We will be spending a couple of days in Durham during the first week in January. Would like suggestions on things to do there. We will be near Duke University. We will rent a car at the airport and may drive to the coast one day. Any suggestions about that trip would be great. Thank you. Also, we leave for home Sunday morning and was wondering about airport security lines.

Paul,

Definitely see the chapel at Duke University. It is truly spectacular, expecially the way you enter the street leading to it. Have your camera ready.

The closest coastal city would be Wilmington. That is about 2 1/2 hours or so. The USS North Carolina is moored there. It was the most decorated ship in WWll. You can take a tour.

You might want to go to Raleigh and see the original State Capitol. It has been recently remodeled back to it's original state. It was built around 1838. Pretty neat.

One other thing that sounds corny, but I think is great, is the weekend flea market at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. Lots of really neat stuff.

Dick

Forgot to add, be careful in Durham. As long as you are near the University, you should be o.k.. Some of the other areas are much less desirable.

Dick

To reach the coast and see real Atlantic waves, you will need to go all the way to Nags Head or thereabouts.
It is The trip is about 225 miles from Durham.
Given the short days, you would have to get an early start to have any daylight hours to amount to anything at your target destination.

The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, has an outstanding planetarium.

There are two fabulous restaurants in Durham -- Nana's and Magnolia Grill. Both are expensive but well worth it if you're into excellent, beautifully prepared food and nice atmostphere. Chapel Hill has good restaurants, too, but these are two of the best anywhere.

The lines at RDU have not been bad at all this fall. It's not been crowded and the security moves quickly. There's even curbside check-in for some of the airlines.

The first week of January is pretty quiet around the campuses. But pick up a copy of Spectator Magazine when you get here and you'll see what's happening.

Have fun!

As far as food goes, you won't want to leave without sampling the famous North Carolina barbeque... perhaps for lunch. The best place in town (and among the best in the state) for barbeque and brunswick stew is Bullocks just off Hillsboro Road. Loved it 30 years ago when I was at Duke and never fail to eat there whenever we go back. Had lunch there over Thanksgiving (visiting in-laws) and it's as good as ever.

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions. We will be driving from Boston to Durham. Does anyone know if it makes sense to drive along the coast (or go to the coat first) and then cut inland to Durham? Thanks.

Depends on where you go and how much time you have. The coast of NC is not near many interstates. Another poster mentioned Nags Head/Outer Banks. If you go to Durham first, you will need at least 3-4 days to go there/back. If you come down through VA and venture east, you can go to Manteo/Nags Head before Durham. It will still take a few days. If you go straight to Durham, Wilmington/Wrightville Beach is 2 1/2 hours away and can be a decent day trip. Wilmington has a small water front but can be nice. In Durham/Raleigh, you should go to the Chapel at Duke. Maybe go to Chapel Hill for Dinner and walk Franklin Street. If you see a restaurant, tea or coffee house you like, walk in. In Raleigh, during the day, there is stuff to see downtown like the capital, etc. There are numerous resutarants downtown Raleigh. If you are there at night on a Thurday,Friday, Saturday, take the downtown trolly which you will see and ride it around. It goes to the three main locations of nightlife in downtown. Do get a Spectator or Independent, the two local free "rags" that tell what is going on. You can pick these up at grocery stores and coffee shops. Although they both cover the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) the Independent is more Durham-based and the Spectator is nore Raleigh based. There is a lot to do here, you just have to find it. It is not in one central location.

Hey Paul,

If you are driving from Boston, you might want to drive down the coast starting in Maryland and take the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to Norfolk, VA and then down the NC coast to Nags Head, where you turn inland. Durham is about 5-6 hours from Nags Head. If you are flying, it's best to rent a car because taxis are expensive.

If Duke basketball is playing and you don't have tickets (VERY hard to get) you might want to watch the game from a restaurant called The Seasoned Ticket. It is run by the son-in-law of Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski. I'll give a second for a recommendation to eat bbq at Bullocks. For upscale restaurants you might also want to include 4-square in the selections.

For history you can visit the old Duke homestead (it's best if there are re-enactors there) or Bennett Place where a large surrendor of troops took place (once again, best if re-enactors are there).

I recommend a visit to Duke Gardens and a tour of the campus. If there are not officials tours going on, try to see the chapel.

January is Durham could have weird weather, either 60's or an ice storm.

Enjoy your visit.

