Look beyond the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill to find a place teeming in history and natural beauty.
Carolina bleeds Tar Heel blueness , but the look is secure in Chapel Hill . The domicile to theUniversity of North Carolinafeels like a theme park of all things Tar Heel — and , of course , UNC basketball game and its enviable roster of legend , with Michael Jordan tribal chief among them . The conversant ram ’s caput mascot is everywhere from bar cups to barber shops , and blue - and - white drape scholar fill up every storefront along Franklin Street . But there ’s more to Chapel Hill than just ring , and if you look beyond the Dean Dome , you ’ll find a place teeming in history , skill , and natural ravisher .
Drive time
5 60 minutes and 15 minutes from Washington DC
If you don’t do anything else:Explore the UNC Campus
UNC is the old public university in America , and with that story comes some spectacular architecture . The cornerstone of its first building , Old East , was laid in 1793 , and though you ca n’t really tour it ( the hall hall is still in use ) , it ’s still worth a look . Your next stop should be theOld Well , which once attend to as the water supply for the entire campus . You may recognise the iconic Roman pillars and gullible dome from most pic you see of UNC , and legend says if scholar take a swallow from the well , they ’ll get good score that year .
The campus ’ other most placeable symbol is theMorehead - Patterson Bell Tower , which sits right outside the football stadium . The nine - animal foot clockfaces are seeable from most of the campus , especially when the column light up blue and ashen after football victory . It also plays UNC ’s Alma Mater on its Melville Bell , making for an idyllic soundtrack .
Not that Chapel Hill is remotely “ helter-skelter , ” but if you want a respite into nature while strolling the campus , intercept into theNorth Carolina Botanical Gardens . They ’re more of a preservation center than manicure landscape painting , showcasing native plants in spaces like the Piedmont , Sandhills , and Coastal Plain habitats . Delve a footling deeper into the leafage along the gardens’Piedmont Nature Trails , wandering about two miles of trail through 88 acres . Not far away you could shoot the breeze theMorehead Planetarium and Science Center . It ’s make full with interactional skill exhibits heavy on space exploration — the centre was used to educate astronauts in navigation during the height of the space program . The planetarium shows are a overnice way to chill off if you ’ve been tour the campus on a hot day .
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The Ackland Art Museumhas a massive accumulation of Asiatic art among its 20,000 works , as well as European masterworks , modern art , and regularly rotating exhibits .
Finally , no trip-up to UNC would be complete without a little basketball game education , which you ’ll incur at theCarolina Basketball Museum . The experience embark on with a Tar Heels ballyhoo video giving you some context for your tour , then leave you through the school ’s backup trophies , artifacts , uniform , and special sections give to Michael Jordan and longtime head private instructor Dean Smith . Better yet , it ’s complimentary .
Going off-campus
Stroll downtown : Franklin Street is the city ’s principal drag , where you may while out an afternoon perusing college - town thrift shops likeRumors , Uniquities , andSimply Audrey . The street ’s also lined with little restaurants and bars , though the best perch is atTop of the Hill , a brewery whose open patio take care down on the entire vista .
revel the outdoors : In summation to the trail in the Carolina Botanic Gardens , the city of Chapel Hill also boasts18 miles of nature trails . The Morgan Creek and Bolin Creek trails are two of the more popular routes , paved or boardwalk paths through the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that are popular with runners and wheeler .
Try a daylight trip : If you want to turn tail a little further aside , Eno River State Parkis home to the highest level in Orange County at the Occoneechee Mountain State Nature Area . While it ’s not precisely Asheville East , the “ peck ” does offer a courteous vantage point of the river valley below , and is especially striking in the recent downfall . The three - and - a - half mile hike takes about an hour and a half , and is only 20 minutes from campus .
Where to eat and drink in Chapel Hill
forward-looking dinner party recognize : For bon vivant , downtown’sLanternis a pan - Asian spot whose chef , Andrea Reusing , gain a James Beard honor in 2011 . It append some Southern touch to traditional Asiatic beauty with menu items like crispy wild catfish cha ca la vong . Bombolo , an eclectic spot with offerings ranging from shark khao soi to duck pappardelle , was named North Carolina ’s Best Restaurant byEaterlast year . Nathaniel Hawthorne and Woodis a New American topical anesthetic ’ favourite , whose owners also have a pop French bistro calledBluebird .
Old and iconic eateries : If you desire a lilliputian history with your intellectual nourishment , Franklin Street sport a couple of century - old resort inSutton ’s Drugsand theCarolina Coffee Shop . The latter can still make a casing for Chapel Hill ’s best loving cup of coffee , while the former is a plaza for burgers and shakes with a big helping of nostalgia . you may also head a little south toMerritt ’s Grill , where the BLT draw line every day at luncheon .
Rub elbows with collegiates : Al ’s Burgersis Chapel Hill ’s quintessential college burger spot , with a location on Franklin Street overflowing with student . For tangible , down - house southerly food cherck outTime Out , which serves breakfast 24 hours a day in vitrine you have a yen for grits at 4 a.m. For a sizeable take on breakfast , hitPurple Bowl , a firm casual charmer and bowl counter run by some of the friendliest hoi polloi in township .
People walk on the campus of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.|Getty Images
Low - Key Drinks : College towns are never lacking for bar , and if you ’re looking to tope where the students drink , Franklin Street is the place . The night can start and end atHe ’s Not Here , the school ’s legendary prima donna whose 32 - snow leopard down charge card cups are a staple fiber for anyone who ’s ever correct understructure on campus . you could bring these loving cup on a roving bar crawl around Franklin Street , too ; it ’s a designated “ social district ” where you ’re welcome to take drinks out of doors and revel them as you ramble around .
Cocktails : If you ’re not up for a night of drinking with Gen Z , Chapel Hill has some other , more elevated bar too . The Crunkletonis probably the best cocktail bar , where a wall of spirits gives mixologist endless creative inspiration . For outdoor drink , findFranklin Motors , an one-time car franchise that ’s been repurposed into a gastropub . It transformed the rooftop into a beer garden , where you could grab a craftsmanship beer and food for thought from an onsite hand truck .
Themed beverage : For something a little more interactive , Baxter Bar and Arcadeis a comical book - themed adult arcade with rows of games few current students have ever listen of . You , on the other hired hand , will probably enrapture in enjoying a cocktail while playingNBA Jam , Mortal Kombat , and other classics from your childhood .
