Natalie Wearstler answered the question:
What’s the best time to visit Raleigh-Durham?
I personally think that fall is the best time to visit Raleigh-Durham. The air is crisp, leaves are changing colors all around the city and the weather is just right — not quite chilly enough (yet) to necessitate a heavy winter coat, but cool enough to wear your favorite sweaters and boots comfortably. It's a beautiful time of year to get out and explore the city on two wheels with a Triangle Glides segway tour or swing by the North Carolina Museum of Art to take in the collection of outdoor sculptures and works of art as you stroll along more than a mile of paved and unpaved walking paths outside of the museum's main buildings. You could also museum hop through Downtown, as several of the city's most popular cultural outposts are clustered together in a walkable radius. -
On August 24Jim Beley answered the question:
What are the five best things to do with kids in Raleigh-Durham?
Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill are all wonderful playgrounds for families. Raleigh offers a unique, interactive museum for kids called Marbles, which encourages them to learn through experimentation and play. A connecting IMAX theater shows fascinating documentary films in a large-scale, often 3D, format. Close to downtown Raleigh is the historic Pullen Park, a delightful place to enjoy an old-fashioned carrousel or train ride, take a picnic or paddleboat with the swans. Raleigh-Durham also is home to a beautiful Greenway system, with lush walkways perfect for a family bike ride or walking the dog.
Durham is home to the Museum of Life and Sciences, a state-of-the-art, engaging indoor/outdoor science-technology center that’s ranked as one of the top four family-friendly museums in the Southeast. The museum includes Magic Wings Butterfly House, an impressive display of NASA history, weather learning labs and a small outdoor zoo.
Finally, children love the wonder of the Morehead Planetarium, located on the UNC campus in Chapel Hill, which has programming for all ages. -
On June 25Forbes Travel Guide Inspector answered the question:
What are the five best romantic restaurants in Raleigh-Durham?
While it may not be the most romantic getaway, Raleigh-Durham certainly has a few restaurants that’ll make you walk away with hearts in your eyes. The five best romantic restaurants in Raleigh-Durham are:
1. Lantern. Self-taught chef Andrea Reusing has been on our radar for years, serving contemporary pan-Asian-meets-Dixie dishes. The glowing white lights give the Chapel Hill-based Lantern its name, thought the lighting is so dim, in fact, you may want to keep your reading glasses handy to make sure you catch every delightful word on the menu.
2. Herons. At the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star restaurant of posh The Umstead Hotel and Spa, an intimate dining room overlooks a terrace and lake. And it’s only footsteps away from one of the best local spots for a couples massage.
3. Four Square in Durham. From the moment you step past ancient trees and into this old home - a beautiful preserved 1903 Neoclassical Revival mansion - you know you’re in for something special.
4. The Fearrington House Restaurant. It’s not uncommon to witness a proposal, wedding dinner or anniversary celebration taking place in the small dining rooms of this country inn’s Four-Star restaurant — whose reputation for fine dining is known throughout the nation.
5. Caffè Luna. Take a historic building in a downtown setting, spruce it up with artwork and elegant lighting, throw in a Tuscan-flavored menu and — voilà — instant romance. -
On June 25Jim Beley answered the question:
What is Raleigh-Durham’s restaurant scene like?
The farm-to-fork movement is definitely in full swing here, with talented chefs like those at Herons, Poole’s Diner, Lantern, The Fearrington House Restaurant and the Magnolia Grill forging lasting relationships with local organic farmers and meat, fish and poultry purveyors. North Carolina is rich with farmland, and heirloom tomatoes, winter kale, baby bok choy, purple basil and white peaches are at our doorstep, depending on the season. -
On June 25Forbes Travel Guide Inspector answered the question:
What is Raleigh-Durham’s restaurant scene like?
Though the area doesn’t have a big-city feel, when it comes to food, Raleigh-Durham can hold its own against most metropolitan areas. Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Herons serves excellent American cuisine with an upscale, Southern spin, and the Four-Star Fearrington House Restaurant embraces the farm-to-table movement. Durham — one of the three anchors of Raleigh-Durham — is a small town that foodies love. Food trucks, barbecue joints and alfresco patios — Raleigh-Durham has a little bit of everything, all with that classic Southern charm. Just don’t start a debate of what make barbecue great; you’ll hear disagreement, even from different parts of the same state. And because North Carolina has a strong farming tradition, you’re likely to find locally harvested vegetables and meats on menus. Heck, you may even see the name of the farmer on the menu. The bottom line: Wildly diverse tastes will find refuge in Raleigh-Durham. -
On June 25Jim Beley answered the question:
What are the five best Raleigh-Durham food experiences?
Of course, we highly recommend Herons restaurant, particularly the exquisite Chef’s Tasting Menu that’s served nightly or our lunchtime Market Menu. Both feature the best local produce of the season. Other suggestions include a taste of eastern North Carolina barbecue at Coopers in Raleigh, buttermilk fried chicken and Southern veggies at Mama Dips in Chapel Hill, fried green tomatoes at NoFo in Raleigh, or a walking food tour with the company Triangle Food Tours. These tours are offered in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Cary and include the best of our talented local chefs, pastry artists and farmers. -
On June 25Forbes Travel Guide Inspector answered the question:
What are the five best Raleigh-Durham food experiences?
