Durham City Guide

Durham is home to Research Triangle Park, Duke and North Carolina Central universities, and many "City of Medicine, USA" medical, diet and fitness centers. A compact and forested community, Durham is located in central North Carolina at the pinnacle of a 3,000-square-mile region called the "Research Triangle."

Each year, over 5 million visitors come to Durham to enjoy hundreds of great activities and features, including historic sites, breathtaking gardens, art galleries, and cultural festivals. Visitors can "feel" history at sites like Historic Stagville, once among the largest plantation holdings in the antebellum South, and Bennett Place, where the Civil War ended with its largest surrender of troops, 17 days after Appomattox. Or visitors can immerse themselves in nature, strolling among the 55 acres of Sarah P. Duke Gardens and marveling in the midst of a thousand fluttering butterflies at Magic Wings Butterfly House, the largest museum butterfly house east of the Mississippi.

Durham's distinctive dining is arguably the most sophisticated in the state, with a clutch of nationally-acclaimed restaurants and thriving colony of notable chefs. Shopping is also a point of Durham pride, including The Streets at Southpoint super-regional mall (with the state's first Nordstrom), unique commercial districts (Brightleaf and Ninth Street), and many antique and collectibles shops.

Durham offers a variety of lodging at over 60 properties with more than 7,100 rooms, ranging from B&B inns to full-service hotels and luxury golf resorts. Whether clustered around Downtown, Research Triangle Park, I-85, or I-40, all are conveniently located, providing easy accessibility to the many great things Durham has to offer.