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Sights and landmarks in Chapel Hill

13 sights worth seeing in Chapel Hill: landmarks, galleries, monuments and viewpoints.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

Sights and landmarks in Chapel Hill

  1. See

    Ackland Art Museum

    A local art museum with art from all over the world, including a great Asian art collection, as well as a lot of space devoted to traveling exhibits, which have hosted some surprisingly big names in art.

    Wed Fri Sat 10AM-5PM, Thu 10AM-8PM, Sun 1-5PM, Mon Tue closedFree

  2. See

    Battle Park

    A local park which preserves a natural wooded canyon and a small creek east of campus that makes for a lovely retreat from the town. Walking trails run along the creek at the bottom of the canyon and up the hills into the residential neighborhoods lining the park. There are also a couple of historic structures in the park.

    Free

  3. See

    Carolina Basketball Museum

    Located next to the Dean Dome, this museum chronicles the history of Tar Heel basketball. Be sure to check out Michael Jordan's letter to archrival Coach K, which informed the Duke basketball coach that young Jordan would be taking his talents to rival institution UNC Chapel Hill.

    Tue-Fri 10AM-4PM, Sat 9AM-1PMFree

  4. See

    Coker Arboretum

    A beautiful garden with a wonderful vine pergola along Cameron Avenue.

  5. See

    Forest Theater

    A scenic little outdoor amphitheater that holds occasional performances.

  6. See

    Gimghoul Castle

    Little-known, a small stone castle in the woods at the end of Gimghoul Road which serves as the headquarters for a college secret society.

  7. See

    Morehead Planetarium and Science Center

    One of the oldest and largest planetariums in the United States, and the first ever built on a U.S. college campus. Traditional planetarium star shows, original multimedia productions, live science demonstration shows and more. In front of the building is a large sundial surrounded by a lovely rose garden.

    Tue-Sat 10AM-3:30PM, Sun 1-4:30PMExhibits free; planetarium shows $7.25 adults, $6 children/students/seniors

  8. See

    Morehead–Patterson Bell Tower

    An impressive brick clock tower which chimes on the quarter-hour.

  9. See

    NC Botanical Garden

    A set of lovely display gardens, with a great native plant collection arranged to illustrate the distinct plant habitats of North Carolina, including carnivorous plants and lovely flowers and butterflies. Also has nature trails nearby.

    Tue-Sat 9AM-5PM, Sun 1-5PMFree

  10. See

    North Carolina Collection Gallery

    Inside the prominent reference library building on campus, the gallery is home to changing exhibits on the history of the university, showcasing artifacts from the library's collection.

    Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM, Sat 9AM-1PM, Sun 1-5PMFree

  11. See

    Old Chapel Hill Cemetery

    Has many gravestones from throughout the history of Chapel Hill, some of which are nearly 200 years old.

  12. See

    The Pit

    The center of activity on campus is a small plaza between the bookstore, the student union, a dining hall, and a library. On school days, The Pit becomes crowded with tables for student organizations, activists and demonstrators giving speeches, or performers making use of the sunken courtyard in the middle of the space.

  13. See Not mapped

    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

    Often considered one of the best public schools in the United States, UNC is also one of three schools that claim to be the oldest public university in the US. While it was the second public university to receive a state charter (in 1789), after the University of Georgia, it was the first public university to start classes (in 1795) and graduate students (1798). The campus is divided into three sections: North (between Franklin Street and South Road), Middle (between South Road and the UNC Hospital and Manning Drive) and South (from Manning Drive south, including the UNC Hospital). The North campus, the oldest, is quite scenic, with plenty of brick buildings and beautifully landscaped. The main quad runs north-south through the North campus and is lined with lovely academic buildings, and is home to the, a small rotunda modeled after the Temple of Love of the Palace of Versailles, and, built in 1793 and the oldest building on the campus (now a highly in-demand residence hall).

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Chapel Hill (CC BY-SA 4.0).