5 Best Sights in Central North Carolina, North Carolina

Part of the University of North Carolina, this tribute to native plants includes wildflowers, shrubs, trees, ferns, and grasses of the Southeast. Other highlights include nature trails that wind through a 300-acre Piedmont forest, a green education center, and an impressive collection of herbs and carnivorous plants.

The permanent holdings at this impressive museum include 19,000 works, with one of the Southeast's strongest collections of Asian art. There's an outstanding selection of drawings, prints, and photographs as well as Old Master paintings and sculptures. The museum hosts regular lunch panels, film forums, and guest lectures. Be sure to say hello to the museum's namesake, William Hayes Ackland, whose modernist tomb is on-site.

The original Apollo astronauts trained here, at one of the largest planetariums in the country. A $9.2 million renovation, completed in 2020, expanded the exhibition areas. You can see planetarium shows, science demonstrations, and interactive STEM exhibits for children and adults.

Franklin Street runs along the northern edge of the campus, which is filled with oak-shaded courtyards, stately old buildings, and tucked-away gems like the mystical Forest Theatre and the gorgeous Coker Arboretum. Regarded as one of the top public institutions in the United States, UNC-Chapel Hill is also one of the country's oldest public universities and was the first to admit students (it opened its doors in 1795). To this day, it remains the very heart of Chapel Hill, which has grown up around it for more than two centuries.