Shopping

Raleigh, with its population of up-and-coming financiers, computer experts, and yuppies, is known for an elegant array of home decorating stores, many of them specializing in antiques. A dense cluster of antiques stores lies along Fairview Road in the suburban neighborhood known as Five Points because of its intersection of five different streets. One of the most appealing is Antiques at Five Points, 2010 Fairview Rd. (tel. 919/834-4900), which focuses on mid-19th- to mid-20th-century American, English, and European antiques and paintings. A nearby competitor loaded with French and English antiques, many of a higher quality than those available from less upscale competitors, is Acquisitions, Ltd., 2003 Fairview Rd. (tel. 919/755-1110).

Peché du Chocolat, 305 S. Blount St. (tel. 919/754-1112; www.pechechocolat.com), is the finest chocolate shop in Raleigh, a tastefully upscale, European-style venue for confections that derive from Belgium, Italy, France, Turkey, and Lebanon. Many of the chocolates are artfully wrapped, come in differing degrees of darkness, and are often deliciously studded with delicacies like hazelnuts, pistachios, and candied fruits.