Perhaps not the best month for a visit to the area, but the weather should at least be warmer than at home. From someone who has lived around here most of his life, I can tell you that the area is not populated with musts as far as sights go. In the Durham-Chapel Hill area (becoming one town pretty fast it seems), I would see the campus at UNC-Chapel Hill (considered by many to be one of the prettiest in the country - and not just by alumni), Duke's campus (especially the chapel and Duke Gardens), and Franklin Street in Chapel Hill at night (although school will be out then). If you like hockey, you should try to get tickets to a Hurricanes hockey game. In fact, I know they play the Bruins on January 2 because I am planning to go. They also play NJ on the 5th and Philly on the 6th. The arena is right off Hwy 40 between Durham and Raleigh. Tickets should be easy to get. In Raleigh, I would particularly consider the state capitol building and the State Historical Museum. The latter's collection is somewhat limited, but it has a terrific collection relating to North Carolina in the Civil War. Others have suggested some good typical area restaurants. Another one is Mama Dip's in Chapel Hill (on Rosemary Street - parallel with Franklin Street). In regards to the coast, if you go from Durham, Wilmington is much easier than anywhere else. The Outer Banks don't have quite the same access. At Wilmington, you can see the old town, the U.S.S. North Carolina Battleship, and Ft. Fisher (one of the last coastal forts captured by the Union during the Civil War). I flew out of RDU on an international flight a couple of months ago, and it wasn't bad at all. Sundays can be busy sometimes though.

paul,

you've gotten lots of good advice already, but here's another thought about visting the NC coast.

From Durham you can get to the Morehead City/Beaufort area of the NC coast much quicker than to Nags Head (perhaps 3 to 4 hours). Just take 40 East and then get on 70 East at Raleigh. It has been a while since I have been to the beaches at Morehead (Emerald Isle, Atlantic Beach, etc., all on a barrier island for which Morehead City is the gateway), but I remember them as decent. And I believe there is a small aquarium there. Beaufort is a neat little coastal town. Finally, you could stop at Tryon Palace in New Bern on your way to or from (it's on 70 East also).

Wherever you go, have a great time!

Having lived in durham and worked in RTP, I would advise you to be careful in certain areas of durham at night. Raleigh/ cary would be better options to hang out at. Try Greenshield's Pub and Brewery at City Market in Raleigh Downtown. Tiranog and cafe luna are also good.

Don't want to start a fight, just add some balance, but many people consider Duke much prettier a campus than Chapel Hill's. We have a Dookie and a Tar Heel both in this house, so doesn't matter to us -- like 'em both.

As to restaurants -- if you are a foodie, 4 Square IMHO is surpassing Nana's and Magnolia Grill -- and Magnolia Grill has gotten too big for its boots.... no restaurant listed in Gourmet Mag.'s top 20 should serve burned bread and a cellophane packet of commercial oyster crackers with its oyster stew.

Day trip to shore: no question -- go to Wilmington -- putter around Wrightsville Beach then putter around downtown/old sections of Wilmington. It will startle you as a New Englander that more people don't know about it, and it's only an easy 2 hrs. from Durham.

Hey Tawhill,
Where exactly is 4-square? Gotta check it out!
Thanks.

While you're in Durham, you ought to try a great Afghan restaurant called Bread & Kabob. It's near the Duke campus, although I can't remember the name of the street it's on (I know how to get there, but don't know the name of any of the streets; you can look in the phone book). Terrific, delicious food, huge portions, great price, and the family who owns it are friendly and enthusiastic -- happy to help those who aren't familiar with the cuisine. One of my favorite Triangle restaurants.

Well, I'm not Tawhill, but...

Four Square is located at 2701 Chapel Hill Rd. in Durham. The phone number is (919) 401-9877. The building used to house a restaurant called Claire's.

Hope this helps...

Thanks for all the great advice. We are attending a wedding that weekend and will not get to see and do all that you wrote about. We go may to Wrightsville/Wilmington before Durham. Any recommendations on food and (moderate) accomadations in that area?

Have to agree with Tawhill about Duke being the prettier campus. UNC's looks like each building was done as a project for the architecture school to study differing styles. For the beach in Wilmington you might look at Wrightsville.

Ah, I too like the architecture of Duke's West Campus because I like gothic. However, the attractiveness of UNC does not come from its individual architecture (with a few exceptions that include the Wilson Library, the Bell Tower, and South Building) but the way it all fits together. Yes the buildings do vary a bit but not really all that drastically on the central part of the campus. You have to remember that UNC is a much older school than Duke (1789 vs. 1924), and it is expanding quite a bit these days. If I was visiting and had time I would see both because they are different and are both among the most attractive universities I have seen. Plus, if you want to get a feel for the Triangle area, other than maybe barbecue, hush puppies, iced tea, and the RTP, nothing defines the area more than its colleges. Try to see Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke and the "Dean Dome" in Chapel Hill to see what drives many people in these parts.

Just got back from my first meal at Four Square (thanks to Tawhill, Don and a strong recommendation from ncgirrl several months ago) and it was Great!
Very elegant, tasty, unusual flavors, beautifully prepared, with excellent service. It's pricey, the coffee was bad, and for romantic atmosphere I still prefer Nana's, but for overall quality of food in Durham, it's hard to beat 4-Square!

Thanks, Fodors folks, for sending me to a wonderful new place in my own backyard!