What to do in Raleigh, NC while on a long weekend visit

In My Humble Opinion
1

I am planning a long weekend visit to the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill area of North Carolina for my wife and I and I need some help with ideas for things to do and maybe a good hotel recommendation if anyone has any.

I’ve searched for previous threads on this topic and found several ideas, including (in no particular order):
[ul]
[li]Lazy 5 Ranch[/li][li]Lancaster’s BBQ[/li][li]NC Art Museum[/li][li]NC Museum of Natural History[/li][li]State Fair Grounds (I hear they have a flea market on the weekends)[/li][li]Exploris (museum about various cultures)[/li][li]Museum of Life and Science[/li][li]Kooka Booth Amphitheatre (depends on what is playing, if anything)[/li][li]Allen & Son Barbecue[/li][li]Maple View Farm (hear they have good ice-cream)[/li][/ul]

If it helps at all, we will be visiting the weekend of 7/11-7/14, so it will probably be pretty hot, but we live in middle Tennessee so we know what it is like and can probably work around it.

I have done several searches for hotels, but I have no clue what any of them are like or how close/far from anything they are, so if anyone has any personal recommendations on that front, they would be appreciated, too.

Cheers,
Rick

2

The Duke University campus is definitely worth a visit, especially the botanical gardens and the chapel.

If you get out to Chapel Hill and you like used bookstores, you should definitely check out The Bookshop on Franklin Street. There’s also a planetarium on campus.

The Indy has listings for live music, theater, and other fun stuff in the area.

Have fun! And eat lots of Allen & Son and Maple View for me, 'cos I miss those places.

3

Never heard of the Lazy 5 Ranch. I googled it and it is nowhere near the Triangle-it’s near Charlotte. If you want to see animals on your way to or from TN, the NC Zoo in Asheboro would be a better bet http://www.nczoo.org/ For something animal-related, a little different, and closer to the Triangle there is Carnivore Preservation Trust, a nonprofit that rescues big cats and other carnivores http://www.nczoo.org/ You do get to see the big cats very up close and personal.

Either of the barbecue places would be good, assuming you are looking for NC, not TN, barbecue.

Any of the museums would be good. I personally would put the art museum as the best of the ones you listed. They have movies on the lawn at night, which is a fun picnic on the lawn scene. That Friday is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, if that’s your kind of movie. Exploris, now called Marbles, is truly a children’s museum, so maybe not what you’re looking for. Museum of Life & Science is also somewhat kid focused, but they have an awesome butterfly house. There is also a museum of history in Raleigh, which is pretty good.

Koka Booth amphitheater is a similar outdoor scene, that Saturday is Blues in the Night, which sounds kinda good.

State Fairground does indeed have a big flea market.

There is stuff to see in Durham on the Duke Campus: the cathedral, the gardens, and the Nasher art museum. Also in Durham, there is a renovated area with shops and good food called the American Tobacco Campus. Info on Duke Gardens http://www.hr.duke.edu/dukegardens/

Downtown Raleigh has a similar shops and eats area called City Market.

If you are looking for an awesome, expensive hotel, The Umstead is incredible. http://www.theumstead.com/ Even if you don’t stay there, the restaurant for dinner or a drink, or the spa, would be a memorable treat.

If you want to be convenient to Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, staying by the airport is good. If you give a little more info on what you are looking for I may have other hotels to suggest.

4

Chatham Hill Winery has tours if you are into that sort of thing. They are located just off I-40.

Umstead State Park is also nice and located just off I-40.

If you like flea markets, the one at the fairgrounds is open every Sat and Sun. Located on the corner of Hillsbourough St and Blue Ridge Ave.

Charlie Goodnight’s comedy club might have a good act during that time.

5

I was very impressed with the art museum, but I admit I haven’t seen a lot of art museums, so make of that what you will.

6

Thanks for the responses for far, there are some good ideas here. I am compiling a list so that we can pick and choose what we want to do when we are there.

My Wife went to UNC at Chapel Hill so we will probably go by there to see her old stomping grounds at some point.

Harriet the Spry, the hotel you posted a link to looks awesome, but a bit out of my price range for a three night stay, maybe if we were doing a crazy one night splurge :slight_smile:

I have looked at the Sheraton Chapel Hill Hotel and others kind of in that price range, if that gives you any idea. But I don’t know anything about the locations.

7

If you like the idea of being based in Chapel Hill, consider the Carolina Inn. They have incredibly delicious breakfasts. If you’d like to be based more centrally among Raleigh, Durham & Chapel Hill, the RDU Airport Holiday Inn is supposedly one of the better Holiday Inns in the country, making it a good value.

I’ll point out that the NC Museum of Art and the flea market are very close together, so if both of those make the list you will want to do them at the same time. The museum has a lovely restaurant that serves lunch and Sunday brunch. The flea market has vendor booths with state-fair type food.

8

I have personally had Allen & Son BBQ about 10 times. First rate. It’s about as good as you can get for Carolina Q. What you put on it is your problem. Since you’re from Tennessee, Eastern Carolina sauces have essentially NO ketchup in them. It’s just vinegar/brown sugar/red pepper flakes, and a few secret ingredients. I"d highly recommend it. BUT***if you are used to a typical ketchup based sauce, and are looking for a nice place to eat, maybe you don’t want to go here. It’s a dive. But, if you know anything about pulled pork, smoked over real wood coals, this is the place. If you want a more comfortable, consistently good, Carolina Q, with the amenities, then go to Bullock’s in Durham.

To read some reviews of Allen & Son, http://triangle.citysearch.com/review/6158345. Please read them all, as some Yankees wander in sometimes and say it’s terrible. Or their ribs*(har, har) aren’t what they expected. This is NC—pulled pork rules.

9

If you don’t have this kind of thing at home, the farmers market in Carrboro (just outside Chapel Hill) every Saturday morning exemplifies perfectly local (white) culture.

Maple view is excellent - try and snag one of the outdoor chairs for a great view. They also have a branch in carrboro but it’s worth the drive.

t-h

10

Go to at least one baseball game!

:cool:

11

I have about four pounds in my Freezer. Allen & Son is God’s own Barbecue.

You can always tell when the local Public Television station is running their NC Barbecue show, because Allen & Son is packed to the gills with transplants from Chapel Hill sneering at the taxidermy.

If you’re going to be in Raleigh, check out the Raleigh Little Theater. They set the bar very high with their production values. If there isn’t a show going on when you’re there, I still recommend going by and packing a lunch to eat in the Raleigh Rose Garden, which is where Mrs. Magill and I got married.

12

If you’re a Civil War/history buff, there’s the Bennet Farm and the Bentonville Battlefield, both having to do with the last gasp of the Confederacy; there’s the Duke Farm, where the Dukes started it all (in tobacco). I’d second Duke University, where the chapel alone is worth the visit, and the gardens are a plus. That’s all in the Durham area.

In downtown Raleigh is the old state capitol, which is now pretty much a museum.

I also concur with Chatham Hill Winery, especially if you’ve never done wine tasting before. Further up the road, if you have an hour to drive, there’s the Iron Gate Farm Vineyard.