Location: Durham
Top Things to do in Durham
Things to do in Durham, North Carolina (NC): The Best Fun Activities & Games
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 251,893 as of July 1, 2014, making it the 4th-most populous city in North Carolina, and the 78th-most populous city in the United States. Durham is the core of the four-county Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Area, which has a population of 542,710 as of U.S. Census 2014 Population Estimates. The US Office of Management and Budget also includes Durham as a part of the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Combined Statistical Area, which has a population of 2,037,430 as of U.S. Census 2014 Population Estimates.
Restaurants in Durham
1. Bull City Escape
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 184 reviews
Bull City Escape is an exhilarating, interactive experience designed to test your wits. The premise is simple: small groups are locked in a room and have 60 minutes to escape. To find the key, you must work together to unearth clues, solve puzzles, and crack codes. Book a room with your friends, family, or co-workers – and see if you have what it takes to escape!
Reviewed By Cuse10VA - Albany, United States
This is the second time I have been to Bull City Escape, and it was just as fabulous as the first. I have completed both the Enchanted Kingdom and the Murder Mystery escape rooms and they were both highly interactive, engaging, and FUN. Not only do the rooms reflect a passion for the stories, but the staff are interactive and informative. Luckily the team I was part of escaped both times, but even if we hadn't the experience would still have been great. I highly recommend Bull City Escape as a go-to Durham destination.
2. Let's Roam Durham
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1 reviews
Let’s Roam is an adventure and tour company committed to helping curious explorers discover new things and connect with others. Through digitally-guided scavenger hunt tours, scavenger hunts, virtual games, team building activities, and custom events, Let’s Roam guarantees memory-making experiences at your fingertips.
3. NC Escape
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 189 reviews
Welcome to NC Escape - a cooperative, real-life mystery space where nothing is as it seems. You and your team are on a mission. You have 60 minutes to escape by solving a series of puzzles that will challenge your mind and confound your senses. Explore, adapt, work together, think creatively -- and you just might succeed.
Reviewed By hudson_NC9812
What a fun way to spend date night! We wondered into NC Escape on a spontaneous date night and were not sure what to expect. The staff helped a choose an experience suitable for couples and, though pretty low tech, the puzzles kept us thinking and the jump scares had us laughing. We needed a few clues along the way but we finished and the time went by really quickly. We would definitely recommend.
4. Augmentality Labs
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 16 reviews
The Triangle's first virtual reality arcade! Step into Augmentality Labs, and you immerse yourself in VR by casting spells, blasting zombies, or exploring new worlds. Come for a birthday or a weekend hangout. The possibilities are limitless!
Reviewed By N353HOconniek
Family played multi-player games for an hour session, this was the right amount of time for us. Recommended game worked very well and was great fun - another game had some problems joining as multiplayer - so I would ask for advice on best games for what you want to do. Staff was very nice and helpful. Interesting part of town - next time we'll plan to visit a restaurant within walking distance afterward. Great experience! Everyone should try at least once!
5. Escape On Purpose
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 36 reviews
Escape On Purpose is a real-life escape game for groups of 2-10 people. Work as a team,testing your skills to escape the room in under 60 minutes.Work together by finding clues, solving puzzles and conquering challenges. At Escape On Purpose you CHOOSE 1 of 3 CHARITIES to which part of your game fee will be donated ESCAPE for FUN. GIVE on PURPOSE. We are an anti- COVID destination! We wear our masks, wipe down our surfaces, offer hand sanitizer and schedule adequate time between our escapes for disinfection. When you sign up we also block our rooms for JUST YOUR GROUP so that you can play safely and with confidence that you are protected. So come and play for a good cause (supporting a worthy charity) and to get out to do something SAFE and FUN- we could ALL use that!
Reviewed By MaisyNC
Escape on Purpose is our favorite escape room in the area. The details they put into designing the rooms are incredible. We just completed the new room Mission:Submarine Attack. Incredible design work where you feel like you are in an actual submarine. The owners are very friendly and create a great experience. I've done escape rooms in other cities and states and Escape on Purpose is in my top 3. We are looking forward to the new room coming in October/November.
