Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh, North Carolina is home of the famous Carolina Hurricanes Hockey Team (2006 Stanley Cup Champions). It is also the capital of North Carolina. Also known as "The City of Oaks," is the second largest city, after Charlotte.

This city in Wake County offers a lot of history, art and culture for you to see and learn about. Wonderful places to visit include the Exploris Museum, Galley C, the NC Symphony, the NC Museums of Art, Science and History. Local restaurants and entertainment include a wide variety from formal dining to locally popular BBQ. Some of these are the Bahama Breeze, 518 West, Sushi Blues Cafe and Raleighwood Cinema Grill.

The area also boasts several major retail centers with national stores including Macy's, Sears, JCPenney, Dillard's, and more.

The NC State University Wolfpack captivates fans as they battle nearby rivals Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Carolina Mudcats, a Class AA professional baseball affiliate of the Florida Marlins is also a very popular, and is one of the highest attended teams in the Southern League. Not to mention the Carolina Hurricanes!

Other activities include boating, fishing, hiking and biking at parks such as the William B. Umstead State Park, and playing golf at Crooked Creek, Knights Play, and Wil-Mar Country Club golf courses.

Along with great golf courses, Raleigh and the surrounding area offers great "Disc" golf courses. North Carolina is home to some of the World Champion Disc Golfers. Public and private parks are available in the Capital area, and people you meet on the courses will direct you to private courses and talk about courses in progress. Raleigh is also home to a past World Paint Ball Champion!

HISTORY

Officially established in 1792 as the state capital, it was named for Sir Walter Raleigh of the lost colony of Roanoke. The site of Raleigh was planned and built specifically to be the capital. This city stayed much the same size until the 20th century with the introduction of streetcar lines and influence of IBM.

ATTRACTIONS

Area attractions include the North Carolina Museum of Art, the North Carolina Museum of History, Playscape Children's Museum, Historic Oakwood, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Gardens, North Carolina Museum of Science, North Carolina Theater, and Carolina Ballet.

RESTAURANTS

More famous restaurants include the Angus Barn, Ltd; Charlie Goodnight's Restaurant & Comedy; and Duck and Dumpling.

LODGING

Area lodging includes Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley, Clarion Hotel State Capital Raleigh, and more. For more information, go to www.visitraleigh.com or call (800) 849-8499.