The “City of Oaks” and the “Smithsonian of the South,” Raleigh isn’t wanting for accolades. Part of North Carolina’s famed Research Triangle, visitors will have to choose between checking off impressive museums, scoping out music venues, or wandering food halls and beer gardens (Raleigh Beer Garden claims the largest draft selection in the world). For outdoorsy things to do in Raleigh, the list is no shorter—kayak between bald cypress trees, bike along outdoor sculpture parks, or hit up the hiking trails for bird’s-eye views of this capital city.
A charming Southern town with a big-city feel, Raleigh is best experienced in spring or fall (unless you’re a basketball fan looking for a winter getaway to see a Tar Heels game). Autumn is an especially nice time, as you get the joys of the North Carolina outdoors in pleasant weather—aka some of the country’s best leaf-peeping—combined with a world-class museum, art, and food scene.
Raleigh is considered a driving city—in fact, more than half of Americans live within a day’s drive of the city—but it does have a thorough bus system. As it’s part of the world-renowned Research Triangle, the GoTriangle bus service operates among Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill; the Raleigh R-LINE can get you around downtown to many of the city’s most popular attractions, restaurants, and hotels.
Raleigh has a robust outdoor patio scene thanks to its mild weather and short winters. Wye Hill Kitchen & Brewing has scene-stealing views of the downtown skyline (and brews to match), and Taverna Agora Greek Kitchen & Bar puts you atop a treetop balcony, ideally sipping a glass of Grecian retsina. Get there on one of the city’s many rickshaws to make an only-in-Raleigh day of it.
