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My son, a junior in HS, is consider applying to Duke. He and I are planning to visit Duke in October to check out the campus and surrounding Triangle area. I am looking for recommendations for hotels close to campus, places to visit or tour and any local restaurants. We are planning on being in town for 2-3 days
Depends on how much you're looking to spend on the room. You can't go wrong with the Washington Duke Inn, directly adjacent to campus, very fancy-pants. There's also Hilton and Millennium hotels right nearby that are very nice as well.
Duke's Admissions office has put together this list of hotels http://admissions.duke.edu/jump/campus/PDF/Accommodations.pdf (broken link) near campus. They have left out any of the "sketchy" ones. All are close to campus and vary by price.
The Admissions office runs daily tours and info sessions that provide a lot of valuable information, so I would definitely plan on doing that. No advanced registration is needed. The Duke Gardens is very close to the admissions office and makes for a nice place to walk around.
If your son has a specific area of interest, you can always call that department (at least a week ahead of time!) and ask to meet with a faculty person or the Director of Undergraduate Studies during your visit. I work in an academic department at Duke, and we often have visiting prospective students come by to meet with someone and discuss our major program.
Your son is also welcome to sit in on a class or two while here- I would recommend that. The admissions office will post a list of Fall courses that are open to visiting students. The list should go up in a few weeks.
The campus tour sticks to West Campus, so you will want to be sure and put East Campus on your list of things to see. It is a quick bus ride over from the Main (West) campus and is where all of the first year students live. It has a very different look and feel from West, and someone who didn't know it was part of Duke could easily stumble upon East Campus and mistake it for a small, liberal arts college in and of itself. It also houses several academic departments, the music and dance buildings, a library, cafeteria, academic advising center, and many dorms.
Duke has a Primate Center that gives tours. It's a really neat place with the largest collection of endagered prosimians and is worth checking out. Make tour reservations at least two weeks in advance: Duke Lemur Center (DLC)
Duke has a main online calendar that you should check out. There might be an interesting seminar, lecture, performance, meeting, etc that your son would enjoy while here. Events@Duke
As for restaurants, there are plenty close to campus. For a good burger and fries, check out Dain's Place on 9th Street near East Campus. For sushi, there is Sushi Love on Erwin Rd near the Medical Center/Science Buildings. For some good "bistro" food, try Piedmont which is downtown or Watt's Grocery, up on Broad Street north of East Campus. The Q Shack isn't too far from campus and has tasty bbq. Nearby to that is an excellent bakery/lunch place- Guglhupf or Foster's for sandwiches next door. If you want a very special treat, have dinner at Magnolia Grill. It's just a few blocks north of East campus on 9th street and is always ranked nationally (James Beard awards). I think Gourmet Magazine had it at #11 in the country. It is very special food- regional southern, with fresh local ingredients and a lot of creativity.
If you like hiking, do a trail at the nearby Eno River State Park (minutes from campus) or in the Duke Forest, which is owned by Duke.
We moved to Durham 9 yrs ago for my husband's work and have no plans to leave. We both enjoy our work at Duke and love the area and all it offers.
Duke's Admissions office has put together this list of hotels http://admissions.duke.edu/jump/campus/PDF/Accommodations.pdf (broken link) near campus. They have left out any of the "sketchy" ones. All are close to campus and vary by price.
The Admissions office runs daily tours and info sessions that provide a lot of valuable information, so I would definitely plan on doing that. No advanced registration is needed. The Duke Gardens is very close to the admissions office and makes for a nice place to walk around.
If your son has a specific area of interest, you can always call that department (at least a week ahead of time!) and ask to meet with a faculty person or the Director of Undergraduate Studies during your visit. I work in an academic department at Duke, and we often have visiting prospective students come by to meet with someone and discuss our major program.
Your son is also welcome to sit in on a class or two while here- I would recommend that. The admissions office will post a list of Fall courses that are open to visiting students. The list should go up in a few weeks.
