Durham is such a fun city and we hope during the down time between events you can take advantage of some of the cool activities listed below, grab a bite at one of many delicious restaurants, enjoy a cocktail, mocktail, or craft brew at our award winning cocktail bars and breweries, or just set out and explore! This page is intended to give you some good ideas of all there is to take advantage of while you're visiting. And hey, if you don't get around to everything on this trip, come back some other time and we can explore them together!



If you're staying downtown, the farmer's market on Saturday mornings can be hard to miss. It's an easy walk from the hotels and takes over central park. It of course has a ton of fresh produce, meats, and cheeses for sale, but also good food trucks and other art and jewelry vendors. A free activity that's fun for the whole family and is close to the central park playground and skatepark for the kids. More info on their website here.

There are a ton of art galleries within walking distance of the hotels! There's Ella West Gallery, 5 Points Gallery, 21C Museum, and Truist Gallery at Durham Arts Council. There's also the Nasher Museum of Art over on Duke's campus and if you're already over there you may as well check out the Sarah P Duke Gardens.

A wonderful museum that is just a short drive from downtown. While there are a lot of exhibits geared toward kids, you can have plenty of fun here as an adult too! There are so many cool exhibits to see including a number of wildlife habitats and a butterfly conservatory. Check it out and plan your visit on their website here.

Maybe not the most obvious suggestion of something to do, but our main library located a short walk from the downtown hotels is something to see! It went through a 3 year renovation project between 2017-2020 and won the NOMA Phil Freelon Professional Design Award as a result. In addition to a huge collection of materials and having all the cool features of a LEED certified building, it also boasts multi sensory experience rooms, play areas, an outdoor terrace and amphitheater, a teen gaming area, and some funky purple statues that are very photo worthy. Learn more on their website here.

This one can be tricky to get tickets to. Tour spots are reserved and you got to be on the lookout for it when they get released. But, if you think lemurs are cool, then this is definitely worth trying to get to! Registration for tours in June should open up on April 2nd. For more information visit their website here or just try and give them a call.

If you're into escape rooms, consider making a reservation at NC Escape which is located on Orange street right around the corner from the hotels. Their games range from 3-10 players and are really intricate and fun! Great for the whole family to play together. Checkout their games and make a reservation on their website here.

Visit Boxcar Arcade during the day and bring the kids (allowed before 8pm!). You can also make reservations or just walk in to Urban Axes right next door to Boxcar and throw a few rounds.

Depending on the heat, walking around downtown is always a fun activity! There's a lot of neat shops to poke your head into and the city itself has a lot of nooks and crannies that are great for exploring. You can walk down to American Tobacco Campus and check out the Bulls Stadium and grab some hometown gear. A walk east down Main street will let you see a lot of the city government buildings whereas heading west will put you in Brightleaf square and heading toward Duke's east campus. There is also the American Tobacco Trail to the south if you're wanting a longer hike or you can take off down the South Ellerbee Creek Trail that's part of the Durham Greenway system. There are a lot of other great trails along the Eno river but those will require driving to get to.

The Bulls shoot off fireworks after every Friday and Saturday evening home game. It's a good show and is easily viewable from outside the stadium on the lawn between DPAC and American Tobacco Campus. Timing is based on the end of the game but usually it is about 9pm if you want to try and catch it either night!



Some solid recommendations to get your day started that are within walking distance

• Beyu Caffee
• Rise Biscuits
• Foster Street Coffee
• Everything Bagels @ Durham Food Hall
• Dame's Chicken & Waffles
• Juice Keys
• Koki Creative Puerto Rican Kitchen
• Geer Street Garden (Sunday morning buffet brunch; their menu is constantly changing (but always good) so no info about that online)
• It's a Southern Thing (weekend brunch)
• Alley Twenty Six (Sunday brunch - should make a reservation if for a large group)
• Press Coffee, Cocktails, and Crepes
• Cocoa Cinnamon

And some other recommendations that are worth putting out there although they are a bit further out:

• Foster Street Market (not to be confused with Foster Street Coffee mentioned above. So many great options. By far our go to breakfast spot)
• Bojangles (if you're not from around the way and you haven't had a Bojangles biscuit for breakfast, you might as well try it!)
• Common Market (this was one of our favorites from our Charlotte days and it opened a location in Durham this year. Their breakfast sandwiches are verrrry good)
• Mad Hatter Cafe + Bakeshop (both for breakfast and to satisfy your sweet tooth!)
• Elmo's Diner (classic diner with every classic breakfast menu item you could think of)

Several of the breakfast options above have lunch menus as well, but here are some places that don't offer breakfast that are worth checking out:

• Durham Food Hall has several vendors and can satisfy people with a variety of cravings
• M Sushi - if you are here on Friday and can swing it would highly recommend checking out this one. They are only open for lunch on the weekdays but this restaurant has made many headlines for its original take on sushi
• Bull City Burger & Brewery - great burgers and fries, slushies, mocktails, the works!
• Toast - if you are just in the mood for a sandwich, this will hit the spot!
• Queeny's - super friendly, low-key spot that's also open late night!
• Motorco Parts & Labor - good for lunch on the weekends and late night food any night of the week!
• Fonda Lupita - A casual spot that was named one of the 11 best new restaurants in America by Eater

There are lots of bars that you'll walk past and most are worth stopping in! But, it can be hard to find late night food so here is a list of places for those craving a snack when most kitchens are closed:

• Alley Twenty Six - mentioned for brunch but their cocktails have won awards and their late night menu is clutch
• The Velvet Hippo - rooftop bar with fun cocktails and light bites to eat
• Queeny's - mentioned above for lunch but a solid late night food spot as well
• Bull McCabe's - most classic bar food you'll ever find; everything is dropped in a frier. But it's great when you need the grease!
• The Waiting Room - light snacky food, seriously classy cocktails
• Boxcar - serves pizza until 1am Friday & Saturday nights
• Accordion Club - As their sign says, Cold Beer, Hot Dogs. A perfect dive.
• If you walk down to either Boxcar or Accordion, it's worth checking Surf Club to see if they have a food truck stationed there.
• La Mala - Mexican inspired cocktails and authentic street food
• Mr. Fries Man - a bit of a hike down Main street from the hotel area but if you've got a fry craving ...
• Cosmic Cantina - at the bottom of the list because it's a 1.5 mile walk from the hotels, but it's open until 4am and is delicious