6. Urban Axes Durham
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 396 reviews
Reviewed By roemeister - Georgetown, United States
About 30 of our employees were in Durham for work at Duke University Health and took a break one evening to have fun. Urban Axes was perfect for us, and gave plenty of time for interaction, fun, and a bit of friendly competition. Every person had a blast.
7. The Green Room
8. Durham Central Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 34 reviews
Durham Central Park is a 5-acre city-owned park that is operated by Durham Central Park, Inc. a 501c3 non-profit organization. DCP Inc. holds a management agreement with the City of Durham to manage, develop and sustain this unique urban oasis. Durham Central Park is located in the 500 block of Foster Street (both sides of the street) between Corporation and Hunt Streets. To find it with GPS, use 501 Foster Street, Durham NC 27701. The mission of Durham Central Park is to create and sustain a unique urban park to engage the Durham community. We accomplish this mission by focusing our efforts on Natural Beauty, Public Art, Community Events, and Recreation.
Reviewed By kwix - Durham, United States
There is a skateboard park here, and it's fun to watch the boarders of all ages -- but I'm not a boarder myself, so I can't say whether it's a good facility -- but it looks nice. There is also a place that demonstrates ironworking -- although its future is uncertain, since the foundry had to move. Otherwise, Central Park is not a particularly exciting place by itself. What makes it exciting are the things that happen there: festivals, food trucks, public events -- and of course the weekly (and in summer semi-weekly) Durham Farmer's Market (Saturday mornings; in the summer, Wednesday afternoons too). This is a great place to browse and find veggies, herbs, plants, meats, flowers and all manner of things. Plus there are many vendors of food and drink at the market as well. More than anything else, Central Park is a place to meet people and share the experience of Durham.
9. Mission X Escape
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 34 reviews
Mission X Escape is a real life escape game in Durham, NC with 3 distinct theme rooms, Mirage, Vampire Manor and Butcher Shop that contain exciting role-play storylines for players to solve puzzles, riddles and finding clues that test their teamwork and strategy skills to escape the room!
Reviewed By 792vivianp - Carrboro, United States
We all had fun! We worked together and used clues to find our way out of rooms. Family of 5 with two teenagers. The game kept their interest and they begged to go back. We completed the Vampire room. It wasn't too scary, so younger children can play.
10. Notasium
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 7 reviews
Notasium is a music-based play space and music school where our goal is to awaken the love of music in children of any age. Come and play in our 3,000 square foot play space for open play or a birthday party, enroll in group music classes or individual music lessons like piano lessons, guitar lessons, drum lessons and even lessons for various woodwind and brass instruments.
Reviewed By EwanderingMan - Hendersonville, United States
My wife and I were entrusted with the care of our two granddaughters, ages 4.11 and 2.9, while Mom & Dad were traveling outatown. So it was incumbent upon us to keep the tykes safe... and BUSY! We had once before been to the Notasium with the little ones’ Mom, so we decided to take them back to a place they had enjoyed so much. The Play Space at the Notasium is, well... FUN! The establishment’s focus is on music - lessons and such are available for older children - and the theme to the play space is also music. But what fun music it is! I enjoyed playing scales and simple tunes (well, Do Re Mi is about the limit of my repertoire) on a few simple, but cleverly designed, musical “instruments.” The synthetic percussion synthesizer in the Beat Room was a lot of fun also. Oh... the kids... yeah... they like to climb the “guitar scale” and slide down the musical slope, and they REALLY enjoyed bouncing in the “bounce room.” They finally outlasted my energy level and I had to buy a cup of coffee at the counter and sit and watch all of the proceedings. This is a great place to bring small children on a rainy day... but on this sunny day Grandma & I were certainly glad to cool off and let the kids have at it! Oh... and the admission price for the Play Space is great... the old folks get in FREE, and for $ 14 for our two little ones ($ 8 for first child, $ 6 for her sibling) is very reasonable for enjoying the fun in an educational environment.
