Courtesy Visit Durham
The cloying scent of tobacco—earthy, sweet, and spicy—once hung heavy in downtown Durham, where red-brick warehouses harbored the leaves that would become Lucky Strike cigarettes and the famed Bull Durham tobacco that gave “Bull City” its moniker. Today those warehouses are upscale apartment buildings, entrepreneurial centers, and trendy shops—all of which means this former manufacturing hub in the Research Triangle no longer plays third fiddle to Chapel Hill and Raleigh. With a dynamic food scene, a thriving arts community, and its internationally renowned universities and medical center, Durham now has the whiff of an edgy city that still feels like a friendly, small(ish) town. Upshot: You don’t have to be a Duke fan to be bullish on Durham.
ARTS ENTHUSIAST
Courtesy Visit Durham
GAZE
Duke University’s Nasher Museum of Art features an impressive permanent collection and rotating contemporary art exhibits that shine in Rafael Viñoly’s modern architecture—a striking contrast to the campus’s gothic wonderland.
Courtesy Ella West Gallery
PERUSE
At one end of Durham’s historic Black Wall Street (Parrish Street), Ella West Gallery presents contemporary works by diverse artists from around the world. Opened in 2023 and North Carolina’s only Black female–founded fine art gallery, it’s deeply rooted in Durham’s history.
Courtesy 21c Hotel
DREAM
An art museum with luxe mattresses and plush robes? Check us in! The 21c Museum Hotel transformed a former high-rise bank building (the vault now a basement bar where banquettes nestle among safe-deposit boxes) into a boutique hotel with 10,500 square feet of curated art gallery space.
Courtesy Visit Durham
SCAVENGE
The Scrap Exchange is a community gathering space, maker’s mart, and reuse heaven, with blue barrels overflowing with fabric, paint, doll heads, bottle caps, and empty CD cases ready to be turned into works of art. Not crafty? Peruse the Artist Market for handmade gifts and art.
GROOVE
Velvet sofas. Amber lighting. Classy cocktails. Missy Lane’s Assembly Room is an intimate jazz bar for music lovers. Tucked in a historic downtown storefront with soaring plate-glass windows, this chic lounge serves jiving ballads and bites—hint: Aunt Fannie’s deviled eggs are right on key.
PERPETUAL STUDENT
Courtesy Duke University
DISCOVER
With a range of interesting items, from rare Audubon folios to Virginia Woolf’s writing desk, Duke University’s David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library is equal parts museum, art gallery, and tourist-friendly field day.
READ
Elevate your IQ at the locally owned Regulator Bookshop. This cozy, longtime Ninth Street anchor, crammed full of must-reads, is Durham’s go-to for books by Southern authors, comics, zines, postcards, and cheeky stickers (a nod to this college town’s progressive bent).
Courtesy Conniption Bar & Lounge
EXPERIMENT
The mixologists at Conniption Bar & Lounge, Durham Distillery’s on-site cocktail bar, are chemistry wizards. Consider this your lab practicum and Conniption Gin your trusty study partner. To feed your brain (and balance the booze), try the spicy Gochu chicken meatballs.
Courtesy Nanas
SAVOR
At Nanas, get schooled in Southern foodways, particularly in how well they pair with French and Italian cuisine (decadent twice-baked grits souffle, anyone?). This beloved 30-year-old establishment shuttered for a spell, but it’s back full force, with a refreshed Grandma’s-gone-glam décor.
Courtesy Pauli Murray Center
BE INSPIRED
The late Pauli Murray—an attorney, author, poet, educator, and the first Black American female ordained as an Episcopal priest—was pivotal in school desegregation and a co-founder of the National Organization of Women. Visit the Pauli Murray Center to learn more about her life and impact.
OUTDOORS LOVER
Courtesy Visit NC
ROAM
The American Tobacco Trail runs right through Durham, offering 11 miles of buffered greenway stretching from downtown to Jordan Lake. Feeling energetic? The full trail extends another 10-plus miles to the town of Apex.
Courtesy Saltbox Seafood Joint
GO FISH
Hold your bait. At Saltbox Seafood Joint, North Carolina fishermen have done the fishing, sustainably. Grab an outdoor picnic table and indulge in Chef Ricky Moore’s back-to-basics seafood. It’s a classic roadside fish camp, where the ultra-fresh menu changes daily and the hush puppies are practically mandatory.
Courtesy Visit NC
WANDER
The Sarah B. Duke Gardens is a must-stop (and smell the roses) on any visit to Durham. The 55-acres of horticultural artistry includes terraced ornamental gardens that change seasonally, cherry allées, and a ramble-worthy arboretum, as well as a picturesque Japanese garden where visitors can experience a traditional tea ceremony.
STAY AND GO
Outdoor enthusiasts who also appreciate marble soaking tubs can have both at the Washington Duke Inn. The dog-friendly property offers tee times at the 18-hole Duke University Golf Club, gratis guided stargazing sessions, and easy access to the three-mile Al Buehler Trail through Duke Forest.
Courtesy Visit Durham
CHEER
The Durham Bulls Athletic Park is to the minor leagues what Fenway is to the majors—an iconic stadium for sunset savoring and good ol’ American Triple-A baseball. Made famous by the 1988 Kevin Costner film Bull Durham, the Bulls deliver a good show, with or without Hollywood.
This article appears in the Spring 2025 issue of Southbound.
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