Downtown and Greater Raleigh are jam packed with great touring opportunities. Those who prefer an organized tour, may give the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau at call at (919) 834- 5900 or (800) 849-8499. The Bureau can direct you to guided walking tours of Historic Raleigh, trolley tours and even “Shoppertainment” and “Solve a Murder” packages. Others might prefer to customize tours based on their personal interests. The city is easy enough to tour on your own, so grab your walking shoes and let’s get going!
Downtown and Historic Raleigh
Those who are not familiar with the area might want to start their touring at the Capital Area Visitor Center to stock up on maps and brochures and catch the fifteen-minute slide show that outlines everything there is to do in Raleigh. While you’re there, tour the nearby Executive Mansion, built in 1861, and get an inside look at how the governor lives.
No visit to downtown is complete without a stop at the State Capitol Building, considered one of the best-preserved examples of Greek-Revival style architecture in the country. Legend has it that the Capitol contains secret rooms used by Confederate spies during the Civil War.
From there, a museum tour might include the North Carolina Museum of History and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Those with children can opt to visit Exploris, an interactive museum. The North Carolina Museum of Art is a short drive from downtown, and its Blue Ridge restaurant is a great choice for lunch.
History buffs will want to head to Historic Oakwood. Plan to take a walking tour so as to appreciate the restored Victorian homes and beautiful gardens that line the street, shaded by soaring oaks and lovely Carolina dogwoods. Walk through Oakwood Cemetery and see the final resting place of thousands of Confederate soldiers.
The Joel Lane Museum House and Gardens is Raleigh’s oldest home, and Mordecai Historic Park/President Andrew Johnson’s Birthplace is an antebellum house that features an heirloom garden. Both offer guided tours for a few dollars.
For a tour with a focus on Raleigh’s African-American heritage, start at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Gardens where the centerpiece is a life-sized bronze statue of the civil rights leader. Tour two of Raleigh’s historically black colleges, Shaw University and Saint Augustine’s College, enjoy a free guided tour at the African American Cultural Complex and walk through Mount Hope Cemetery, Raleigh’s largest African-American cemetery, and one of its oldest.
The Bull City
A tour of Durham’s history starts at Historic Stagville, a site that was once one of the largest plantations in the south. Devoted to preserving the essence of plantation life, the site features 18th- and 19th-century buildings, including original slave quarters.
Bennett Place marks the place where the Civil War ended in 1865. The downtown Durham Historic District is North Carolina’s first commercial district on the National Register of Historic Places. Brightleaf Square is a row of turn-of-the-century brick tobacco warehouses, renovated to house an interesting variety of shops and restaurants.
The Duke Homestead State Historic Site and Tobacco Museum gives a glimpse of the life and times of Durham’s leading tobacco family. Stop in at Patterson’s Mill Country Store and see an authentic late 1800’s country store and doctor’s office/pharmacy.
North Carolina Central University, founded in 1910, is located on a 103-acre Georgian Revival campus and is the nation’s first politically supported liberal arts college for African-Americans. While there, pay a visit to the art museum, which features the works of various African-American artists.
Speaking of museums, the Museum of Life and Science is a wonderful stop on any visit. The many hands-on exhibits, as well as Loblolly Park, Ellerbee Creek Railway and Magic Wings Butterfly House make this a must-see for those with children.
A visit to Duke University should include a walk to the top of Duke Chapel, a stroll through the breathtaking Sarah P. Duke Gardens and a stop at The Primate Center, which houses the largest collection of prosimians in the world. Art lovers will want to save time for the Duke University Museum of Art.
Chapel Hill Thrills
This quiet university town is full of interesting places, from the obvious historic and museum choices to some hidden treasures that are worth hunting for.
In spring and summer, a garden tour is a nice option. The Coker Arboretum covers five acres and displays more than 400 species of plants. A highlight is the 200-foot Wisteria Arbor. Niche Gardens is a serene setting in which to learn about seasonal gardening, native plants and gardening for butterflies and birds. Choose a beautiful accent piece of garden art from their selection.
The grand finale to a Chapel Hill garden tour is the North Carolina Botanical Garden, the largest natural botanical garden in the Southeast. Its indigenous plant collections are arranged by habitat and it features nature trails, carnivorous and aquatic plants, revolving exhibits and sculpture.
A museum tour should include the Ackland Art Museum, a collection over 1,400 objects that puts a focus on Asian art. The Chapel Hill Museum gives an overview of North Carolina’s history with an emphasis on Chapel Hill. The North Carolina Collection Gallery’s exhibits illustrate the history of the state and the university.
Sports museums abound in Chapel Hill and fans can put in a full day visiting Blue Heaven, a Carolina Basketball museum, the Kenan Football Center Hall of Honors, which includes football archives, displays of historical artifacts, videos and vintage photos, and The Memorabilia Room, a collection of artifacts and highlight tapes of the University of North Carolina’s sports history.
Any tour of Chapel Hill should begin or end on Franklin Street. Stop in at the Horace Williams House, headquarters of the Chapel Hill Preservation Society, for a brief tour. Afterward, stroll the tree-lined cobblestone walks and window-shop the many antiques, collectibles and gift shops. Have lunch or dinner at any one of a number of first-rate restaurants and finish up with a trip to Morehead Planetarium.
[insert_php]
$market = “RD” ;
global $market ;
[/insert_php]
[insert_php]
$market = “RD” ;
[/insert_php]