Duke Physician Assistant Program Admissions Blog
Our class of 2026 will be coming into town to check out Durham and the Duke PA Program building in a few weeks, so we thought what better time than now to refresh our I’m Visiting Durham: What Should I Do? blog post!
Durham is a city with a lot to offer. Whether you are a prospective applicant checking out the area for the first time or an incoming student in town to look for housing, there is plenty to do and see (and eat!) while you’re here.
What else can you do if you visit Durham and find you have a few hours to spare?
Attending shows at Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) is great, though most performances will require advanced planning. Baseball games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park (DBAP) are a seasonal Durham staple. Catching a show at Motorco is fun if there is a band you like playing.
We wanted to go beyond the obvious, so we asked our students, faculty, and staff, and have listed a few lot of their suggestions here, along with some other highly-rated Durham landmarks and businesses.
While our list features quite a few Black-owned restaurants and businesses, you can find a more comprehensive list here.
**The Duke PA Program does not officially endorse or vet these activities or businesses**
Check out our location
800 S. Duke St -- in the Morehead Hill neighborhood
While the Duke Physician Assistant Program does not do public or program interest tours (we do host a welcome weekend in the spring for accepted applicants), you can still plan your route around town to include driving by our building. It’s a great way to see how close we are to all the action! The website Open Durham has a detailed (if outdated – the PA Program has been in this building since 2009) history of the location.
Education and History
To learn more about the city’s history, consider visiting the Museum of Durham History, located downtown.
Historic Stagville -- This historical site centers the experiences of enslaved people in what was once the largest antebellum plantation in the state. For a nominal fee, you can take a guided tour and have the lives, families, culture, labor, and extreme hardships of those who lived here interpreted with accurate historical context.
Museum of Life and Science – If you are here with kids and have a day to spare, this science museum is a must-visit attraction. (Pssst, we’ll let you in on a secret: there’s plenty for adults to enjoy, as well). There are interactive exhibits, demonstrations, and classrooms inside the museum building, but the outdoor area is where it truly shines. There is a hidden park of tree houses and a river (bring a change of clothes!), a large “Into the Mist” play area, a dinosaur trail, a farmyard, and habitats for wolves, lemurs, and bears. You can also take a train through the woods and grab a lunch featuring locally-sourced ingredients.
West Point on the Eno -- This 404-acre historic park located north of downtown features history lessons and miles of hiking trails. Tour the working Grist Mill, the 1850’s McCown-Mangum House, and the Hugh Mangum Museum of Photography. If you happen to be in town over the fourth of July, the Festival for the Eno is a two-day music and craft festival hosted since 1980 by The Eno River Association, a non-profit dedicated to protecting the Eno River basin.
Whistle-stop tours -- In partnership with the The Hayti Heritage Center and The Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice, these walking tours (bus tours are available upon request) celebrate “the band of Black men and women coming out of slavery — the forefathers and foremothers of Durham’s Black Wall Street, Hayti, and West End neighborhoods — so that they may be elevated and their successes emulated.”
Recreation
The fact that Durham is just a few hours from the mountains and the coast is a great selling point. But we have a ton of great outdoor activities right in the Durham area!
Avery Family Farm – Few things say “'Durm” more than yoga, but with goats. There are several places around that offer a delightful chance to stretch out with these quirky ruminants. Avery Family Farm (formally Hux Family Farm) is a woman-owned farm near Falls Lake that offers yoga, horse and goat snuggle sessions, and a variety of homemade products.
American Tobacco Trail (ATT) -- ATT is a 22-mile rails-to-trails project that crosses through the heart of Durham that is within walking distance to the PA Program building.
Duke Forest – Owned and operated by Duke University, Duke Forest covers more than 7,000 acres in three counties. While it is primarily used for teaching and research, it also features a number of hiking trails.
Eno River State Park -- Located 10 miles northwest of downtown, this state park spans multiple access areas along the Eno River and is a popular local hiking destination. The Few’s Ford access is also a popular swimming area.
Falls Lake State Recreation Area – Located 15 miles east of downtown Durham, Falls Lake offers swimming, biking, hiking, fishing, kayaking, and camping. Some hiking trails connect to the Mountains-to-Sea Trail
Food
It would be impossible to list all the great food in Durham, a city once named “the foodie capital of the South” by the NY Post. Regularly featured in the national news for our culinary focus, it’s no surprise that a list of “Things to do in Durham” is very heavy on the food options.
If it’s a nice day out, you’ll be hard-pressed to drive far in Durham without coming across one of the ubiquitous food trucks that prowl our town serving delicious eats. Sometimes, the trucks gather in what we call a “food truck rodeo,” which is Durham for “lots of good food in one place.” Some trucks that have visited our parking lot over the years include Bulkogi, Sister Liu, Soom Soom Pita Pockets, Chez Moi, Bamboo Cookhouse, Tacos Las Gringas, Qspresso, Dang Good Dogs, Boricua Soul, Will and Pops, Mister Mongolian, Only Burger, Locopops, and Pelican’s SnoBalls.
In addition to being a foodie town, Durham is home to an impressive number of breweries, many of which either serve food or have frequent food trucks. If you want to show off your knowledge, you can find trivia most any night of the week. A lot of our bars are dog friendly, and many allow children before a specified time of the night. The number of establishments with non-alcoholic beers and mocktails is steadily increasing.
Most restaurants and breweries have outdoor seating, if the weather cooperates (and it frequently does in North Carolina!).
