15 Mind Change Things To Do In Raleigh NC 2022
At first glance, downtown Raleigh, the historic centre of North Carolina’s capital, seems like a quiet, secluded place with not much to do. Start exploring, and you will soon discover the opposite. Things To Do In Raleigh NC
Raleigh hasn’t been dubbed the City of Oaks for nothing, and yes, the streets of downtown are wide and lined with stately trees. Behind these trees hides a vast theatre and a shopping centre along the road full of shops, restaurants and secret underground bars. Things To Do In Raleigh NC
In downtown Raleigh, you’ll find a beer garden with a football-pitch-sized cellar and more cocktail bars you could visit in a month, plus a plethora of science museums. And history, art galleries and even a chocolate factory.
Check out these top fifteen things to do in downtown Raleigh and find out exactly where it all happens before you get there.
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1. Crank rickshaw – Things To Do In Raleigh NC

Rickshaw Hop
aboard this bright yellow three-wheel rickshaw for a fun and informative ride through downtown Raleigh. It’s an eco-friendly way to see downtown sights.
The driver-guide pedals through the tour while telling snippets of DT’s history and the historical places you pass. They do the hard work so that you have your hands free to take pictures at all times.
Tours last approximately one hour. Try the 3-hour night crawl with a rickshaw bar instead if you’re not keen on history or sightseeing. You will have a ball.
2. Rue Fayetteville – Things To Do In Raleigh NC

Fayetteville Street
Take a stroll down Fayetteville Street in DT Raleigh, and you will quickly realize that you are in the heart of the bustling downtown area. It is the street that never sleeps.
Day by day, the street is full of people surfing the hundreds of outlets, alongside workers from neighbouring buildings, taking their lunch break on the terraces of restaurants and cafes. At night the bar scene begins, the club crowd takes over, and the nightlife continues into the early hours of the morning.
Fayetteville Street hosts a weekly Farmer’s Market from April to September and several major music and music festivals throughout the year.
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3. North Carolina Museum Of Natural Sciences

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Two of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences ‘ four facilities, the Nature Research and Exploration Centers, are located on Jones Street in downtown Raleigh.
The Nature Exploration Center features four exhibits featuring everything from fossilized dinosaur skeletons to minerals and North Carolina insect life. There is a 3D theatre and a conservatory with a living example of a dry tropical forest.
The three floors of the Nature Research Center are packed with diverse exhibits, including investigative labs, demonstrations of emeralds and meteorites found in North Carolina, and DNA replications. It is a fascinating place to visit.
4. Raleigh Garden Beer

Raleigh Beer Garden
The Raleigh Beer Garden cafe on downtown Glenwood Avenue has more beer on tap than any other DT bar and probably any bar worldwide.
Housed in a rustic wooden building complete with a full-size tree inside, plenty of outdoor seating, and a rooftop terrace. Beer is also on the menu, and it serves beer pretzels and fries, along with a long list of other tasty snacks that go well with beer.
Don’t miss the daily beer tastings for the newly arrived breweries. The Raleigh Beer Garden is a beer connoisseur’s paradise, but don’t worry if you don’t drink beer; they serve other drinks as well.
5. Red Hat Amphitheater – Things To Do In Raleigh NC

Red Hat Amphitheater
Amphitheater Red Hat is an impressive venue for outdoor events located in downtown Raleigh. Facing a vast plaza, the South Salisbury Street Amphitheater can accommodate nearly six thousand spectators. Things To Do In Raleigh NC
Used to host large concerts and plays, the site has a six-month season, from April to October. Rent a VIP box with food and drinks included, or sit on the lawn with a bucket of popcorn. It is an excellent place in the city centre to have an outdoor festival experience.
6. Art at heart – Things To Do In Raleigh NC

Art To Heart
The Art To Heart is a six-mile walking or biking trail that runs through downtown Raleigh. Join the course on downtown Fayetteville Street and pass the Red Hat Amphitheater and Raleigh Convention Center before bypassing Pullen Park. Things To Do In Raleigh NC
The trail has on-road and off-road sections from the North Carolina Art Museum before ending in the park. You will need two wheels to explore the park and its many roadside sculptures as the land totals over 160 acres.
The trail is a great way to get some exercise and experience some of the best parts of downtown Raleigh at the same time. Need a bike? Use the DT Raleigh short-term bike-sharing program, which includes several stations in the city centre where you can take an electric-assisted cycle.
7. North Carolina Museum of Art

North Carolina Museum of Art
The North Carolina Museum of Art on Blue Ridge Road in downtown Raleigh is surrounded by extensive parks dotted with impressive sculptures and forty indoor galleries featuring works of art spanning five millennia.
The museum’s permanent collections include works of ancient art from Italy, Greece and Egypt. Modern and contemporary paintings by European and American artists and thirty unique sculptures, including examples of the thinker and the kiss, by the master sculptor Rodin. Things To Do In Raleigh NC
8. Foundation Bar – Things To Do In Raleigh NC

