Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau 421 Fayetteville Street Mall Ste. 1505 Raleigh, NC 27601 (919) 834-5900 Population 207951 Time Zone Eastern Latitude/Longitude 35.78° /-78.64° Today's Forecast HIGH: 67 LOW: 40

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Attractions

Raleigh pleasantly mixes old and new, the genteel past and the swiftly moving present. Exhibits at one of the city's newer museums, the highly interactive Exploris, encourage visitors to think about how they relate to people all over the globe. The sharing of natural resources is examined in the "Living in Balance" exhibit area, while the power of language and communication is the subject of "Many Voices."

The city is the state capital, so while you're here, take a quick tour of the state government buildings clustered around Bicentennial Plaza. The State Capitol is a fine example of Greek Revival-style public architecture. The legislature no longer meets here, but the building is open daily and guided tours are offered on weekends. Especially impressive is the statue of George Washington, dressed in a toga, standing beneath the building's 97 1/2-foot dome. Across the plaza, the State Legislative Building is the home of the General Assembly. Guided tours are available with advance notice.

Two of the state's finest museum's are nearby. The North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences offers interactive exhibit areas, such as "Mountain to the Sea" and "Terror of the South," that illustrate the state's natural history in all its ages and diverse habitats. The state's social and political history is presented through everyday objects, documents, and artifacts in the North Carolina Museum of History. A leather shoe, a Cherokee basket, the photo of a Civil War soldier — each object has its own special story, and collectively they tell the history of the people of North Carolina. The museum also houses the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. A few blocks away is the Victorian-style North Carolina Executive Mansion, the home of the state's governors and their families since 1891. Guided tours are available by reservation. On the city's north side, the North Carolina Museum of Art has paintings and sculptures that span more than 5,000 years of artistic history. The museum's broad holdings include European, Modern, African, Judaic, Oceanic, Ancient, Ancient American, and American collections.

President Andrew Johnson's log cabin birthplace has been preserved and moved to Mordecai Historic Park. Mordecai House, the restored plantation home of one of North Carolina's oldest families, and other historic buildings are displayed in the park in an imitation 19th-century village setting. One-hour narrated trolley tours depart from Mordecai Park, making stops at the state capitol and other downtown locales.

For more outdoor fun, children especially will take delight in the carousel, train ride and other entertainment features at Pullen Park. They can also participate in numerous learning activities at Playspace, which is designed for the youngest family members from infancy to age seven. Good times can also be had during the summer at Silver Lake Waterpark.

Raleigh's sister city Durham is best known as the home of Duke University. Be sure to tour its twin campuses, taking time to linger at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, 55 acres that encompass native plants and an Asiatic arboretum. The Museum of Life and Science is a huge interactive science and technology center with exhibits on wildlife, physics, engineering, aerospace, geology and the weather. The museum's six-acre nature park is inhabited by native species like red wolves and bears.

Bennett Place State Historic Site saw the largest troop surrender of the Civil War. A reconstructed farmhouse and farm kitchen mark the place where General Joseph E. Johnston negotiated the surrender of his troops to General William T. Sherman in the closing days of the war. Other historic stops around Durham include Stagville, the last remnants of a once mighty plantation, and the Duke Homestead State Historic Site, where the early days of the tobacco empire are unveiled.

Those looking for a cultural night out in Raleigh will find symphony, ballet, opera and touring performers at Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts. In Durham, in addition to the many performing arts venues on the Duke campus, the Carolina Theatre, an historic Beaux Arts auditorium downtown, hosts a variety of concerts and art films.

With national powerhouses like Duke and UNC in the neighborhood, college athletics of all kinds are the biggest thing going in spectator sports. But professional teams can make their presence known too. In 2006, the NHL's Stanley Cup was captured by the Carolina Hurricanes who play at RBC Arena in Raleigh. The Durham Bulls of the International League play triple-A baseball at Athletic Park in downtown Durham. And double-A ball is played by the Carolina Mudcats of the Southern League at Five County Stadium in Zebulon. Soccer fans can catch the USL First Division Carolina Railhawks at SAS Soccer Stadium, a 7,000-seat facility that opened in Cary in 2002.

Straddling the space between Raleigh and Durham, William B. Umstead State Park offers an urban oasis where you can get back to nature through hiking, canoeing or horseback riding. Canoeing is also popular at Eno River State Park, which courses through Durham's northwest side.

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