Most locations on this list are within two miles of the Duke PA Program
American Tobacco Campus (Read about its history here)
Boricua Soul -- Find “Southern soul, Caribbean flair, Euro-African roots” in these fusion empanadas
Mellow Mushroom – Favorite pizza restaurant with classic and unique pies
Parker and Otis -- Sandwich and gift shop featuring a variety of local merch, quirky gifts, and specialty cooking items.
Clouds Brewing -- 50-tap brewery with a German-inspired menu
James Joyce -- Irish pub
The Federal – Classic Durham restaurant/bar
Beyu Caffé -- Downtown coffee shop and restaurant
Boxcar Brewery and Arcade -- Grab a drink and some pizza while you play arcade games, both classic and modern. Boxcar also features an outdoor area with a large firepit.
Bull City Burger and Brewing -- Farm-to-fork restaurant focusing on homemade burgers, hotdogs, and veggie burgers.
Dame’s Chicken and Waffles – Chicken. Waffles. What more is there to say about this fantastic combination?
Fullsteam Brewery -- Highly-rated classic brewery featuring a wide selection of locally-brewed beers and food options.
Hi-Wire Brewing – This brewery-with-pizza on the edge of downtown is a student favorite
Krill - Students’ suggestion for Asian fusion
Luna Rotisserie and Empanadas -- “South American meets American South” in this empanada shop. Food is served quickly, so this is a great option when time is short.
Mezcalito - Student-recommended Mexican restaurant
The Parlour – After dinner, make your way to The Parlour for delicious homemade ice cream and then snap some selfies with Major the bull
Ponysaurus Brewery - Local brewery with a large outdoor area and pizza
Roof of the Durham Hotel – Featuring beautiful sunsets and panoramic views of Durham
Viceroy -- Modern Indian dishes and craft cocktails
Elmo’s Diner -- A beloved diner that is great for families
Mad Hatter Coffee Shop -- Located near Duke’s east campus, this is a great place to have brunch and get some studying done
Monuts – At the other end of the 9th St district, check out Monuts for interesting donut flavors and biscuit sandwiches
Elsewhere around town
Cocoa Cinnamon – If you find yourself outside the main tourist areas in Durham, there are two locations in addition to the downtown café
Lakewood Social -- This new restaurant features wide-open spaces and a huge fenced back yard. Perfect for families or relaxing with friends
Fosters Market – Breakfast, sandwiches, and gifts
Saltbox Seafood Joint – You know a restaurant is good when it’s the size of a postage stamp but has a line to the parking lot
Thai Café -- Our students had a few favorite Thai restaurants, but this was the one most mentioned
Barbecue/bbq/bar-b-que
Sometimes it feels like to really belong in North Carolina you have to pledge allegiance to two things: a basketball team and a style of barbecue. That’s why this famed culinary argument gets its own section.
A primer:
Eastern NC barbecue is known for being “whole hog” and generally has a vinegar-based sauce. For this style, check out Picnic.
Lexington NC barbecue is specifically pork shoulder and the vinegar-based sauce has a touch of tomato. For this style, check out The Original Q Shack.
Luckily, here in Durham we get the best of both barbecue worlds. Most restaurants will give you a variety of sauces. Make sure to load up on slaw, hushpuppies, and sweet tea while you’re at it.
Other places to shop
Bright Black – A local company “using scent as a medium and candles as a platform for sharing positive narratives about Blackness.”
Bull City Fair Trade – A nonprofit fair trade gift shop with a focus on ethical, environmentally conscious, and sustainable goods
Chet Miller and Tiny -- Owned by the same folks as Parker and Otis, Chet Miller has a more eclectic selection and Tiny is geared towards babies and kids
Perkin’s Orchard -- The oldest and largest produce market in Durham. In addition to fresh fruits and veggies you can take home local products such as cider, jams, and honey
Regulator Bookshop -- Every town needs a local bookshop where you can browse aimlessly for hours – this is ours
Duke
Duke Chapel - This Collegiate Gothic style chapel situated in the center of Duke’s campus is one of the tallest buildings in Durham County and a must-see landmark. While you are there, take a walk around to explore the rest of Duke’s Gothic and Georgian architecture
Duke Lemur Center -- While Durham’s mascot is the bull, the lemur is a pretty popular species around town. The Duke Lemur center’s mission is to protect, conserve, and educate others about the most endangered mammals on earth. The center offers scheduled in-person tours during warmer seasons
Duke University Stores -- Duke offers a number of university stores that include a variety of official Duke merchandise
Krzyzewskiville -- You know how we said moving to NC means pledging allegiance to a basketball team? Basketball is big business in the triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill). It's so big that during certain parts of the year you can find students camped out in front of Cameron Indoor Stadium in hopes of getting into a game. The area around the stadium is named after recently-retired head coach Mike Krzyzewski, and just as he was frequently called "Coach K" this tent city is regularly shortened to K-ville. Undergraduates camp out sporadically for tickets to individual games. Graduate students camp out for a whole weekend in September to have a chance at a limited number of season tickets. We told you it was serious business. If you are confused on how to pronounce Krzyzewski, go watch this commercial that had us all rolling in the early 90s.
Nasher Museum of Art -- Across the street from Duke Gardens, you’ll find Nasher Museum of Art. Dedicated to innovative and accessible collections, exhibitions, and programs
Sarah P. Duke Gardens -- These 55 acres of specialized gardens in the heart of Duke University welcome more than 600,000 visitors per year
Did we leave off your favorites? Do you have a strong opinion on barbecue? Let us know in the Facebook comments!
The Duke Physician Assistant Program Admissions Blog presents information based on the experiences of Duke PA Program staff and faculty. While the information provided is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication, requirements can change. Please visit the Duke PA Program website for the most up-to-date information.