The campus tour sticks to West Campus, so you will want to be sure and put East Campus on your list of things to see. It is a quick bus ride over from the Main (West) campus and is where all of the first year students live. It has a very different look and feel from West, and someone who didn't know it was part of Duke could easily stumble upon East Campus and mistake it for a small, liberal arts college in and of itself. It also houses several academic departments, the music and dance buildings, a library, cafeteria, academic advising center, and many dorms.
Duke has a Primate Center that gives tours. It's a really neat place with the largest collection of endagered prosimians and is worth checking out. Make tour reservations at least two weeks in advance: Duke Lemur Center (DLC)
Duke has a main online calendar that you should check out. There might be an interesting seminar, lecture, performance, meeting, etc that your son would enjoy while here. Events@Duke
As for restaurants, there are plenty close to campus. For a good burger and fries, check out Dain's Place on 9th Street near East Campus. For sushi, there is Sushi Love on Erwin Rd near the Medical Center/Science Buildings. For some good "bistro" food, try Piedmont which is downtown or Watt's Grocery, up on Broad Street north of East Campus. The Q Shack isn't too far from campus and has tasty bbq. Nearby to that is an excellent bakery/lunch place- Guglhupf or Foster's for sandwiches next door. If you want a very special treat, have dinner at Magnolia Grill. It's just a few blocks north of East campus on 9th street and is always ranked nationally (James Beard awards). I think Gourmet Magazine had it at #11 in the country. It is very special food- regional southern, with fresh local ingredients and a lot of creativity.
If you like hiking, do a trail at the nearby Eno River State Park (minutes from campus) or in the Duke Forest, which is owned by Duke.
We moved to Durham 9 yrs ago for my husband's work and have no plans to leave. We both enjoy our work at Duke and love the area and all it offers.
Hope you have a great visit to campus!
Thanks for all the great information. My son is interested biomedical engineering so I will definitely see if he can sit on one of the classes. Thanks for the restaurant recommendation and other local spots. I will keep checking Duke's website for other events.
agree that duke has left out sketchy hotels, particularly that red roof inn on guess road, ditto for holiday inn express and quality inn. if you are considering the millenium, check their availability, they will be housing fall semester overflow students from nccu.
For a lot less of a price you can stay at the La Quinta off of Hwy 15-501. The address isn't 15-501 because it is on a frontage type of road. I stayed there when we came to look for a house. Very clean, free breakfast, and indoor pool. It is very close to Duke.
If you aren't concerned about money and want the best experience I think the Washington Duke Inn would be the place to stay IMO.
I would definitely recommend eating at Fosters while you are visiting. Checking out Duke Gardens while you are here I think would be a must as well since October will be a great time to stroll through there.
I wouldn't devote a lot of time to east campus. You can include a stop at Ben and Jerry's as part of your trip over there.
Thanks for all the info on hotels and tips for restaurants and for visiting Duke. I will definitely check out the Duke Gardens and plan on spending time on the east campus. I will also check with Duke Admissions to determine which classes will allow prospective students to sit in on a lecture. Hopefully during the visit he will also be able to visit a east campus dorm room.
I hope he likes Duke.
It's my alma mater and I couldn't imagine going anywhere else- don't worry, it's worth it.
I recommend Elmo's Diner on 9th Street for food.
When I attended Duke, I stayed at the Hilton the day before moving in- it was nice from what I remember.
For accommodation, you might also consider the King's Daughters Inn. Welcome to the King's Daughters Inn
It's a home built in the 1920s right along Duke's East Campus. The building was renovated and reopened as a B&B about a year ago, so it's very fresh and has all the modern amenities. The location would be extremely convenient for you. I haven't stayed there, but I've heard good things from those who have.
For accommodation, you might also consider the King's Daughters Inn. Welcome to the King's Daughters Inn
It's a home built in the 1920s right along Duke's East Campus. The building was renovated and reopened as a B&B about a year ago, so it's very fresh and has all the modern amenities. The location would be extremely convenient for you. I haven't stayed there, but I've heard good things from those who have.
My parents stayed there recently and had an excellent visit.
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i wouldnt necessarily
