Planning a Trip

Getting There

U.S. 64 and U.S. 70 run east and west from Raleigh; U.S. 1 runs north and south, joining I-85, which runs northeast and is joined by I-40 to the west and I-95 to the east. U.S. 401 also runs northeast and southwest. The AAA is represented by the Carolina Motor Club, 2301 Blue Ridge Rd., Raleigh, NC 27607 (tel. 919/832-0543; ww2.aaa.com).

The Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) is about 15 miles west of Raleigh, just off I-40. Major airlines serving the airport from out-of-state destinations include Air Tran (tel. 800/825-8538; www.airtran.com), American Airlines (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com), Continental Airlines (tel. 800/525-0280; www.continental.com), Delta (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com), Northwest Airlines (tel. 800/225-2525; www.nwa.com), United Airlines (tel. 800/241-6522; www.united.com), US Airways (tel. 800/428-4322; www.usairways.com), Southwest Airlines (tel. 800/435-9792; www.southwest.com), Air Canada (tel. 888/247-2262; www.aircanada.com), and Jet Blue (tel. 800/JET-BLUE [538-2583]; www.jetblue.com).

Amtrak (tel. 800/USA-RAIL [872-7245]; www.amtrak.com) provides rail service to and from New York and Washington, D.C., to the north, and to and from Florida to the south, with one train daily from each direction.

Greyhound (tel. 800/231-2222; www.greyhound.com) offers regular service to both Raleigh and Durham. The Raleigh bus station is at 314 W. Jones St. (tel. 919/834-8275) and the Durham bus station is at 412 W. Chapel Hill St. (tel. 919/687-4800).

Visitor Information

Contact the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau, 421 Fayetteville St. Mall, Ste. 1505, Raleigh, NC 27601-1755 (tel. 800/849-8499 or 919/834-5900; www.visitraleigh.com). Hours are Monday to Saturday 8:30am to 5pm. Capital Area Visitor Services, in the lobby of the North Carolina Museum of History, 5 E. Edenton St. (tel. 866/724-8687 or 919/807-7950; www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/vs/index.html), provides information about the state-government complex, local attractions, and historic sites; bus-route brochures are available. The center is open Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm, Saturday 10am to 4pm, and Sunday 1 to 3pm.

Special Events

In mid-February, the Southern Ideal Home Shows draws thousands of visitors from all over the South; call tel. 800/849-0248 or 704/376-6594 or visit www.southernshows.com for more information. In mid-October, the North Carolina State Fair (www.ncstatefair.org) also draws crowds from all over with its livestock competitions, culinary bake-offs, and corn pone charm. The fairgrounds are located 5 miles west of town on I-440 and then 1 mile west on N.C. 54. For exact dates, call tel. 919/821-7400. In early December, the city hosts an old-fashioned Holiday Festival at the North Carolina Museum of Art (tel. 919/839-6262; www.ncartmuseum.org).