Downtown Raleigh (Photo credit: Mark Turner)

Raleigh (pronounced ‘ra-lee’) is the capital of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the “City of Oaks” for its many oak trees. It is the second most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, with an estimated population of  380,000. Since 2006, it has been the 15th fastest growing city in the United States.

Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill make up the three historically primary cities of the Research Triangle metropolitan region. The regional nickname of “The Triangle” originated after the 1959 creation of the Research Triangle Park, located between the cities of Raleigh and Durham. Raleigh is situated in central North Carolina and anchors the eastern corner of the Triangle. The Triangle is home to many colleges and universities and high technology companies. The city is featured prominently in a number of “Top 10 Lists,” including those by Forbes, MSNBC and Money Magazine, due to its quality of life and business climate.

WWW2010 will be held at the beautiful Raleigh Convention Center, which opened to the public in September 2008. The convention center is located in the heart of downtown Raleigh and steps away from two major hotels, restaurants, arts and entertainment. Directly adjacent to the Convention Center is the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, a complex that houses the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, the Fletcher Opera Theater, the Kennedy Theatre, and the Meymandi Concert Hall. The Arts Center is home to the North Carolina Symphony, The Opera Company of North Carolina, and Carolina Ballet. Raleigh is also home to the North Carolina Museum of Art, which is located about a 10-minute drive from the Convention Center. The Art Museum is undergoing a spectacular 127,000 square-foot expansion scheduled to open in April 2010.

Raleigh enjoys a temperate subtropical climate, with generally moderate temperatures during spring. During April/May the average daytime high is between 72-79ºF (22-26ºC) and nighttime low between 48-57ºF (9-14ºC).

A helpful way to plan your visit is to use the visitRaleigh web site. Visitors traveling to Raleigh by domestic or international air carriers will fly directly or connect to Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU). RDU is conveniently located 14 miles from downtown Raleigh.