Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina and the largest city in Wake County — often called the “City of Oaks” for the mature tree canopy that shades much of the city’s historic neighborhoods. Set at the heart of the Research Triangle alongside Durham and Chapel Hill, Raleigh combines the civic weight of a state capital with the economic energy of one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the Southeast.
The city was founded in 1792 specifically to serve as North Carolina’s permanent state capital, making it one of the few American cities planned and built expressly for that purpose. The original city was designed in a tidy one-square-mile grid organized around the North Carolina State Capitol, completed in 1840, and today a National Historic Landmark and one of the finest examples of Greek Revival civic architecture in the United States. Around the Capitol, downtown Raleigh has grown into one of NC’s most active urban districts — combining the original government complex with a broader cultural, entertainment, dining, and craft beer scene.
Raleigh is home to North Carolina State University (founded 1887), one of NC’s flagship public research universities, and serves as a major anchor within the broader Research Triangle Park ecosystem. The city’s cultural infrastructure is among the deepest in the Southeast, with major institutions including the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (the largest natural history museum in the Southeast), the North Carolina Museum of Art with its 164-acre museum park, and the North Carolina Museum of History across from the State Capitol.
Beyond the state government and cultural anchors, Raleigh’s historic neighborhoods (including the oak-lined streets of Oakwood), its 5,500-acre William B. Umstead State Park buffer between Raleigh and Durham, and its 1887 Pullen Park (one of the oldest public parks in the United States) round out the city with meaningful outdoor and residential character. The city hosts major annual events, including the North Carolina State Fair (running since 1853), the Hopscotch Music Festival, and the IBMA World of Bluegrass, alongside a growing craft beer scene and a diverse dining scene that ranges from traditional NC barbecue to farm-to-table restaurants.
Click on the attractions and food and beverage images below to dive deeper into the spots we’ve personally explored around Raleigh.
Photos of Raleigh, NC
Things To Do in Raleigh, NC
