WRAL Azalea Garden, Raleigh
Beautiful in spring, especially April! Lovely artistically laid out medium-sized garden.
North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh
Airy modern architecture and many paintings. Cafe, gift shop, amazing landscaped grounds with sculptures and boulders to climb. Summer concerts.
Duke University and Chapel, Durham
Gorgeous Gothic architecture, impressive chapel, and cute patios under leafy trees.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Historic buildings, sunny quad where students hang out, flowers and old trees, and fun student center area.
Guglhupf Bakery and Cafe, Durham
Magical patio with plants and fountains, plus nice interior as well!
NC Museum of History, Raleigh
Free state-of-the-art history museum with exhibits on pirates, the civil war, and World War II in North Carolina.
Pullen Park (central park), Raleigh
Pullen Park is the central park of Raleigh, an enchanting place with some fun things to do.
Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh
Beautiful, modern cathedral with colorful statues, the twelve stations of the cross, bright stained glass, light-filled rotunda, and amazing organ.
Kids Together Playground, Marla Dorrell Park, Cary
Wonderful playground with dragon on little hills, many different play areas, winding paths, and landscaping.
Cedarock Park and Historic Farm, Burlington
Beautiful park where you can walk the perimeter of the pond, and check out the cute animals.
Children's Museum of Alamance County
Beautiful, bright children's museum with lots of fun things to play.
Honeysuckle Tea House, Chapel Hill
Open-air popular tea house made of logs. Sit in the sweet breeze high up over the gardens. Not just tea!
Sarah P. Duke Gardens, Durham
Large world-class garden with lakeside allees, flower terraces, and small Japanese garden.
Southern Village Restaurants, Chapel Hill
Cute area with outdoor cafes, flower boxes, church steeple with chimes, and village green where family events such as movie night or games night are held.
Meadowmont Greenway, Chapel Hill
Gorgeous one-mile greenway or bike path with shady forest, flowers, little hills, and pond with fountain.
Southern Community Playground, Southern Village
Awesome playground with lots of structures and little hill to play on.
Meadowmont Village Restaurants, Chapel Hill
Lovely development with brick buildings, outdoor cafes in the sun, and a fountain, plus a great bike path nearby.
Weaver Street Market and Downtown Carrboro
Health food store with great bakery, indoor seating with big windows, and outdoor picnic tables under thick leafy shade.
American Tobacco Campus, Durham
Unique redevelopment complex with man-made river, bee hive behind glass, colorful decorations, live music, and a few restaurants.
Swinging Bridge, Eno River State Park, Durham
Pretty area with flowing river, rocks to play on, forest and flowers, and swinging bridge.
Fearrington Village, Chapel Hill
Cute neighborhood with shady streets, wonderful bookstore, coffee shop with great outdoor seating, and belted goats to check out.
East Franklin Street Walk, Chapel Hill
Walk past the beautiful sorority and fraternity houses in the shade of trees.
Duke East Campus and Trail, Durham
Great place for a walk, with Georgian architecture, busy students, main quad, and trail around the perimeter under gorgeous trees.
Umstead Park, Chapel Hill
Large shady playground with two cool spinners, beach volleyball court, basketball court, and long bike path along a beautiful creek.
Airborne and Special Ops Museum, Fayetteville
Large, modern army museum with impressive scenes made up of lifelike sculptures combined with equipment like tanks, planes, and helicopters.
NC Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh
Two beautiful modern buildings full of attractive exhibits including some live animals.
MacDonald Woods Playground and Trail, Cary
Lovely playground in a recessed forest area, with a greenway connecting to another great playground.
Chapel Hill Community Center Park
Large shady playground with fun three-person spinner swing. Bolin Creek bike path starts here.
Trinity Park neighborhood walk, Durham
It's pleasant to walk around Trinity Park admiring the historic homes!
McKee Corn Maze (25 mins from Durham)
12 acre corn maze, tree swing, hay ride, barrel train ride, cozy coupes, sand pit with tractors, pretend cow milking, goats, donkey, chickens, scarecrows, and pumpkins.
Southern Village Greenway, Chapel Hill
2.4 mile paved, intermittently shady greenway with varied sights!
Carolina Inn Fridays on the Porch, Chapel Hill
Fun live music event every Friday during the warm season.
Hillsborough Riverwalk and Town
Beautiful 1.8 mile riverwalk, and Weaver Street Market with outdoor seating.
Streets at Southpoint Mall, Durham
Upscale mall with indoor section like colorful streets and outdoor section with sidewalk cafes.
Lake Johnson Greenway
Beautiful lake with small beach, kayak rentals, and 3 mile shady paved walking loop around the lake.
Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University
Attractive light-filled museum with three halls, one permanent and two temporary, and a museum store.
Pritchard Park forest play areas, Chapel Hill
Lovely play areas in the middle of the forest, and a short walking path.
Lake Hogan Farm Greenway, Chapel Hill
Peaceful greenway with flowers and almost tropical vegetation, that takes you to a lake!
Carolina Basketball Museum, UNC Chapel Hill
Attractive and interesting museum about important athletes, coaches, and moments in UNC basketball.
Morehead Planetarium, UNC Chapel Hill
Planetarium with great shows! And one floor dedicated to science exhibits.
Patchwork Farm Blueberry Picking, Chapel Hill
Lovely clearing of land in the forest with tall blueberry bushes for picking!
Northgate Park, Durham
A beautiful park with very tall trees, winding paths, blossoming trees, and lovely patches of grass.
Seaforth Beach, Jordan Lake
Peaceful spot with nice sand (great for building), blue water (from a distance), the sound of water lapping the shore, green lawn, playground, and trees for shade.
Biltmore Estate, Asheville
Grand estate with beautiful furnishings, countryside views, indoor pool, and gardens.
Market at Colonnade Plaza, Raleigh
Nice place to sit out at outdoor cafes, in a pretty, suburban neighborhood.
Eastgate Crossing Plaza, Chapel Hill
Modern shopping plaza with flower pots, Kipos Greek Taverna (pretty outdoor seating), Guglhupf Bakery, Trader Joe's, and Clean Juice.
Kidzu Children's Museum, Chapel Hill
Fairly fun place to come with little kids for the play areas and with big kids for the maker space.
West Point on the Eno River, Durham
Cute spot on the river with historic mill, tobacco packhouse, and farmhouse, plus a dam.
Lafayette Village, Raleigh
Stark French-style outdoor shopping center with large lawn for kids to play.
Bass Pro Shop, Cary
Fun shop with aquarium and animals, especially nice at Christmastime or when they have a kids activity.
Falls Lake Dam, Raleigh
Watch water come rushing out of a dam, and then picnic on the grass or fish at the lake.
Forest Ridge Playground, Raleigh
Large playground with dinosaur bouncy, stepping stones, zipline and more!
Shelley Lake Park, Raleigh
Two-mile paved walking loop around lake, in forest and open fields, past geese and bald eagles.
Duke Homestead and Tobacco Museum
Tour the homestead and tobacco barns, and see the museum about many facets of tobacco.
NC Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill
Fairly plain garden with some flowers, herbs, giant chess set, and sectioned off walkways for kids to run around.
Morgan Creek Greenway, Chapel Hill
Paved greenway with tall trees that leads to Merritt's Pasture, a field. Stinky sewer in summer.
Lower Booker Creek Greenway, Chapel Hill
A straight shady path beneath forest trees, with sewer cylinders.