A Perfect Weekend in Durham, NC If You Love Craft Beer & Being Active
Let's take a quick trip down memory lane, shall we? When Mel and I launched Work For Your Beer in December 2016, we both lived in the same city: Charlotte, NC.
Since then, my husband Andrew and I have moved to Richmond, VA which, sadly, is a 4.5-hour drive from Charlotte.
But luckily for Mel and I, the halfway point for us is Durham, NC — a city with fantastic food and a bustling beer industry, as well as an amazing arts and culture scene.
Thinking of taking a trip to Durham? Keep reading for our top recommendations on where to stay and what to eat, drink, see, and do while you're there.
WHERE TO STAY
There's no better place to stay in Durham than in the heart of downtown, which is exactly where 21c Museum Hotel is located.
This unique spot is way more than just a hotel with luxurious guest rooms — it's also a multi-venue contemporary art museum offering more than 10,500 square feet of art-filled exhibition and event space,and home to Counting House restaurant.
21c (which stands for 21st Century, by the way!) partnered with architecture and interiors firm Deborah Berke Partners to introduce modern innovation to the historic Hill Building’s Art Deco glamour.
In fact, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the design team preserved the foyer’s green marble and silver leaf ceiling as well as the terrazzo floors throughout.
The 125 guest rooms are spacious with high ceilings, large windows, and custom furnishings, providing a respite to the stimulating and active museum spaces below.
While we didn't bring our pups along, this hotel is pet-friendly, so we could've brought Mel's corgi, Pancake or my Great Pyrenees, Luna!
We didn't get the chance to check out the spa, sauna, or steam room, but we were grateful to find a 24-hour fitness center. We were also very happy to learn that they offer valet, because parking in a city gives both of us anxiety.
We stayed in a deluxe king room for our extended weekend trip, complete with a massive rain shower (be still, my heart!) and Malin + Goetz toiletries that smelled amazing.
One thing we were particularly excited about when booking our stay here was the current exhibition on site at the museum (January 2020 through June 2021) is THE FUTURE IS FEMALE, which we wandered through for hours.
As 21c put it, "the broad range of media and subject matter presented reflects the ongoing influence of the art of the second-wave women’s liberation movement, which engendered unprecedented cultural change, shifting art-making out of the isolated studio and hallowed institutions into both more intimate domestic and broader public spheres."
We were also lucky enough to nab reservations at the hotel's restaurant Counting House (a name that pays tribute to the building's original function as a bank — definitely ask for a tour of the vault while you're here!). The food here is incredible! You can check out the menu here. We shared the Mussels Marinières and the Vegetable Risotto, and both were so good that we could easily have eaten that every night we were in town and been perfectly happy.
All of the components of the building (the room, the lobby, the museum galleries, and the restaurant) were extremely clean, and their COVID-19 safety protocols made us feel totally safe for the duration of our stay.
You can book a room here and thank us later!
WHERE TO EAT
BREAKFAST
LUNCH
DINNER
DESSERT
WHAT TO DO
GET OUTSIDE
SHOP 'TIL YOU DROP
EXPLORE THE ARTS
Cheers to beer travels, near and far!
We're forever planning our upcoming adventures — always to somewhere with an awesome craft beer scene! Any suggestions for our next trip? Shoot us a message at cheers@workforyourbeer.com if you have any ideas, and be sure to tag us at @workforyourbeer if you swing by any of these spots during your next visit to Durham.