A house at its original location, one-hour tours, trails leading to commissioned artworks, and interactive science exhibits give Raleigh a distinct profile for cultural and nature interests. When planning your visit, you can choose among historical themes, different museum formats, and trails through natural areas.

History and guided insights

The Mordecai House is the oldest house in Raleigh at its original location. Mordecai Historic Park offers one-hour tours of its historic buildings and grounds. For planning your day, the duration provides a clear time frame for this guided experience. The house and park offer different points of interest for history enthusiasts: a distinctive story of place and a tour of the buildings and grounds.

Science in different formats

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences offers exhibits, programs, and field trips about science and nature. Its offerings include different ways to engage with the subject. The Nature Exploration Center features permanent and special exhibitions, live programs, and educational films. The Nature Research Center offers interactive exhibits and live presentations by scientists.

If you want to choose your museum visit by format, you can distinguish among exhibitions, films, live programs, and interactive presentations. This means the focus is not only on the shared themes of science and nature; the way visitors encounter these subjects also varies between the two centers.

Park, swimming, and arts programs

Pullen Park is the first public park in North Carolina. The Pullen Aquatic Center has an indoor Olympic-size pool measuring 50 meters by 25 yards. Programs at the Pullen Arts Center include pottery, jewelry making, painting, printmaking, bookbinding, drawing, textile arts, weaving, and glass arts. The offerings therefore range from a public park and swimming to a variety of artistic techniques.

The Arts Center covers painting, printmaking, and drawing, as well as pottery, jewelry making, bookbinding, textile arts, weaving, and glass arts. So if you are considering an arts program in Raleigh, you will find several different fields there rather than a single focus. The pool at the Aquatic Center, by contrast, offers a clearly described swimming option: it is indoors, and its dimensions are given in two different units.

Nature trails and a connection to Downtown

Museum Park has 4.7 miles of recreational trails that pass through natural areas and lead to specially commissioned artworks. Visitors interested in both natural areas and art can find both along these trails. The Capital Area Reedy Creek Greenway offers a different kind of route: this paved, multi-use trail system runs through western Raleigh and connects the eastern part of Museum Park to Downtown Raleigh via a pedestrian bridge over Highway 440. You can therefore choose between trails through natural areas to artworks and a direct connection to Downtown.

There are also several ways to explore the streets of Downtown Raleigh: on foot, by bike using Cardinal Bikeshare, or with a short ride via a rideshare service or taxi. These options differ by mode of transportation and complement the more specifically described trail connections around Museum Park. When deciding, you can first consider whether to focus on a cultural and museum itinerary, nature trails with an artistic connection, or a transportation option for Downtown.

More destinations

Discover more destinations: Millbrook, Wendell, Morrisville, Cary, Holly Springs, Garner, Wake Forest, Apex

Go to the main travel overview: Wake.