In the middle of the Research Triangle (with Durham and Raleigh), Chapel Hill is home to the University of North Carolina. The school was founded in 1793 and is the oldest state-supported university in the U.S.
A typical college town, Chapel Hill, located 30 mi/48 km northwest of Raleigh, swells by 35,000 more residents when school is in session. Take time to tour the campus and be sure to visit the North Carolina Botanical Garden.
Much of the city's entertainment and socializing caters to student life. That said, Franklin Street and surrounding streets are filled with restaurants, bars, bookshops, coffee houses and music venues that satisfy all tastes.
Morehead Planetarium and Science Center and the University's Ackland Art Museum are examples of intellectual sightseeing opportunities—befitting of a university town—available to the area.
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