Looks like your next visit should be to Raleigh, NC (based on your answers to our city quiz).
Welcome to Raleigh, a.k.a. Raleighwood, a.k.a. the City of Oaks, and one of the three cities making up the Research Triangle. Erin + Trevor here, the local editors of RALtoday and your virtual tour guides — we’re so excited to show you around. Before we get started on the tour, here are a few Raleigh facts:
○ North Carolina’s capital city was founded in 1792 and was named for Sir Walter Raleigh — an English nobleman, poet, soldier, politician, and explorer. Yeah, he kind of set the bar high.
○ Nowadays, Raleigh’s most popular nickname is Oak City for the numerous oak trees that line city streets and populate the parks. But really, look up, and you’ll probably see an oak tree.
○ Raleigh has consistently been ranked among the top 10 most-educated cities by publications such as Forbes and CityLab. This is likely due to the presence of several universities, as well as a robust and growing economy offering jobs across industries.
Alright, let’s have a look around.
Museums + Parks (and museums with parks)
Visit now: While the NCMA’s indoor galleries are closed, you can still visit The Museum Park from dusk to dawn. The park features art installations, colorful gardens, and miles of recreational trails. The museum is also encouraging art-lovers to send in their favorite works of art, events, or memories from the NCMA. These submissions will help the museum to curate an “exhibition from home” as a part of the NCMA Recommends campaign. Here you will be able to make, read, watch, and learn about the museum collection virtually.
Visit later: When the museum reopens, don’t miss the Art in Translation exhibit or The Bacchus Conservation Project: The Story of a Sculpture. We are already looking forward to the rescheduled Art in Bloom, now set for March 18-21 of 2021.
Bonus: This spring marks the 10th anniversary of the West Building. This modern museum space actually curates light coming in, filtering out the bad rays from the good. Hear from architect, Thomas Phifer, here.
Gregg Museum of Art & Design
Visit now: Virtual tours are now available for exploration and education. You can view the All That Glitters-Spark and Dazzle exhibit from the permanent collection through July 12 + the All Is Possible-Mary Ann Scherr’s Legacy of Metal exhibit through September 6. You can also participate in the museum’s Design by Time by using Lingar — an app to interpret context in audio, video, and text for each object.
Bonus: Join the Packapalooza VR Tour of the museum featuring previous exhibitions including Borderlands, Explorations, Fantastic Fauna, and Southern Surreal.
Visit later: When the museum reopens be sure to check out these exhibits in person and to include the museum in your self-guided bike tour of Raleigh.
City of Raleigh Museum
Visit now: As we spend time at home, some of us are reorganizing and decluttering our spaces. The City of Raleigh Museum wants to see what turns up in your homes. Consider donating historical items that may add to the COR experience. The museum is also making an effort to document these uncertain times with experiences and stories from the City of Oaks residents. Send in your story and share what you’ll remember from your time during the pandemic.
Visit later: When the museum reopens, dont miss out on their current exhibits including A Delicious Country + From Plantation to Park: The Story of Dix Hill.
Raleigh Rose Garden
Visit now: The Raleigh Little Theatre’s outdoor campus is still open to the public, but remember to be mindful of areas that recently began construction. Last month, the garden began stormwater improvements that will be worked on now through the summer. If you prefer to stay home and avoid other visitors, take a virtual tour of the garden and enjoy the blooms through your screen.
Visit later: Raleigh Rose Garden’s annual Art in the Garden event, featuring visual artists, live entertainment + food trucks, has been cancelled and will pick back up in April of 2021.
DYK: Between 1948-1950 Raleigh Parks Department managers planted 3,000 rose bushes, and between 1950-1952 planted 4,000 tulips in the Rose Garden. Take a walk through the history of Raleigh Rose Garden to learn more about old and new buds sprouting in the city’s gardens.
Pullen Park
Visit now: Pullen Park has currently closed all of their facilities but are still encouraging our community to get out and play. Check out our city’s “Play Anywhere” ideas to stay engaged in exploration, exercising + meditation.
Visit later: When Pullen Park reopens, make sure to get outside and enjoy a picnic in the park, climbing around the playgrounds, riding on the carousel, floating in a pedal boat, and so much more.
Eatin’ in Raleigh
When it’s safe to visit, you’ll have plenty of delectable food options.
Erin’s personal favorites include Irregardless, Plates Kitchen, Second Empire, Bida Manda, Gravy, Ajisai + a speakeasy called the Greenlight.
Trevor loves Boxcar Bar + Arcade, David’s Dumplings, Mitch’s Tavern, Hibernian Pub, lucettegrace + the Morgan Street Food Hall.
We’ve also got plenty of articles to help you navigate the local food scene.
○ Raleigh’s beer trail boasts more than 30 local breweries, including Trophy Brewing, Crank Arm Brewing + Lonerider Brewing Company.
○ You won’t want to miss the new restaurants from these celebrity chefs, including Chopped champion Katsuji Tanabe + Oprah’s personal favorite, Kenny Gilbert.
○ New restaurants are opening all the time. Here you can see what’s coming soon so you can plan your trip accordingly.
○ And if you come to town and get the urge to cook, you may want to check out these places to get local produce.
Thank you for visiting
That brings us to the end of the tour. You didn’t think we could show you all of Raleigh, did ya? Some things you just have to experience in person, like hiking in Umstead, shopping local retailers at City Market, or throwing down a blanket in Dorothea Dix Park for a picnic + some skyline views.
If you still haven’t had enough of our city, check out the photo album we recently made and start daydreaming about which local hotel you’ll stay when you visit (we’re pretty hyped about this one). And be sure to stop by the Visit Raleigh website for more virtual fun + inspiration for your next trip to Oak City. We can’t wait to see you. 👋
If you’d like to take our quiz again and see what city you end up in next, you can do so here. Or, follow the links below to navigate directly to the virtual tour of one of seven cities:
○ Asheville, NC
○ Charleston, SC
○ Chattanooga, TN
○ Columbia, SC
○ Greenville, SC
○ Lakeland, FL
