Great food, holiday spirit, and southern hospitality, all of this and more is available in Raleigh, North Carolina. This capitol city is located right in the middle of the state, and is part of the "Research Triangle" present in North Carolina. Our visit to Raleigh was timed with the Raleigh Christmas Parade, so that we could get to see some of the amazing holiday cheer that this town is known for. Raleigh does have an international airport(Raleigh-Durham Airport) that offers lots of flight options, as well as an Amtrak station. For us, we decided to embark on a road trip though, and take in some of the scenery along the way. Thankfully we didn't hit any traffic.
With that, the timing ended up being a little different, and we decided to stay in a hotel. There are multiple choices in Raleigh(all great) but we decided on the Raleigh Marriott City Center. Thanks to Elizabeth Barrow, and the whole Marriott stay for helping our visit to be amazing! The location of the hotel alone was worth it. They have great amenities that we took advantage of too like an indoor pool, hot tub, and fitness center. They even have a Starbucks downstairs, so you can get your triple venti soy no foam latte...or whatever you like to drink :) When we arrived to check in, we noticed that they had gotten into the holiday cheer as well. If we weren't on so much of a time crunch, we totally would have stayed at this hotel for a few more days just because of what it had to offer.
Our first stop in Raleigh for attractions was at the State Farmer's Market. North Carolina has tons of agriculture, and is pushing their state grown goodies. It is made up of two separate buildings, where one is more of an outdoor's open market type concept, and the other is actually inside. The indoor building had candy, peanuts, fudge, a fish market, pies, and so much more. The outdoor one featured everything from apples, to peppers, to pumpkins, to cacti and Venus Fly Traps. There was a third building set up that offered whole sale availability, and then there was a restaurant on site. We ended up buying some fresh Pink Lady Apples, and some cacti. This farmer's market had lots of great photo opportunities since everything was so fresh and colorful.
After the farmer's market we made our way to the State Capitol Building. You will definitely need to take a car or call an Uber for this though, as while it is only a 10 minute drive, the route for that wasn't too walkable. The State Capitol Building is open to the public from 9am-5pm on Monday through Saturday, and guided tours are available on Saturdays. You will have to go through a small security check. There are three floors of rooms to visit including the original state House and Senate rooms, as well as a library and geology room. The architecture both inside and outside the capitol was beautiful too. There are a couple fountains as well as multiple statues all dedicated to different events. The statue showcasing the three presidents that came from North Carolina was a great sight.
Across the street from the Capitol building are the state History and Science museums. We opted to go and learn more about North Carolina's state history. Both of these museums close at 5pm. Inside the museum there were multiple exhibits all showcasing different aspects of the state's history. The Story of North Carolina exhibit really offered us some great information. We got to learn about the origins, the ups and down the state has had, and how it has grown and change into the North Carolina that we know today. There were more exhibits on state parks, the sports history, the Selma to Montgomery march, and information about the governors. The museum does have a gift shop and a restaurant. We didn't have too much time to explore the other exhibits since the museum was closing soon, but as we walked outside there ended up being a small outdoor exhibit of statues for important people in the history of North Carolina. The museum definitely gave us a better sense of North Carolina.
The city of Raleigh offers a smaller museum on the history of the actual city too. This was a nice stop to learn more about the City of Oaks and take in some of the local culture. They also have a small gift shop that features t-shirts, pencils, glasses, and many other Raleigh themed gifts.
The city itself was very walkable, so we took sometime just to enjoy the restaurants and shops that were along the path. Everything had a rustic feel to it, and gave the city a great charm. We stopped in multiple shops to see the cute gifts that were available, including Deco! This store had lots of fun, quirky gifts that could please anyone. Raleigh had multiple spots that could be great for dinner and night life activities. On every block there was some sort of bar or restaurant that all had their own cute rustic appeal. We got to see multiple "Barcades" which was a combination restaurant, bar, and arcade. While we didn't go into these, it was apparent that Raleigh had something for everyone. Instead we decided to try some of the southern barbecue at The Pit. This restaurant is one of the best in Raleigh, and it definitely did not disappoint. From the sweet tea, biscuits, hush puppies, the chicken barbecue, and macaroni and cheese...everything was cooked to perfection and absolutely delicious.
After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the next day. It had been a long day of driving, and we had to prepare for the parade the following morning! At the hotel though, we were able to use the pool and whirlpool to help us unwind. The Rye, a restaurant in the Marriott, offered live music that evening as well so if you were more adventurous then we were that was another option you could have gone for! The following morning we watched the sunrise from our window. The view was slightly hazy which we realized was from the wild fires that had been effecting North Carolina.
We opted for breakfast at the hotel, which was delicious as it was an unlimited buffet of food. For us this worked out great, but if you are not staying in a concierge room or an elite member, you do have to pay per person for the meal, so if you have a large family there might be cheaper options for you. For breakfast we had scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, melon, and multiple types of tarts. We definitely took advantage of the buffet set up and enjoyed ourselves!
After breakfast we headed out to find a spot for the parade. On the street there were tons of people in chairs, claiming their spots, and everyone was festive. We saw so many dogs dressed up in holiday attire too! As we walked to find a spot to view the parade we got an even better sense for this southern capitol. Everyone was friendly, and genuinely happy to get to celebrate the holiday season. Before the parade started there were holiday clowns driving up and down getting the kids excited, mascots walking around the street, and vendors selling cotton candy, popcorn, and many other goodies.
Around 9:45am the crowd started to get excited though, as the police rolled through to start the parade! All ages were involved with the floats as there were floats from schools, clubs, organizations, and even retirement centers. The parade had plenty of marching bands that helped keep the music going and everyone excited! There were multiple balloons, including a giant penguin and shark, and plenty of holiday cheer! The Raleigh Christmas Parade was definitely a great event for us to get to see.
Raleigh was an great city filled with lots of southern hospitality, great food, and fun sights. The history that North Carolina has to offer is something everyone should take in too. What did we miss in Raleigh that we should have seen? Below is a map of what we saw, and some of the places we wish we could have seen if we had more time!
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