Must see places in Raleigh/Triangle Area (Durham, Fayetteville: chapel, hotel)

[DavidSki82]

My wife and I are coming from the Pocono’s in Pennsylvania to visit the Raleigh area. We are going on vacation in early September to NC. We are possibly considering relocating to Raleigh in the near future. I just wanted to know what are the must sees around the area. From historical buildings/sites, landscapes, famous places to eat, etc.. Not looking to go the beach from Raleigh. Looking for things to do about a hour or less from Raleigh.

We plan to start a family soon and wondering what are some great communities around Raleigh. Not looking to live inside the city but get some information about the suburbs and new communities that surround Raleigh. Of course looking for the best places to live, great schools, great deals on new homes, etc. My wife is in the nursing field and I'm studying to become an athletic trainer and currently a personal trainer.

Thanks

[stradt03]

Welcome, my wife and I just relocated to the Triangle area from central PA last week. So far we both really like it. As for the "must see items" I won't be much help. sorry.

[whitb05]

I love the flea market at the fairgrounds on Saturday or Sunday morning

[ALStafford]

If you're here on a Saturday, I'd recommend visiting one of the weekend Farmer's Markets. Durham and Carrboro are generally the two best. If you go to Durham, I'd also add a visit to the Duke Gardens. So beautiful and peaceful there.

Great historic building to visit, that not many know about, is the historic Yates Mill. It's in Wake County, it's a refurbished corn mill that is older than Wake County itself (which was founded in 1771)! The gentleman that refurbished it spend a great deal of time researching, and the mill is operating much as it did in when it began operations in 1756. There's also a small county park at the mill site.

Must eats? Definitely Poole's Diner in Raleigh, Lantern in Chapel Hill, and if you really want a splurge night, Heron's in Cary, at the Umstead Spa and Hotel. For a bit of a drive, just west of Chapel Hill is a small town called Saxapahaw. It has turned into a vibrant little community, boasting one of the most creative eating establishments in the state; the Saxapahaw General Store. It's a restaurant set in a former Shell station. It's still a full service convenience type store, where you can get unleaded, biodiesel, Goody's headache powder, replacement wiper blades, locally grown organic produce, locally produced wine, and sit down to a plate of seared diver scallops over local bacon and chickpea succotash. As you dine, you could have someone in need of a quart of 10-40 oil or a loaf of bread politely pardon themselves as the slide past your table to retrieve it.

For looking at a potential place to live, are you looking to build? You said "great deals on new homes," and I'm wondering if that means a new house, or a home that may be new to you but not necessarily a brand new home. I love older, established neighborhoods, with big trees, and smallish houses on decent sized lots, rather than brand new subdivisions. So I can really direct you to those areas most easily. The Bloomsbury/Five Points and Oberlin Village/Sunset Hills areas are like this, that I really love. There's also the North Hills area, just outside the beltline in Raleigh. In Cary, I like the Greenwood/Pirates Cove area, too. Like I said, though, these are older, established neighborhoods. The houses are older, but the yards are often bigger than in newer subdivisions. Trees are established, creating great shady areas, so going for a walk doesn't have to involve being subjected to blazing sun in the summer.

Not sure if any of this helps, but I hope this helps at least a bit!

[evaofnc]

Originally Posted by ALStafford

In Cary, I like the Greenwood/Pirates Cove area, too. Like I said, though, these are older, established neighborhoods. The houses are older, but the yards are often bigger than in newer subdivisions. Trees are established, creating great shady areas, so going for a walk doesn't have to involve being subjected to blazing sun in the summer.

Yes Pirates Cove is great. Puts you within walking distance of shopping and restaurants, too. Some other nice, older neighborhoods in Cary are Farmington Woods, Scottish Hills, Kildaire Farm, and the neighborhoods adjacent to Bond Lake, though most of those were built in the 90s.

[ucctgg]

"Must See"? I've lived here since 1985 and I can't really think of any.

[garnetpalmetto]

In Raleigh, I would say must-sees are:

-Contemporary Art Museum
-Natural Sciences Museum
-NC Museum of Art
-Joel Lane House
-Mordecai Historic Park (which includes the kitchen that President Andrew Johnson was born in)
-JC Raulston Arboretum

In Durham:

-American Tobacco Campus/Durham Bulls Athletic Park
-Durham Athletic Park (where Bull Durham was filmed)
-Duke Gardens
-Nasher Museum of Art
-Duke Campus

In Chapel Hill:

-NC Basketball Museum
-NC Botanical Gardens
-UNC Campus

[poppydog]

Yeah, this isn't really a "must-see" area. It's a great area and there is plenty to do, great museums in downtown Raleigh (loved the new museum of Natural Sciences North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences | ), great restaurants, but there's not really a "must-see" vibe in the area. It's not like in Asheville where some people will say Biltmore House is a must-see or at the beach where people will say the Wright Bros Memorial or one of the lighthouses is a must see. There are lots of wonderful things to do and see, but there's not any one thing that if you went home w/o doing it people would say, "you went to Raleigh and you didn't do X?!" Not that kinda place.

[poppydog]

(cross posted with garnet palmetto) See, I live in Chapel Hill, and I although I've been to the UNC Basketball Museum and the NC Botanical Gardens I wouldn't put them on a must-see list. They're nice if you like basketball or gardens, though. It's very subjective. I think most people come to Chapel Hill and go to Franklin St and go to the Old Well.

Also, love Lantern, but for more of an iconic experience I would suggest Crook's Corner in Chapel Hill.

[rory breaker]

When I think "must see" I think of towns like NYC, Paris, LA, Chicago, etc.

Raleigh/Cary/Durham is an awesome place to live, an amazing place to enjoy life, but not really a vacation/tourist destination with "must see" activities. I know what you mean though, hey while Im down there what should I check out if we're thinking of moving there. My thoughts:

- Go walk around Cameron Village
- Hit Franklin St in Chapel Hill, check out the campus, eat at 411 West, Tallullah's, etc. Have a chicken biscuit at TimeOut.
- Go downtown Raleigh, hit Fayetteville Street, check out some of the historic buildings down there (museum of nat sciences, etc). Eat at The Pit (bbq), Beasleys Chicken & honey, Chucks Burger Bar, Poole's Diner
- Go walk around Glenwood South - eat at Solas, there is also a great cupcake shop there
- Check out downtown Apex - it's a small little town strip but has some cool unique oddball shops and is a quaint little town you may want to live near
- Umstead Park is a great place to see some nature - Bond Park in Cary is good too if you're a nature person, it may make you want to live close to the park for easy accessibility
- Downtown Durham has some AWESOME restaurants - Dame's Chicken & Waffles is a must go. Parker & Otis is awesome too...make sure you shop there as well as eat, and also walk over to Morgan Imports, another really quirky store.