The Big List

Two days of unlimited beer and bourbon tastings, barbecue from vendor tents, and live music at Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary; kids 12 and under get in free.

Devil Dogz host the Wilmington Sharks again at Five County Stadium -- cheap Coastal Plain League summer baseball on a Saturday night.

Salamanders host the Martinsville Mustangs for Jeep Night at North Main -- cheap tickets, laid-back Coastal Plain League Saturday ball.

Devil Dogz close their inaugural season with Fan Appreciation Day against the Yorktown Coconuts at Five County Stadium -- cheap tickets, kids run the bases after.

Salamanders close it out with Fan Appreciation Night against the South Wake Shakes at North Main -- cheap tickets, giveaways all game.

The Southeast's biggest farmers market, open rain or shine every day of the year — peaches by the flat in July, collards and sweet potatoes all winter, and a proper biscuit at the market restaurant when you're done.

A garden cemetery from 1869 where seven governors and four Civil War generals rest under old oaks, and locals walk it like the park it basically is. Pick up a self-guided tour map at the office and take your time.

A retro pop-culture dance club in Coglin's old Fayetteville Street space — 80s and 90s dance parties, drag shows, and Thursday karaoke on a proper sound system.

More than 300 whiskeys at the foot of Glenwood, across from the original Char-Grill. Locally owned, patio out front, open until 2am — a whiskey nerd's living room.

A record shop upstairs, a rock club below, and bands on stage most nights since 1997. Get there before doors to flip through the vinyl, then stay for whoever's rolling through town.

Free, four floors, and the only real Acrocanthosaurus skeleton on display anywhere — all under the giant glowing globe you can spot from the street. The default rainy-Saturday answer for anyone with kids.

A 247-cap room above Martin Street with floating walls and two decades of Raleigh's best, weirdest bookings. Take a chance on a band you've never heard of — that's the point.

Sixty beds of roses behind Raleigh Little Theatre with a WPA-built amphitheater sunk in the middle, free and open dawn to dusk. Blooms run May to the first hard freeze — bring takeout and claim a bench.

Free admission to a legitimately world-class collection — a whole gallery of Rodin bronzes — plus 4.7 miles of park trails threading past giant outdoor sculpture. The rare art museum where half the crowd shows up in running shoes.

A Warehouse District barcade packed with pinball and rows of classic cabinets next to a long craft tap list. Open 365 days a year — the easy answer for a big group night.

The two-mile paved loop is North Raleigh's town square — herons at dawn, strollers by nine, and a long view down the water from the dam. Playgrounds at both ends for the kids.

Raleigh's long-running neighborhood gay bar — free karaoke Sundays and Mondays, drag shows, country dancing, cheap drinks. Come as you are; everyone does.

Ride the glass elevator to the AC Hotel's seventh-floor rooftop for Spanish-leaning tapas, cocktails, and panoramic Midtown views. Golden hour is the move.

A stone-walled basement under Fayetteville Street pouring bourbon and craft cocktails since 2009. Rotating pop-up kitchens, moody lighting, open until 2am every night.

Ashley Christensen's flagship in a 1945 pie-shop space, menu chalked on the wall and the famous macaroni au gratin worth planning around. Grab a seat at the double-horseshoe counter if you can.

Raleigh's big-occasion steakhouse since 1960, all rough barn timber above one of the country's largest wine cellars. Save room for the chocolate chess pie — everybody orders it, and everybody's right.

The basement hideaway under Kings — custom cocktails with handmade syrups, DJs late, karaoke on Wednesdays. You go down for one drink and surface at 2am.

A free self-guided chocolate factory wander that smells like heaven, ending in a café. Pairs perfectly with poking around the Warehouse District.

Glenwood South's live-music bar: bands on the downstairs stage and a DJ up on the rooftop patio every weekend night. The chicken tenders at midnight are part of the deal.

The seventh-floor rooftop at the mouth of Glenwood South — dual-sided fireplace, year-round heaters, and a straight shot of the downtown skyline. A dependable date opener.

Brick, timber, and 300-plus whiskies from around the world, paired with Southern plates in the Warehouse District. Open until 2am Fridays and Saturdays.

A no-frills downtown rock hall that's booked national and regional acts across every genre for decades. Balcony rail upstairs or right up front on the floor — pick your ritual.

More than 350 taps across two floors — downstairs pours only North Carolina, upstairs covers the rest of the planet — with the Guinness World Record to prove it. Weekends fill fast; go early and get the patio.

Fifty-six hundred acres of real forest wedged between the city and the airport — hike the Company Mill loop past the old grist-mill stones, then cool off with a rowboat on Big Lake in summer.

Duck downstairs off Blount Street into a candlelit, 6,000-square-foot ode to the Prohibition speakeasy. Leather chairs, serious cocktails, live jazz nights, open late.

Raleigh's comedy institution since 1983, now in the Village District. National headliners in an intimate showroom with dinner and drinks — weekends sell out, book ahead.

West Raleigh's default after-work walk — a wooded three-mile loop with a boardwalk over the water, plus kayak and paddleboard rentals by the waterfront center in warm months.

A 2.8-mile loop where long wooden boardwalks run right over the lake — turtles, herons, and the best golden-hour reflections in North Raleigh. Park at the Ray Road community center.

A colorful, plant-strung cocktail room where you can design your own drink and zero-proof orders get the same exquisite respect. From the Bittersweet crew, with a cozy patio.

The sprawling LGBTQ+ club complex that has anchored Raleigh nightlife since 1991 — dance floor, drag stage, patio. Moving two blocks to a new home, same legendary energy.