Cheap things to do in Raleigh
Bagels, breweries, free museums, and a smash burger at a drive-in legend.
This is Raleigh for the traveller who wants to spend money on beer, not entrées. Three days cover downtown, the arts corridor, and the western parks without a single pricey reservation. It suits anyone happy to walk, eat at a counter, and call a local taproom a great night out.
Day 1: Downtown bagels, parks, and a smash burger
A day that moves from a cheap counter breakfast through downtown arts and 308 acres of park to Raleigh's most beloved drive-in and a low-key pint to finish.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:30 AM
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Free: whale skeletons overhead, a dinosaur hall and a butterfly room, a block from the Capitol; shut Mondays.
Map - 12:30 PM
Big Ed's City Market Restaurant
Cash-only country breakfast institution, biscuits, grits, and country ham for a cheap, honest lunch.
Map - 4:30 PM
Dorothea Dix Park
Raleigh's 308-acre central park: big lawns, the Gipson Play Plaza and the best skyline view in town.
Map - 7:30 PM
Char Grill
Classic Raleigh smash burger at a local drive-in legend, keeps it cheap and satisfying.
Map - 9:00 PM
Day 2: Art, tacos, and a neighbourhood brewery
The middle day earns its dinner: free gallery time and a historic carousel in the afternoon, solid tacos and a Crank Arm pint to close it out.
- 9:30 AM
PRESS Coffee Crêpes Cocktails
Downtown café for coffee and a sweet or savoury crêpe before Artspace.
Map - 12:30 PM
The Fiction Kitchen
All-vegetarian kitchen that wins over meat-eaters; get the crispy 'chicken' and waffles.
Map - 2:00 PM
Artspace
Free open studios over two floors where you can watch about 30 working artists and buy straight from them.
Map - 4:30 PM
Pullen Park
Ride the 1911 Dentzel carousel and the little train for a couple of dollars each; rides run reduced hours in winter.
Map - 7:30 PM
Campo Taco Company
Cheap, solid Mexican tacos in Southwest Raleigh, perfect affordable dinner after an afternoon in the park.
Map - 9:00 PM
Crank Arm Brewing
Local brewery right next to Videri, the consensus pick for an easy neighbourhood pint to close the night.
Map
Day 3: Museum miles, trails, and Waffle House
A full morning inside one of the country's best free art museums, then a six-mile trail back toward town and a classic late plate at Waffle House.
- 10:15 AM
North Carolina Museum of Art with Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park
5,000 years of art plus 164 free-to-roam acres of trails, sculpture and the Cloud Chamber, the heart of the whole day.
Map - 12:30 PM
Tenko Japan
Cheap Japanese lunch right in Northwest Raleigh, easy and affordable after the museum.
Map - 2:00 PM
Art-to-Heart Trail
6-mile walking and cycling route linking the NCMA park toward downtown, free, scenic, and a great afternoon stretch.
Map - 7:30 PM
- 9:00 PM
Lenovo Center
On a Hurricanes game night this is one of the NHL's loudest rinks; puck drop is usually 19:00, so eat early.
Map
Where to stay
Hampton Inn & Suites Raleigh Downtown
The cheapest downtown option and close enough to walk to Trophy Brewing, Char Grill, and Day 1's whole sweep.
Heights House Hotel
A short walk from Pullen Park and Crank Arm Brewing, which puts Days 2 and 3 right outside the door.
Make Raleigh your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Marbles Kids Museum: a few days ahead
- Red Hat Amphitheater: weeks ahead
- Lonnie Poole Golf Course: weeks ahead
- Tobacco Road Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Heritage Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Pinehurst Resort: months ahead
Skip these
- Fayetteville Street alone is not downtown Raleigh. The life is one block east in Moore Square and City Market and west in the Warehouse District.
- The State Capitol is handsome and free but a 30 minute visit, not a half day.
- Chain dining at North Hills or Crabtree Valley Mall wastes Raleigh's food advantage. Crabtree is not a visitor destination.
- Do not pay for a generic downtown tour before the free museums and Oakwood walk. Mordecai House is the one paid add on.
The full Raleigh travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around