Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We'll be going to Morehead Planetarium on a Saturday and to be quite frank, I haven't been there since I was in middle school. Then I went to NCSU so I pretty much avoided Chapel Hill as a result, lol.
I want to make the best of it though and would like to make a day of fun things around the Planetarium. What are some other cool things to see, places to eat at, cool shops around Franklin Street? Ideally we'd prefer to park and walk. What's the parking situation like at the Planetarium? Can we park there and just leave our car after we're done and walk around all day? Are spaces metered on the weekends? We can Uber as well so whatever is more sane.
We're local to the Raleigh area, just want to have a fun day-trip experience.
This Saturday there is a football game at 12:30. Were you referring to this Saturday? Might impact your trip / plans unless you don't mind.
Yep, this Saturday! Definitely don't mind. Worst case we just park further away and Uber over.
With that new information in mind, are there also some places to just downright avoid on a game day? I imagine Top of the Hill would be packed, which is fine. Any good ethnic places to eat?
Seconded there! Sandwhich on West Franklin is also quite good - it looks like a pretty straightforward sandwich restaurant but they also have Moroccan tagines, great house made chips, and an awesome beer menu. There's also an outpost of Sawasdee at Columbia and Franklin (across from Buns) as well as Kurama, a sushi place featuring a sushi conveyor belt.
We like to walk around campus after going to the Planetarium and walk around Franklin Street. Carolina Brewery is great for lunch and a beer (or to get a growler filled to take with you). there's a cool children's museum in Chapel Hill but you'd have to drive to get there. I think it's called Kidzu or something like that.
Another idea if you want to go outside of town a bit is to go over to Fearrington. Kids love seeing the animals.
We like to walk around campus after going to the Planetarium and walk around Franklin Street. Carolina Brewery is great for lunch and a beer (or to get a growler filled to take with you). there's a cool children's museum in Chapel Hill but you'd have to drive to get there. I think it's called Kidzu or something like that.
Another idea if you want to go outside of town a bit is to go over to Fearrington. Kids love seeing the animals.
Kidzu is at University Mall. There are buses, especially on game day (I think that might be a park and ride lot)
Suttons is always a good option for lunch on Franklin; wait until after kick-off though. If you're up for a slightly longer walk, Al's Burger Shack is at the very end of W. Franklin and has some of the best burgers you'll have anywhere. Very "local" as Al is a Carolina grad who is now raising a family in Chapel Hill...and is almost always behind the register or grill himself. They do have a stand at Kenan Stadium now so I'm not sure if that means the actual restaurant is still fully staffed on gamedays...but worth it either way!
Spaces are metered all the time at the planetarium and parking will be tight on a game day. Plenty of people park downtown and walk or catch a shuttle to Kenan Stadium.
Will you have kids with you or is just an adult group? What kinds of things are you wanting to do? There is the Ackland Art Museum and Frank Gallery, but not sure if that's your kind of thing. There's the Baxter Barcade pinball arcade and bar. Plenty of great restaurants. What kind of ethnic are you wanting — Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Cali-Mex, Thai, Mediterranean, Korean, Vietnamese, sushi, Italian, French, or perhaps an awesome pastrami sammich from Neal's Deli?
Mediterranean Deli in Chapel Hill is my personal favorite place to eat in CH
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
