Getaway: Research Triangle, N.C.

For food alone, the brain-powered triplet cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill make a tempting weekend escape; Bon Appétit crowned Durham–Chapel Hill “America’s Foodiest Small Town” in 2008. But the region also boasts crackling cultural and music scenes—Durham is home to indie label Merge Records—and gets a jolt next month from the expansion of Raleigh’s North Carolina Museum of Art. STAY Raleigh An easy drive from strategic points Chapel Hill and Carrboro, the Umstead is the region’s most indulgent hotel. It may feel a tad corporate (the five-diamond-rated property was built by the founders of local software colossus SAS), but warmth comes from a coddling staff, lush grounds, and quirky art in public areas. You’ll also find intimacy at its temple-quiet spa, where body treatments such as the Red Flower Hammam Tibetan Ritual are as sensuous as they sound. For rootsier charm, there’s Chapel Hill’s circa-1924 Carolina Inn. Successive ...