Chapel Hill is easily one of the prettiest college towns in the country. Home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, it’s filled to the brim with cultural experiences all ages can enjoy.
The downtown is pedestrian-friendly (with free parking on Sundays), so you can easily walk to many of the spots on this list. But you’ll also want to venture beyond downtown to see the nature escapes that make this city unique.
From a zen session with baby goats to a woodland wonderland that serves coffee and pastries, here’s what to do when you visit Chapel Hill with family.
Paperhand Puppet Project
Photo by Todd McPhail
Kicking things off is one of the most unusual, must-do experiences in town: seeing a show by the Paperhand Puppet Project. A summer tradition in Chapel Hill for the past 24 years, the puppetry theater troupe performs in the aptly named Forest Theatre, bringing to life a fantastical yet familiar world under a cathedral of trees.
Leave behind everything you thought you might know about puppetry. Their current show, “Earth and Sky, A Great Gathering for All Beings,” blends dance, music, and puppetry at its grandest, from elaborate masks to giant puppets on stilts to shadow play. The team creates each puppet themselves, a process that takes months, and their ingenuity will astound you.
Photo by Todd McPhail
With a lilting, almost poetic script but a storyline easy enough for kids to grasp, this is an all-ages show. There’s even a dash of audience participation — indeed, we were all howling, wolf-like, at one point — and I can tell you (without spoiling the end) that this gathering of all beings has some unexpected guests.
Year after year, Paperhand intrigues and enlightens. If you’re curious, go!
When to see it: The show runs through Sept. 29, in Chapel Hill, but they’re also taking it on the road to Asheville in November. To see all their upcoming performances, check out their calendar of events.
Spring Haven Farm
There is regular cute, and then there’s baby-goat cute. These are not on the same plane. You’ll know this if you visit Spring Haven Farm for their 50-minute Baby Goat Zen session.
It’s open to all ages and includes exclusive time with itty bitty goats. Our new friends, Augie and Gus, were only 2 weeks old. They give the gentlest head butts, though Augie was more the cuddler while Gus was rather inclined to skip. No real reason for said skipping, probably just the joy of being a baby goat. There’s comfortable seating and photo opportunities galore as you hold, feed, and watch the kids cavort. Skip the spa. This is the wellness experience you need.
Elsewhere on the farm, you can hobnob with horses, highland cows, pigs, chickens, and bunnies. And more goats.
There are also loads of fun activities, ranging from gem mining and ax throwing to farm-themed crafts and games. Check their calendar to see what’s on: movie nights, goat yoga, and more. If you’re in town mid-September through Halloween, sign up for pumpkin carving — with goats, of course.
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Carolina Coffee Shop
Chapel Hill is famously home to the oldest continuously operating restaurant in North Carolina. Located in the heart of downtown, the Carolina Coffee Shop opened in 1922, its brick and wood interior hung with historic photos and still drawing crowds of locals daily.
The daily brunch, particularly the cornflake-encrusted, strawberry-topped French toast, is popular, but we were feeling more lunch-ish and chose the BLTCA at a recommendation from our server — toasted bread sandwiching some excellent bacon, sharp cheddar, and avocado that was more than satisfying, particularly with the addictive pub fries on the side.
Their salad lineup is impressive too. I had trouble choosing, but I’m glad I picked the Parisian, with accents like pumpkin seeds, parmesan, and lemon tamari dressing that elevated this dish far above diner fare.
Lunch entrees start at $9, making this an affordable meal out for the whole family. There’s also a full bar serving creative and often coffee-infused cocktails.
On their hundredth anniversary in 2022, they opened a coffee shop next door, called 1922, that serves exceptional coffee along with pastries from a local bakery. I tried the Tar Heel Latte (when in Rome…) with butterfly pea flower that gets it pretty close to the right shade of Carolina blue. It’s a smooth cup of joe, and the blueberry muffin was lightly sweet, making a nice afternoon pick-me-up.
Tar Heel Escapes
Want to test your wits while having an absolutely exhilarating experience? That’s Tar Heel Escapes’ specialty. They lock you in a room where you’ll need to uncover clues, solve puzzles, and crack codes to escape in 60 minutes or less. Unlike most other escape games, every booking is a private booking, meaning it’s just your group.
The rooms are cleverly designed with layers of details and fun theming, a little like stepping inside a movie. In one, you’re a team of NSA agents diverting a hacker. In another, you’re trying to claim a kingdom while avoiding a dragon’s curse. In yet another, you’re diving to an enchanted shipwreck.
We did “Raiders of the Lost Temple,” searching for the fabled temple of Kukulcan. We got inside the temple! But we didn’t quite escape in time. This room is a challenge, but the variety of puzzles will keep you guessing and guarantee everyone has something to contribute, whether you’re better with ciphers or kinetic clues or just noticing things that seem a little out of place.
Open to ages 12 and up, the games are ideal for family team-building, especially if you want to get your teens involved in something they’ll find cool. And you’ll be talking about the game long after you leave, whether you escape or not.
