The Raleigh Museums are well worth blocking time out for. Start with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, an expansive free museum with four floors of exhibits and permanent collections. It’s most known for the Dueling Dinosaurs, skeletons of Triceratops, and Tyrannosaurs featured on display.

Set in the Raleigh Area, the JC Raulston Arboretum is a lovely retreat at NC State University. The 10-acre gardens feature a large number of plants and spaces to enjoy.

Enjoy the signature Afternoon Tea set inside The Umstead Hotel and Spa. Served inside the lounge overlooking the gardens, a live harpist plays music while you dine through a thoughtfully curated tea service. You’ll have both savory and sweets, paired with their teas. It’s something you do want to book ahead.

An incredible art experience, the North Carolina Museum of Art is a must-do when in Raleigh. It has two buildings that feel like intimate art galleries with permanent collections. You’ll find African American art, to Greek Sculptures here all set inside the buildings. Now outside is the Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park — 164 acres of trails with public art displays free to access.

From places for views (the elevated Skywalk) to places for brews (beer at The Bark Bar, coffee at Market 317)—plus a playground, performing arts pavilion, fire pits, a sports lawn, dog park and so much more—the park now acts as the anchor of a fast-growing, easily walkable downtown area that has become a popular destination for visitors in recent years.

Check the park's calendar for fitness classes, movie nights, free concerts, public art walks and so much more (in addition to the year-round Cary Downtown Farmers Market, held on Saturday mornings).

The Neuse River Greenway Trail—a 27.5-mile paved, uninterrupted greenway that stretches from Falls Lake in North Raleigh to the Wake County line in southeast Raleigh—is a year-round haven for outdoor recreation. With views of historic sites as well as winding boardwalk areas and suspension bridges crossing over wetlands, the trail is open to joggers, walkers, runners, cyclists, roller-bladers and others. Many consider the Neuse River Greenway Trail to be the gem of the 100-plus-mile Capital Area Greenway System.