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Try This: Choose your downtown adventure with 2 hours of free parking

We recently spent an evening downtown to see everything we could do in our vibrant city, all in the two-hour window of Raleigh’s free parking pilot program.

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A rotating gif featuring: A crowd of people sitting on lawn chairs watching live music in a park in Raleigh, a Free Parking: 2 Hours street sign on a city street, A marble table with plates with a slice of cake and duck egg rolls and a cocktail, and 2 people holding cocktails up for a cheers.

Pro tip: The parking pilot program lets you enjoy a full evening without worry of rushing back to your car if you park in participating decks after 5 p.m.

Photos by RALtoday

Did you know you can park for free downtown in five select city-owned decks on weekdays?

We recently spent an evening enjoying our city parking stress-free thanks to the parking pilot program. With so much to eat, drink, and do, the parking pilot program makes a night out even easier (and more affordable).

Itching to make plans? Get inspiration from our Reel or discover more top picks for shopping, dining, and events.

Here’s everything we did within walking distance of our spot:

What to eat + drink

We had girl dinner at Brewery Bhavana: duck egg rolls, savory mooncakes, and a slice of cake, and sipped on the Matcha-san (think: matcha meets espresso martini).

What to do

We made it to Jazz in the Square for one of the last nights before Moore Square’s free concert series ends for the year on Oct. 2.

On the way back to the car, we strolled through City Market, browsed at Blackbird Books & Coffee, and stopped in Unleashed to pick up some goodies for our pets.

View our reel

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