Caffè Driade
Cozy, whimsical, and cultured, Caffè Driade is a place to linger. The Italian name suits, with its European cafe vibes and natural setting — it’s easy to believe a dryad might inhabit the woods surrounding Bolin Creek. Tables are scattered around the grounds, half-blending into the foliage. A trail begins on the lower terrace and disappears into the trees.
In winter, they have heaters and fleece blankets, but a summer afternoon here, kept cool in the shade, is pretty much bliss. It’s not just the setting though, the cafe is serious about their coffee. The owner, a World Coffee Championships Certified World, travels the globe to bring the best coffees to Chapel Hill. They’ve even been featured on the Food Network.
Indulge in their dreamy espresso-laden Driade Shake, or try the sparkling ginger beer cold brew (pictured below) for a refreshing treat. Both are excellent as are their lattes.
They also offer beer, wine, tea, and delicious pastries from a local bakery as well as seasonal offerings like blue matcha lemonade and a warm harvest spice latte. Check their Instagram for highlights and deals.
Fun fact: Caffè Driade has brewed over 5.5 million cups of coffee since opening in 1995.
Cat Tales Cat Cafe
This spacious two-story cafe on Franklin Street, the main thoroughfare downtown, is the perfect (OK, I’ll say it — purrfect) place to kick back and relax on your visit to Chapel Hill.
The Cat Tales Cat Cafe serves up coffee, beer, wine, and cuteness from 12 resident cats who roam the lounge cage-free.
It’s a haven from the outside world, filled with feathery string toys, cat-themed coffee table books you can browse, and cats that are keen to play or be petted, depending on their mood. Some just sleep, looking adorable, and that’s OK too. It’s the best cat cafe of the dozen-plus I’ve been to Stateside. Our hour elapsed before we knew it.
Be sure to book online before you go. The place is popular, so they do fill up. If you’re looking to bring kids under 7, book a family session with all eight spots and you’ll get the room to yourself!
As a bonus, it’s all for a good cause. You’re helping support the mission of Cat Tales to find forever homes for all their adoptable kitties.
Tea Hill
Boba, aka bubble tea, has long since become a global phenomenon, but it was invented in Taiwan, and you can enjoy this classic drink at Chapel Hill’s very own Taiwanese tea shop, Tea Hill.
And when I say flavor variety, I mean it. Winter melon. Lavender matcha. Brown sugar. Peach oolong. How can one choose? We tried a fruit tea and milk tea of their recommendation. The velvety black milk tea boba had a creamy, almost caramel finish (my favorite). The passion fruit green tea with lychee jelly was bright and spring-like (my husband’s favorite). We ordered both at half sugar, which let the tea flavors shine through, but you can do lots of customizations, adjusting sweetness, ice, milk substitutes, and toppings like pineapple jelly, pudding, cream cheese, and, of course, boba.
While the drinks are the star here, the food is solid. We enjoyed the fried Taiwanese popcorn chicken with its zesty, peppery flavor, accompanied by plump rice, broccoli, and an exquisitely seasoned hard-boiled egg. To round things out, we got an order of Thai chili tofu, a sweet and savory fried treat that pairs well with your tea.
Fried tofu snack at Tea Hill in Chapel Hill
Their calm, wood-accented tea shop is open till at least 9 p.m. daily, making this the ideal dinner spot. They also offer Taiwanese snow ice, though we were plenty full from our meal and didn’t try it.
Fun fact: Owner Julia Chiu, who learned how to expertly brew tea at a young age, sources tea leaves from the Miao Li fields where she grew up.
Parks and Gardens of Chapel Hill
As you may have noticed, there are plenty of greenspaces in Chapel Hill. It’s not just the Forest Theatre inside Battle Park or the Bolin Creek Trail outside Caffè Driade. There’s the Gene Strowd Rose Garden Park, featuring seasonal blooms and a large playground. Downtown, you can walk to the Coker Arboretum. For something a little more rugged, hit up the 296-acre Johnston Mill Nature Preserve with its creekside trail and mill ruins.
But personally, I liked the North Carolina Botanical Garden best. Spanning over 1,000 acres, it features themed gardens of wildflowers, herbs, carnivorous plants, and more, including a Children’s Wonder Garden that has places to dig, build, and get hands on. Fall may be the best time to go for the sculptures on display and the annual NatureFest in October, designed especially for kids 10 and under.
Bonus: All the places above are free!
Ackland Art Museum
Speaking of free, be sure to visit the Ackland Art Museum. It has over 21,000 works of art, a portion of which are on display in the various galleries so you’ll always see something new when you go. Exhibits range from ancient earthenware to contemporary photography, Edgar Degas to Andy Warhol. We saw a South African bride’s ceremonial apron made from leather and beads and took selfies in the reflective pARC installation outside.
For serious art enthusiasts, they also offer a number of activities open to the public, many of which are free or have only a nominal fee to attend. Coming up, there’s stamp carving, print-making for ages 6-9, a guided tour of their new temporary exhibition, an artist talk, and more. Check their calendar of events to see what’s on offer.
About the Author
Cheryl Rodewig is storyteller, marketer, and award-winning feature writer specializing in travel. Her Venn diagram includes minimalism, waterfalls, French, and the em dash. Find her at cherylrodewig.com or on Twitter at @cherylrodewig.