Visitor Questions
How many visitors does Durham host each year?
Durham hosts 5.46 million visitors each year, of whom 28% are here on business (including meetings and conventions), 55% for leisure, and 17% for personal reasons (like health care).
How do I get to Durham?
You can fly via one of the many air carriers serving RDU International Airport. (The airport is located just two miles from the Durham city limits and only 13 miles from Downtown Durham. Taxi, shuttle, and car rental service is available there.) You can travel via automobile or intercity bus, reaching Durham easily via Interstate 85 from the north or south and via Interstate 40 from the east or west. You also can travel via train; Downtown Durham's Amtrak station serves passengers traveling both the Piedmont (Charlotte to Durham to Raleigh) and Carolinian (Charlotte to Durham to New York City) routes.
Are Durham and Raleigh one place?
No, they are two separate mid-sized cities that share and co-own an airport, similar to Baltimore and Washington or Greensboro and Winston-Salem or Dallas and Fort Worth. They also are the core cities of two, distinct metro areas-one four-county metro called Durham and another three-county metro called Raleigh-Cary, N.C. Over 75% of these regions' residents prefer to characterize where they live by the name of an individual town or city rather than as one big area, like Raleigh-Durham-Cary or "the Triangle."
What hotels are located in Research Triangle Park (RTP)?
Only one hotel, the full-service Radisson Hotel Research Triangle Park, is physically located in RTP. However, the Park is encompassed on three sides by the City of Durham and thousands of lodging guest rooms. The Park is only four miles from Downtown Durham and its lodging as well.
What food specialty is in Durham?
Durham is increasingly recognized for its colony of nationally acclaimed chefs. There are nearly two dozen restaurants that have earned stellar national or regional reviews. Many specialize in the adaptation and evolution of regional neo-American (Southern) cooking, but Asian, French, German, Jamaican, and Mediterranean styles are represented as well.
Durham is home to several restaurants well-known for North Carolina barbecue. In Durham, you can get both the Eastern North Carolina style (with chopped pork and a clear sauce of vinegar, pepper, and salt) and the Western North Carolina style (with chopped or sliced pork with a red sauce that includes ketchup and sugar along with the other ingredients).
Is it hard to find hotel rooms in Durham?
No, Durham began 2005 with 60 lodging properties and more than 7,000 guest rooms; an additional eight properties and 1,000 guest rooms are currently in development. You shouldn't have any trouble.
In Durham is it easy to get around?
The community is very compact. While Durham is North Carolina's fourth-largest city, the county is the state's 17th-smallest land unit. Research Triangle Park is only four miles and Duke University just two miles from Downtown Durham. Durham is served by taxicab, rental car, and intracity public transit services. (One caution: Roads in the Southeast are rarely on a grid system, so a Durham map is a must. Click here to receive visitor information by mail.)
What town should I stay in when visiting Research Triangle Park (RTP)?
RTP is based in Durham. While a small part now spills into Wake County, all of the hotels and restaurants in or encompassing the Park are in Durham County.
What are the must-sees in Durham?
There are many things to see and do, but when time is limited, don't miss
- Duke University Chapel and Sarah P. Duke Gardens
- Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University and North Carolina Central University (NCCU) Art Museum
- Bennett Place, Duke Homestead, and Stagville State Historic Sites
- Magic Wings Butterfly House, Museum of Life and Science, and West Point on the Eno City Park
- Brightleaf District and Ninth Street Shopping District
- Duke and NCCU campuses
- Durham Bulls Athletic Park and Cameron Indoor Stadium
