What would you do to WOW first time visitors to the Triangle? (Raleigh: college, quality of life)

[NCN]

Things to Do in Raleigh - Raleigh Attractions - TripAdvisor
Hope this helps.

[bullcityculture]

Haha there is always a "hater" Durham just cannot resist the negativity

I'd rather go to downtown Raleigh and go to a 3D IMAX movie at Marbles museum, and to downtown restaurants, shops, and museums than go to the American Tobacco complex (in Durham) where choices of things to do are quite limited.

[Sayantsi]

I don't see that as negative towards Durham - its just that ATC isn't that large and there's not much to do in it - you can only really eat at one restaurant.


Imo the best thing about Raleigh is that its large enough to draw national tours, its close to the mountains and beach, cost of living is low, and the climate is great, but as far a sites to see go, there's not much. Raleigh is a great city to live and it allows you to visit lots of great stuff. As for being better than Florida, there's a number of things that make Raleigh/NC better imo:

Hills - we have roads with curves and inclines instead of miles of boring, straight road.
Jungle weather - we don't get constant rain all summer like Florida.
Mountains - we have em close by, plus the beach, while Florida just has the beach.
No alligators.
Less Northerners

[LONGISLAND2NC]

I am in a similar situation this weekend - a high school friend is flying in from London and expects me to show him a good time. The only criteria is that activities include a substantial amount of drinking. I am thinking about taking him to the the NC State game on Saturday...

[Francois]

Originally Posted by NewUser

That's funny. I suppose that you were joking, but I actually think that in my case it would be applicable. We moved here from Dallas, where every road is just full of one big box retail store after another. To be able to drive down a major interstate between Durham and Raleigh and only see trees is incredible.

Well, give 'em a few years--they'll develop it all; don't worry.

To the OP--I'm surprised you're showing them anywhere outside of Cary!

[leighbhe]

Take them to angus barn, if you call early they may be able to show you the wine cellar, etc. They have an amazing wine selection.

might be a cool place to go since it is locally owned and operated and a landmark of the area.

Leigh

[tennisgal82]

Here are my suggestions!

Durham: Duke Chapel, Duke Gardens, Duke's campus in general (all very beautiful in my opinion and it kills time walking around these places). You could have lunch on 9th Street, Brightleaf or at American Tobacco Campus.

Raleigh: The NC Farmer's Market, eat at Poole's Diner (it was just featured in Southern Living magazine), Fayetteville Street at night with the rickshaws (it's so lively), shop at Cameron Village or North Hills, drive around/walk Historic Oakwood (show off our historic homes), IMax movie, or eat at the Pit to show them what real BBQ is like, given the fact that they probably do not usually eat it in Florida.

Chapel Hill: Walk around campus, eat at Crook's Corner in Carrborro (best shrimp & grits), eat at Mama Dip's (famous southern chef), drive to Fearrington in Pittsboro for shopping & dining.

[joey2000]

Originally Posted by lovebrentwood

I don't think the Triangle has one generic "WOW" place to show out-of-town visitors.

Unfortunately.

So it's good advice to find out their interests and go from there.

Beat me to it. This area has a variety of things to see/do, but none that are a "wow."

Originally Posted by geoff2v

I-40. Heck of an interstate.

lol - no, I-440. Is it North/South? East/West? "Inner/Outer Loop?"

Trick question - it's all of the above! Wow!

[lovebrentwood]

I worked at the American Tobacco complex. Every day, I ate lunch at the overpriced, not-so-great restaurants, and and at breaks, we walked around (within) the complex. In circles. As much FUN as that was, I don't think it'll "WOW" any out-of-town visitors.

Did they do a great job rehabbing a former factory into an office complex? YES. They did a GREAT job. But unless someone had a specific interest in viewing rehabbed factories turned into beautiful office complexes, I don't see any reason to take out-of-town visitors there.

Originally Posted by bullcityculture

Haha there is always a "hater" Durham just cannot resist the negativity

[geoff2v]

Originally Posted by lovebrentwood

I worked at the American Tobacco complex. Every day, I ate lunch at the overpriced, not-so-great restaurants, and and at breaks, we walked around (within) the complex. In circles. As much FUN as that was, I don't think it'll "WOW" any out-of-town visitors.

Did they do a great job rehabbing a former factory into an office complex? YES. They did a GREAT job. But unless someone had a specific interest in viewing rehabbed factories turned into beautiful office complexes, I don't see any reason to take out-of-town visitors there.

If there were a concert on the lawn or a Bulls game or some other event (the mockumentary series taking place there seems fun), I'd go. Or if they are interested in adaptive reuse of real estate and redevelopment, then yes. (My father-in-law would love to go for that reason.) But otherwise, if nothing else is going on, I agree it's not really a great place to take out-of-town visitors.