You’ll have a hard time making a trip to the South without having a fabulous food experience, and Raleigh-Durham is no exception to the rule. The five best Raleigh-Durham food experiences are:
1. Locopops, for a sweet pick-me-up. It’s a fave among locals for sweet paletas. An ever-changing menu ranges from the traditional Mexican (hibiscus, Mexican chocolate, mango chile, tamarind) to the internationally delicious (coconut ginger, pistachio, pineapple basil). You’re going to want to order the large size - trust us on this one.
2. Shrimp and grits at Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill. Since 1982, Crook’s has been slinging the best in Southern cuisine. The shrimp and grits with a side of jalape"e;o hushpuppies will tickle your tastebuds like few meals you’ve ever had.
3. Barbecue. Everyone has his or her favorite spot for a pork-butt sandwich, but you may want to start with one of the all-star players — Q Shack, or Allen and Son.
4. A pie from Scratch. It’s been called one of the best places for pie, but we just call it irresistible.
5. Food trucks. Raleigh-Durham is in the midst of a food truck craze, so some of the best local flavors these days can be found on wheels — such as eclectic pizzas from Pie Pushers, Polish sausage with pimiento cheese from Farmhand Foods Sausage Wagon and gourmet sliders from Slippin’ Sliders. -
On June 25Jim Beley answered the question:
Which five Raleigh-Durham restaurants are best for brunch?
Herons at The Umstead Hotel and Spa features a beautiful brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Other recommendations include the Weathervane in Chapel Hill and Vivace (Italian), Coquette (French) and NOFO (Southern) in Raleigh. -
On June 25Forbes Travel Guide Inspector answered the question:
Which five Raleigh-Durham restaurants are best for brunch?
A good old Southern brunch can transport you back to simpler days, when people outside Raleigh-Durham weren’t so worried about automobiles and skyscrapers. To that end, these are the five Raleigh-Durham restaurants you should check out for brunch:
1. Foster’s Market in Durham, where sandwiches and wraps get a gourmet touch. Bakery shelves overflowing with scones, big serving bowls of fresh salads and fruit, creaky wooden floors — it's picture-perfect, country-market charm. Chalkboards tout a menu that's tweaked daily. Step up and place your order, then sink yourself into a sofa, and your teeth into that sandwich.
2. Acme in Carrboro. Chef Kevin Callaghan whips up an inspired menu featuring sinfully Southern combinations, such as fried eggs over Hoppin’ John, topped with bacon-chipotle hollandaise.
3. Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill. Look for the big pink pig on the roof. Since the 1950s, the building has served as a taxi stand, a pool hall and a barbecue joint. Since 1982, though, Crook’s has been a purveyor of exemplary Southern cuisine. If weather permits, snag a table on the outdoor patio, where a trickling fountain and folk artist Clyde Jones’ chainsaw-carved “critters” create a magical vibe. Order the famous and oft-copied shrimp and grits - with a side of jalape"e;o hushpuppies.
4. Parker & Otis. Go all-in with the grilled pimento cheese sandwich topped with a few slices of bacon. You don’t stop at a place like this looking for health food; southerners love a good pimiento cheese, and P&O’s doesn’t disappoint.
5. Poole’s in Raleigh. Red leather banquettes and a double horseshoe bar give this spot retro-chic charm. A blackboard menu changes daily. -
On June 25Jim Beley answered the question:
What are the five best kid-friendly restaurants in Raleigh-Durham?
We would recommend Mellow Mushroom Pizza, with locations in Raleigh and Chapel Hill; Café Luna (Italian) in downtown Raleigh; the Flying Biscuit (American breakfast and grill) in Raleigh; and Buffalo Brothers (sports bar) in Raleigh. Char-Grill, with several locations throughout Raleigh-Durham, offers excellent '50s drive-in style hamburgers and milkshakes. For dessert, Loco Pops has Mexican-style popsicles in a variety of interesting flavors for children, with locations in Raleigh and Durham. -
On June 25Forbes Travel Guide Inspector answered the question:
What are the five best kid-friendly restaurants in Raleigh-Durham?
We’d tell you not to limit your visits to Raleigh-Durham to only business or college visits to one (or all) of the three major universities in the area; bring your kids along for a short jaunt down to Tobacco Road (no smoking, of course) to get a feel for a place entirely different from most of the rest of the country. Here’s our list of the five best kid-friendly restaurants in Raleigh-Durham:
1. Q Shack in both Raleigh and Durham. It’s where the old “who makes the best barbecue” debate gets played out in a menu that features both Texas- and North Carolina-style barbecue. You know what you’re in for as soon as you spot the picnic tables topped with rolls of paper towels. And what kids don’t love eating with their hands?
2. Elmo’s in Durham and Carrboro. It’s the quintessential diner, with breakfast-all-day offerings, as well as the requisite burgers and meat-and-threes (just what it sounds like - meat and three sides).
3. Mellow Mushroom. If it were simply a pizza parlor, that would be enough to delight most any kid. But at this particular pizza parlor, colorful art and a groovy aesthetic create a kid-friendly vibe.
4. Weaver Street Market. Carrboro’s local co-op grocery store is great for fresh sushi and salads. Grab a table out front on the lawn and watch Carrboro’s best hula-hoopers battle it out (and, no, it’s not just for kids).
5. Mad Hatter Bakeshop & Cafe. Don’t count on kids staying in their seats at this casual bakery and cafe. Their noses will likely be pressed against the display case of cakes, cookies and other baked wonders. The good news is that kids’ plates come with a cupcake for them to ice and decorate themselves.
