Exploris 201 East Hargett Street Raleigh, NC 27601 919-834-4040

Hours:  Open Tuesday – Saturday, 9am – 5pm, Sunday, noon – 5pm, closed Monday

Admission Charged

Exploris is an interactive museum about the world that utilizes hands-on, interactive exhibits, the visual and performing arts, thought provoking programs and the new IMAX giant screen theatre to help people of all ages learn to respect differences, appreciate similarities and make connections with people of the world.

Borden Building 820 Clay St

Raleigh, NC 27605

919-831-6430

Hours: Call for days and hours of operation

Admission Free

The Borden Building is one of two remaining buildings on the former campus of the Methodist Home for Children. What was originally the superintendent's home is now available for public tours and functions. Admission is free.

Haywood Hall House and Gardens

211New Bern Place

Raleigh, NC 27601

919-832-8357

Hours: March – December, Thursdays, 10:30am – 1:30pm.  Closed from the end of December until the beginning of March.

Admission Free, donations accepted

John Haywood, the state's first elected treasurer, built this Federal-style frame house in 1799. His descendants occupied it until 1977. This is the oldest residence built within the original city limits still on its original site with family furnishings.

Historic Oak View County Park

4028 Carya Drive

Raleigh, NC 27601

919-212-7248

Hours: Mon - Sat, 8:30am-5pm; Sunday, 1 – 5pm

Admission Free

This antebellum farmstead features an 1855 Greek Revival house, detached plank kitchen, cotton gin house museum and two outbuildings. Included are the pecan grove, 1870s gazebo, and a Farm History Center.

Historic Oakwood

1653 Old Louisburg Road Raleigh, NC 27604

Admission Free

919-733-3456

Hours:  Vary, call for additional information

Admission Free

A Victorian neighborhood listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with restored homes built between 1870 and 1912. This 20-block area may be enjoyed by driving or walking. Bordered by Franklin, Watauga, Linden, Jones and Person Streets.

Historic Tours of Raleigh

301 N Blount Street

Raleigh, NC 27601

919-829-4988

Hours: Mid-March - late-Nov, Sunday, 2pm; tour time is one hour. Reservations recommended.

Admission Charged

One hour tour around Raleigh’s finest sites.

Historic Trolley Tours

1 Mimosa St Raleigh, NC 27604

919-834-4844

Hours: March-December, every Sat, 11am-3pm. Tour time is 45 minutes. Last tour begins at 2 pm.

Admission Charged

Trolley through the heart of the Capital City on a narrated tour with six stops. Visit historic sites, art galleries, museums, shops and restaurants. Board at any stop including Mordecai Historic Park and City Market. Unlimited re-boarding with all-day pass.

Joel Lane Museum House

728 W. Hargett St

Raleigh, NC 27603

919- 833-3431

Hours: Mar - mid-Dec, Tues  -Fri, 10am - 2pm, Sat, 1pm – 4pm.  Closed from mid-December to Feb. 28.

Admission Charged

Built in the 1760's, this landmark is Raleigh's oldest dwelling. Wakefield was the home of Colonel Joel Lane, the "father of Raleigh." In 1792, representatives of the newly formed North Carolina Legislature met here to choose a site for the state's Capital City and purchased 1,000 acres of Colonel Lane's plantation for that purpose. Tours are approximately 30 minutes.

Mordecai Historic Park/President Andrew Johnson's Birthplace

1 Mimosa St

Raleigh, NC 27604

919- 834-4844

Hours: Mon and Wed - Sat, 10am – 4pm; Sun, 1 – 4pm; closed Tues.

Admission Charged

Mordecai features an antebellum plantation house museum that was home to five generations of the same family. Other historic structures are grouped together along a "village street," providing a unique glimpse into 19th-century Raleigh life. Seventeenth U.S. President Andrew Johnson’s birthplace also is preserved here.

North Carolina Executive Mansion

200 N Blount St

Raleigh, NC 27601

919-733-3456

Hours: Vary, call for times and seasonal open house hours

Admission Free

This fine Victorian-style mansion, home to N.C. governors since 1891, once was described by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as having "the most beautiful governor's residence interior in America." Built from native North Carolina materials, it has been occupied by 26 governors' families.

North Carolina State Archives

109 E Jones St

Raleigh, NC  27601

919-733-3952

Hours: Tues - Fri, 8am - 5:30pm; Sat, 9am - 5pm; closed Sun and Mon.

Admission Free

The State Archives preserves original and microfilm records of the colony and state of North Carolina from 1663 to the present. This includes state agency and county records, private manuscript collections, maps, photographs and other documentary evidence available for research.

