50 Best Sights in Central North Carolina, North Carolina

This 84,000-square-foot cathedral of play and learning is aimed at children 10 and younger. Everything is hands-on, so your child is free to fill a shopping cart in the marketplace, don a fireman's hat, clamber through the cab of a city bus, scale the crow's nest of a three-story pirate ship, or splash in numerous water stations. Older children can play chess with 2-foot pawns, perform simple science experiments, or learn about the value of cash at the Moneypalooza exhibit. Toddler Hollow, designed with an enchanted forest in mind, is meant for kids under two. The space's wide-open design and its architectural details, including a suspension bridge and a courtyard with a 6-foot marble fountain, give adults something to look at as well. There's also an IMAX theater.

A well-preserved example of 19th-century domestic architecture, this homestead (including the main house and several outbuildings) sits in a cove along a peaceful creek. As Quakers, the Mendenhalls opposed slavery, and here you can find one of the few surviving false-bottom wagons used to help those enslaved escape to freedom on the Underground Railroad.

Come in July, when kids can learn how to make a corn-husk doll or design a quilt square during the Village Fair.

The exhibits at this fun museum are designed for children under 12, who can tour an airplane cockpit, explore a fire truck or police car, scale a climbing wall, create crafts out of recycled materials, or learn about buildings in the construction zone.

Admission is reduced to $5 Friday 5–8.

This 3-acre downtown historic site dating to 1785 includes President Andrew Johnson's birthplace and the Mordecai family's Greek revival plantation home. Moses Mordecai, a well-respected lawyer, married two granddaughters (in succession) of Joel Lane, the "Father of Raleigh." Mordecai's descendants lived in the house until 1964. Exhibits acknowledge the struggle of the enslaved people who once toiled here. There are guided tours hourly from 10 to 3.

The historical figure's name is pronounced MOR-de-key. Using a long "i" will mark you as a newcomer immediately.

The original Apollo astronauts trained here, at one of the largest planetariums in the country. A $9.2-million renovation, completed in 2020, expanded the exhibition areas. You can see planetarium shows, science demonstrations, and interactive STEM exhibits for children and adults.

This unique museum on the southern edge of Old Salem showcases the furniture, painting, ceramics, and metalware used in the area through 1820. The bookstore carries hard-to-find books on Southern culture and history.

A highlight of any Duke visit, this museum displays African, American, European, and Latin American artwork. The collection includes works by Henri Matisse, Kehinde Wiley, and Pablo Picasso. The museum offers a steady stream of engaging events throughout the year.

Founded in 1902, this Smithsonian-affiliated museum is now in a state-of-the-art facility on Bicentennial Plaza. Its signature exhibit, The Story of North Carolina, traces more than 14,000 years of the state’s history. The museum also houses the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, which displays memorabilia from hundreds of inductees, from college heroes to pro superstars and Olympic contenders. You can see Richard Petty's race car, Arnold Palmer's Ryder Cup golf bag, and Harlem Globetrotter Meadowlark Lemon's uniforms. Even if your time is short, it's worth popping in to admire the wall-sized oil paintings of the state's most beautiful natural vistas.

Several architectural styles—including Victorian buildings—can be found in this tree-shaded 19th-century neighborhood that's a short walk from downtown. The flower gardens and seasonal decorations make it a lovely place for a stroll year-round. Children love the "Dinosaur House" at 504 Oakwood Avenue, especially around Halloween when the lawn and porch is crowded with scares. A map with a self-guided walking tour of the area, which encompasses 20 blocks bordered by Person, Edenton, Franklin, and Watauga–Linden Streets, is available online.

Elm Street, with its turn-of-the-20th-century architecture, is the heart of this appealing district. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it has become Greensboro's most vibrant area, with lively galleries, trendy night spots, and interesting boutiques and antiques shops.

The only dedicated house museum to an African American person in the state, this historic house was built for Dr. Manassa Thomas Pope around 1900 with all the modern conveniences of the time. Dr. Pope had been a military surgeon during the Spanish American War, then the first practicing black doctor in North Carolina, and later a mayoral candidate in the heavily segregated Jim Crow era. The two Columbia-educated daughters of Dr. Pope maintained the house until the 1990s, preserving 3,000 artifacts that give a glimpse of the life of a prominent black family in the 20th century.

The state's first public park includes train rides, paddleboat rentals, and a 1911 Dentzel carousel. You can also swim in a large indoor aquatic center, play tennis, or, if the timing is right, see a summer play at the Theatre in the Park.

The front yard of this home, built by Camel cigarette founder R. J. Reynolds and his wife, Katharine Smith Reynolds, seems to extend to the horizon. It's the first of many moments of grandeur at the 1917 dwelling that's now an art museum filled with paintings, prints, and sculptures by Thomas Eakins, Frederic Church, and Georgia O'Keeffe. There's also a costume collection, as well as clothing and toys used by the Reynolds children. The home is adjacent to the 134-acre Reynolda Gardens that include flower fields, wooded trails, and a nursery. Next door is Reynolda Village, a collection of shops and restaurants that fill the estate's original outer buildings.

The always-changing exhibits at this tucked-away museum near the Wake Forest campus showcase artwork—including large-format sculpture displays—by nationally and internationally known artists. The attached historic Hanes House has been renovated with contemporary designer furnishings comfortable for attending a Fireside Chat, reading an art magazine, or just enjoying the view of the grounds outside.

One block north of the State Capitol, this complex hums with lawmakers and lobbyists when the legislature is in session. It's fun to watch from the third-floor gallery. Free guided tours are available but must be scheduled in advance through Capitol Area Services.

Once land claimed for Queen Elizabeth by Sir Walter Raleigh, this park's amenities include golfing, boating, hiking, fishing, horseback riding, and a large swimming pool with waterslides. There is also a dog park, campground, and an arboretum filled with plants native to the Carolina Piedmont. The Tanglewood Festival of Lights, one of the largest holiday-lights festivals in the Southeast, runs from mid-November to early January.

Franklin Street runs along the northern edge of the campus, which is filled with oak-shaded courtyards, stately old buildings, and tucked-away gems like the mystical Forest Theatre and the gorgeous Coker Arboretum. Regarded as one of the top public institutions in the United States, UNC–Chapel Hill is also one of the country's oldest public universities and was the first to admit students in 1795. To this day, it remains the very heart of Chapel Hill, which has grown up around it for more than two centuries.

Set on the campus of UNC-Greensboro, the museum is known for its permanent collection, which includes lithographs and bronzes by Henri Matisse and more than 400 Japanese woodblock prints. There's an outdoor sculpture garden, and ever-changing exhibitions of 20th-century and modern American art.

This 404-acre city park on the banks of the Eno River boasts a restored mill dating from 1778—one of 32 that once dotted the area. Also on-site are a 19th-century Greek revival farmhouse that was occupied by John Cabe McCown, the onetime owner of the mill, and a museum that showcases early-20th-century photographer Hugh Mangum's pictures of the surrounding area. The Festival for the Eno, held around July 4, includes musicians, artists, and craftspeople from around the region.

In the 1920s, this building shaped like an 18th-century chest of drawers was constructed to call attention to the city's standing as the "Furniture Capital of the World." The 36-foot-high building, complete with a 6-foot-long pair of socks dangling from one of its drawers, remains one of the strangest sights in North Carolina to this day. Nearby Furnitureland South has actually built a much larger chest of drawers as the facade to one of its showrooms, although it is not freestanding.