Getting In, Getting Around Raleigh

Fly in to Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

Interstate 40 goes to points west including Durham, Chapel Hill, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and Asheville. Two hours east on I-40 is Wilmington.

Within the I-440 Beltline are mostly fashionable older neighborhoods and the NC State University area. This clash between "Town" and "Gown" has been of growing concern during the late 1990s early 2000's. The North Raleigh neighborhoods are aligned along what Raleigh residents refer to as the "Spokes of the Wheel," major thoroughfares emanating from the I-440 Loop and terminating along the northern edge of the still under construction I-540 loop. Downtown Raleigh provides easy travel and access through its grid of one-way streets. If you're just passing through, the major thoroughfare is Capital Boulevard (US 401), which splits into Dawson Street heading south and McDowell Street heading north. From the west, it is Hillsborough Street, interrupted midway by the state Capitol building. To the east, it continues as New Bern Avenue (US 64).
The I-440 Beltline can also be confusing: remember that the Inner Beltline runs clockwise; the Outer Beltline counter-clockwise. It's important to know that you must exit I-440 in order to stay on I-440 in some situations.