North Carolina State Capitol

1 E Edenton St

Raleigh, NC 27601

919-733-4994

Hours: Mon - Fri, 9am – 5pm; Sat, 9am – 5pm; Sun, 1 – 5pm. Guided tours available with advance notice.

Admission Free

Built between 1833 and 1840, this National Historic Landmark is one of the best-preserved examples of a civic building in Greek Revival-style architecture. It originally housed the governor's office, cabinet offices, legislative chambers, state library and state geologist's office.

North Carolina State Legislative Building

16 W. Jones St

Raleigh 27601

919-733-7928

Hours: Mon - Fri, 8am – 5pm; Sat, 9am – 5pm; Sun, 1 – 5pm

Admission Free

Home of the North Carolina General Assembly, the building is unique because it is devoted solely to the legislative branch of state government. Throughout the building, provisions are made for easy public access and observation of the legislative process.

Oakwood Cemetery

701 Oakwood Ave

Raleigh, NC 27601

919-832-6077

Hours: Open daily, 8am – 5pm

Admission Free

Adjacent to Historic Oakwood, Oakwood Cemetery is the resting place of 2,800 Confederate soldiers, five Civil War generals, seven governors and numerous U.S. Senators. Established in 1869, it is an excellent example of Victorian landscaping and mortuary art. Free maps of the cemetery area available at the cemetery office.

Saint Augustine's College Chapel

1315 Oakwood Ave

Raleigh, NC 27610

919-516-4189

Hours: June - July, Mon - Fri, 9am – 5pm; Aug - May, Sun, 11am chapel service.

Admission Free

Students built this Norman Gothic-style chapel in 1896 under the direction of Rev. Henry Beard Delany. The chapel houses the bishop's chair, a memorial of Delany's consecration as the first African American Episcopal Bishop in North Carolina.

St. Mary's School

900 Hillsborough St

Raleigh, NC 27603

919-424-4000

Hours:  Call for days and hours of operation

Admission Free

Founded in 1842, Saint Mary's is a college preparatory boarding and day school for young women in grades 9-12. The 25-acre campus in the heart of Raleigh is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and four of the school's 25 buildings are Raleigh historic sites. St. Mary's Chapel, a striking neo-gothic structure which dates back to 1856, also is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Spring Hill House

705 Barbour Dr

Raleigh, NC 27603

919-733-5454

Hours: Mon - Fri, 8am – 5pm

Admission Free

Spring Hill is located on the site of a large plantation house once owned by Colonel Theophilus Hunter, Jr. The land is now the site of Dorothea Dix Hospital for mental illness, and the house contains memorabilia from the hospital. 

J.C. Raulston Arboretum at NC State University 4301 Beryl Rd

Raleigh, NC 27606

919-515-3132

Hours: Call for additional information

Admission Free Features more than 5,000 trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals in an eight-acre, internationally-recognized garden. Unique spaces and collections include a stunning 450-foot-long perennial border, magnolias, conifers and brilliantly colored annuals, with a formal garden crafted around the color white.

N.C. State Fair

1025 Blue Ridge Rd

Raleigh, NC 27607

919-733-2145

Hours: Held each year during mid-October

Admission Charged

Approximately 700,000 people attend the N.C. State Fair each year. The 10-day fair features livestock, agricultural, arts and cultural exhibits, an amusement midway, and nightly nationally-acclaimed musical performances.

State Farmers Market

1201 Agriculture St

Raleigh, NC 27603

919-733-7417

Hours: Every day except Christmas, Mon - Sat, 6am – 8pm; Sun, noon - 6pm

Admission Free

More than fresh vegetables - a family adventure. Considered one of the best and most modern markets in the U.S., visitors enjoy 75 acres of indoor and outdoor specialty shops, restaurants, garden center; fruits, vegetables and gift products from across the state.

Nearby

Triangle Metro Zoo 200 Steven Taylor Rd

Wake Forest, NC 27587

Located 27 miles north of Raleigh

919-562-8899

Hours:  March – December, open daily, 10am – 5pm

Admission Charged

The zoo has over 30 acres of exotic animals and one of the largest petting areas in the state.

Page-Walker Arts and History Center

119 Ambassador Loop

Cary, NC 27513

Located 15 miles west of Raleigh

919-460-4963

Hours: Mon - Wed, 10am - 9:30pm; Thurs, 10am – 5pm; Fri, 10am – 1pm; open weekends by reservation.

Admission Free

A circa-1868 hotel built to service the passengers on the Chatham & Seaboard Railroad, Page-Walker now serves as a cultural center for the Town of Cary and houses the Cary Heritage Museum. Open to the public for tours, classes, and cultural and historical performances.