webazoid

will be on a trip there for a meeting. any attractions? looks pretty barren. lol.

JY1024

As TravelBuzz is for general travel discussion, we'll move this topic to the appropriate Destination forum for further comment. Thank. /JY1024, TravelBuzz co-moderator

brendog

Deleted

ediemac1

Where in Raleigh will you be? Downtown near the convention center or out by the airport? Or another area?

The answer to your question depends.

Will you have a car?

dtsm

Reviving old thread - driving to North Carolina State University with our son, he has 2 wk teaching seminar, staying on campus. My wife and I plan to spend a few days in the area with him before it starts. We will drive down from CT and then he'll fly back by himself.

Questions:

1. Where do you suggest we stay, any particular area in Raleigh? Not on a budget per se but no necessary for super high end.
2. Any must see sights?
3. Recommendations on restaurants - we're very open to trying local cuisine and goodies.

Thanks

silverthief2

I can at least answer #3.
Restaurants: there are some good ones downtown. Beasley's Chicken and Honey if you want a spin on Southern-ish (the chef also has two other restaurants close by). Capital Club 16 has a good brunch. Boylan Bridge Brewpub is nice to sit on their patio with a drink and a great view of downtown; food is decent if simple.

Also, Angus Barn out near RDU is a crazy experience but worth trying once if you're into steakhouses.

Unfortunately I don't have much experience with hotels there. There is a Doubletree on Hillsborough St., the main drag near NCSU, but that neighborhood doesn't necessarily have much to see other than the campus itself.

djp98374

Cant talk about #3....

#1...mainly just stick to the chain hotels. Not sure who you have status with

#2---Raleigh is the state capitol so there are state government sites. You also have NC museum of Art and Museum of history.

the raleigh-durham-Cary area is a high tech town so they usually have a good arts scene. Each of those cities are home to NC St, Duke, and UNC respectively.

In terms of the drive.....not sure what you have seen before....

You have take I-95 to I-85 to US 1.

After dropping him off...

take a trip over to the Outer Banks for a few night stay. The outer Banks are small towns with home rentals, small hotels, and B&bs. There you have Kitty Hawk and Ft Raleigh national historic site. Ft Raleigh was the first attempt to settle here before Jamestown in the late 1500s.

From there drive up to Virginia Beach, you can side trip to Williamsburg then from there go north on Us 13 over the Chesapeake bay bridge and tunnel up the delmarva peninsula exploring the beach towns where you wil meet up with I-95 in Delaware or you could opt to do the ferry across the delaware bay and then up the NJ coast.

suthurn

Player's Retreat is right by campus - a great place for a good burger, and if you love Scotch you may not want to leave.
http://www.playersretreat.net/

Locopops is right by campus serving Mexican paletas. The spicy chocolate cream is my favorite.
http://www.ilovelocopops.com/

Durham is a short drive away and has a very different feel than Raleigh. Durham hosts a vibrant food truck scene, and the OnlyBurger truck comes to NCSU Centennial Campus most Wednesdays - don't miss it!
http://onlyburger.com/the-truck

Downtown Raleigh has The Pit for Barbecue. Good Q, good sides.
http://www.thepit-raleigh.com/

Ashley Christensen was a Beard Foundation Chef Finalist this year. Poole's Diner is her flagship place in Raleigh, silverthief suggested another of her places.
http://www.ac-restaurants.com/

NeoMonde is great for Mediterranean, and SuperWok in Cary has a great authentic Szechwan menu separate from its Americanized Chinese. I don't eat much Indian food, but there is a large Indian population here that supports several good Indian restaurants.
http://www.neomonde.com/35year/
http://superwok.wikidot.com/chinese-style

silverthief2

All good ideas, also. I second Locopops; their first location was in Durham but they're all over the Triangle now.

gcashin

Bumping an old thread to see if there are any more recent suggestions. I'll be there with my spouse for a quick weekend trip adjacent to a business trip.

1. Suggestions on areas to stay? I'm partial to Starwood, or Marriott. Any recommendations? Was looking at the Sheraton Raleigh.
2. Any trendy restaurant recommendations? We're both 30-something and like eating at neat places (i.e. not chain restaurants).
3. Any other suggestions for things to do?

Flamenguista

Stay either Downtown or North Hills, although North Hills is all shiny and new, which means all overpriced chain restaurants. Even in Downtown Raleigh, I'd stay away from any southern or general american food places. We are very underwhelmed by the North Carolina food scene for the past 3 years we've lived here. But here are some downtown restaurants which we do enjoy:
Tasca Brava (Spanish), Chuck's (my fav burgers in the US), and Babylon (Mediterranean). Go to either the Raleigh Beer Garden or The Flying Saucer for a beer.

The Triangle is great place to live, but for visitors I have a hard time giving recs for things to do outside of college sports season. If you want any outdoor physical activity advice (parks, running/biking, etc), let me know.

aww3583

Some of my favorite non-chain eats in The Triangle:

Gonza Tacos y Tequila

The Granary at Fearrington

Crooks Corner

Foster's Market

lmsalman

Winner right here. Best thing you can do in Raleigh is to leave it. If you're looking for good restaurants look to Durham or Chapel Hill. To add to what has already been suggested above take a look at Dashi Ramen, Juju, Nanasteak, or Mateo in Durham. In Chapel Hill I'd reccommend Lantern or 411 West. If you're a beer fan check out Fullsteam or Ponysaurus.

CMK10

If you are going to be eating in Raleigh, which I think doesn't deserve all the hate it's getting in this thread, I like:

http://www.irregardless.com/

http://mandolinraleigh.com/

http://garlandraleigh.com/

gcashin

Thanks for the suggestions! Yes, we'd love to do something outdoors on the Saturday when we're there (later this month). Any suggestions? Bike tour/bike rentals, short hike, nice park, or something similar outdoors?