Foundation Bar, Raleigh
The Foundation Bar is hidden away in a basement on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh.
The Cocktail Bar and Underground Bourbon staff are very knowledgeable about mixology and produce drinks of superior quality for customers with discerning tastes. The decor is made in polished wood and bare brick. It is dark, and the drinks are decadent.
Look for the red neon sign with the bar’s name at number two, one, three Fayetteville; it is not easy to spot as it is halfway up a staircase. Don’t miss it.
9. Videri Chocolate Factory – Things To Do In Raleigh NC

Chocolaterie Videri
There is a quaint historic brick building on Davies Street in downtown Raleigh where magical alchemy takes place. Yes, the all-time favourite confectionery takes place at the Videri Chocolate Factory.
Look through the viewing windows as the cocoa beans are roasted, ground and then turned into delicious pieces of chocolate. Things To Do In Raleigh NC
Have coffee and chocolates at the cafe, then try to resist buying whatever comes your way at the chocolate counter before you leave. It is an impossible feat.
10. North Carolina History Museum

North Carolina History Museum
Find facts about North Carolina and Raleigh’s fascinating past at the North Carolina History Museum in downtown Raleigh.
The museum has four floors and over 55,000 square meters of exhibition space where you can study the effects of cash crops, such as tobacco, on North Carolina’s agricultural industry or learn more about making the legendary film Gone With The Wind.
There is also an independent exhibit, the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, dedicated to the state’s most famous sports figures.
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11. Grill – Things To Do In Raleigh NC

Roast Grill, Raleigh
Meet at the Roast Grill for lunch or dinner on West Street in downtown Raleigh; There is only one item on the menu: hot dogs. Things To Do In Raleigh NC
Open for over seventy years and still serving the premium hot dog from a choice of onions, chilli, mustard and salad, the Roast Grill has become a downtown tradition in Raleigh.
There are no fries, no sides, no cheese and no ketchup. The list of things they don’t serve is longer than the one they do. If hot dogs aren’t your favourite food, this isn’t dinner for you.
12. Raleigh Times Bar – Things To Do In Raleigh NC

Raleigh Times Bar
The Raleigh Times Bar on East Hargett Street in DT Raleigh is almost as much a museum as it is a bar.
Housed in a century-old building that was once the home of the Raleigh Times newspaper, the bar is decorated memories linked to the press. Read snippets from the Raleigh era as you sip one of the bar’s imported beers or eat at one of its signature dishes, like catfish and crisps.
The Raleigh Times Bar has a rooftop – terrace offering a breathtaking view over the roofs of DT. It is the ideal water point to end the day at.
13. Historic Oakwood – Things To Do In Raleigh NC

Historic Oakwood Historic
Oakwood is a neighbourhood in downtown Raleigh that appears to have gotten stuck in the 19th century. The area is full of restored houses and mansion-sized properties, all of which are architectural museum pieces.
If you find yourself in DT Raleigh in the spring, take in the guided garden and tea tour, when public members have access to the house’s private gardens, followed by Victorian tea. If you’re there in December, the annual candlelight tour allows you to go inside some properties and see how they’re laid out inside.
14. CAM Raleigh – Things To Do In Raleigh NC

CAM Raleigh
The Contemporary Art Museum in Downtown Raleigh is a renovated twenty thousand square foot warehouse that houses constantly changing modern art exhibits.
The attractive apartment building on Martin Street, located on DT Raleigh Street, features a geometric pitched roof and a glazed entrance. Inside the open-ceiling galleries, it’s bright, airy, and great for displaying colourful artwork.
Expect to browse anything from basketball-related sculptures and paintings to portraits of former President Barack Obama.
15. Pit Authentic BBQ Restaurant

Pit Authentic BBQ Restaurant, Raleigh
Downtown Raleigh loves its barbecue and doesn’t do it halfway. At the Authentic Pit Barbecue on West Davie Street, only roast pork will do.
Following the traditional North Carolina state oven barbecue method, the Pit serves pulled pork, baskets of ribs in multiple combinations, smoked meatloaf, and blackened salmon. It’s not all meat, and there are vegan options like oven-roasted tofu or soy nuggets, along with fifteen mind-boggling sides and countless salads to choose from.
Is there something to do in Raleigh, NC?
Top attractions in Raleigh
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. 2 295.
North Carolina Art Museum. 1,805.
Pullen Park. 1 283.
Museum of the Children of Marbles. 1 106.
North Carolina History Museum. 909.
Umstead State Park. 460.
Yates Mill County Historical Park. 272.
Why is Raleigh the most famous?
City of Oaks
Raleigh has been nicknamed the “City of Oaks” because of the large number of majestic oak trees lining the streets. The district is also nicknamed “Triangle”. Raleigh is part of the Research Triangle area along with Durham and Chap.
What is Raleigh known for?
Are museums in Raleigh free?
Image results for Things to do in Raleigh NC
One of the most visited attractions and ranked the North Carolina Museum of Art, and its permanent galleries are accessible to the publi
Is Raleigh boring?
Simply put, Raleigh is pretty boring. … Speaking, I’ve found that describing Raleigh as boring isn’t controversial among peers, especially international students, many of whom are used to the state of North Carolina and older. Hot.
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