Attractions
Monticello- Numero uno Charlottesville's history site. Home of Thomas Jefferson, this house is depicted on the reverse side of the nickel. Draws nearly half a million visitors each year. Even if you've already toured the house, the grounds offer impressive flower, vegetable, and fruit gardens. HookTip
UVA Grounds- Widely considered the most beautiful college campus in the world. Free tours depart from the Rotunda basement by UVA's famous Lawn. Designed by Thomas Jefferson as the heart of his so-called "Academical Village," the Lawn's centerpiece is the Rotunda.The man himself lived to see it open in the summer of 1825. Seventy years later, the Rotunda burned to its brick shell, then was "restored" by architect Stanford White, and restored again to Jefferson's essential design in time for the American Bicentennial in 1976. Free guided tours of the Rotunda and Lawn include a peek at Edgar Allan Poe's room, #13 of course. Tours meet daily (except during the winter when students are on vacation and the first of May until after graduation) at 10 and 11am, and 2, 3, and 4pm inside the main entrance of the Rotunda. 924-1019
Parking around UVA- Enjoying UVA is easy once you've found a map and a place to park. Visitors to the University can purchase a Temporary Blue Permit from the Parking and Transportation Office. The Culbreth Road Garage offers visitor parking for a fee, or free parking after 5pm and all weekend. There are also a number of meters around grounds, but finding one may be easier said than done. If nothing's available in any of the lots, the best bet is to check the open lots in and around the Corner, or look for street parking.
The Corner- At this enclave of shops, bars, and restaurants surrounding the university, parking is tighter than anywhere else in town, but the streetscapes are lively, and the shops are eclectic.
–>>See our special section on UVA.
Downtown Mall- One of the few pedestrian malls in America that actually works, it's the commercial and artistic hub of the city. A nine-block stretch of bricks with about 50 restaurants and lots of shopping, it's the place to see and be seen. The nTelos Wireless Pavilion (245-4910) at the Mall's East End plays host to all sorts of musical entertainment, from B.B. King, to Willie Nelson, to ZZ Top, to Sheryl Crow, to Arcade Fire, to Fridays After 5. The business group that runs the Mall is the Downtown Business Association of Charlottesville. 295-9073
Walking tours of downtown are offered at 5:30pm Saturdays at 10am April to October by the Albemarle-Charlottesville Historical Society at 200 Second St. NE. $5 suggested donation. 296-1492
Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society has a small museum in its foyer at 200 Second St. NE (the marble-columned building facing Lee Park). Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; Sat 10am-1pm (office closed). 296-1492/296-7294
–>>See our special section on Shopping.
Main visitors center- It's operated by the Charlottesville/ Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau, and it's located at the east end of the Downtown Mall (293-6789), in the new Transit Center near the Pavilion, largely a brochure-distribution spot. Open 9-5 daily, closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Ditto for UVA's visitors center on Ivy Road. 924-0311.
>>See Kid Stuff section for more.
>>See Art Galleries section for more. Montpelier- Located just north of town in Orange County, James Madison's home re-opened in 2008, after a five-year effort to restore the home to its original 19th Century conditions. To learn more about this Fourth President and "Father of the Constitution," there are mansion tours offered between 9:00 and 5:00 (or until 4:00 between November and March) every day of the year except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Adults $16, kids 6-14 $8, kids under 6 are free. 540.672.2728 x100
Ash Lawn-Highland- Located anywhere else in the country, the home of President James Monroe would be the town's biggest claim to fame. Standing here in the shadow of Monticello (and Montpelier), it's often omitted from the big tours. But as fans of foreign relations doctrines can attest, this "Era of Good Feelings" president was an important one. Tours 9am-6pm Apr-Oct, 11am-5pm Nov-Mar. $12 adults, $6 kids ages 6-11. Locals get in for $5, or free with full-paying nonresident visitors. 293-8000
Michie Tavern- An actual old tavern that dates from the 1700s, this building was moved 17 miles from Earlysville at about the time Monticello re-opened in the 1920s and offers a traditional Southern fried chicken lunch served by staff in Colonial garb. Open 9am-4pm daily with free tours for locals (lunch served 11:15am-3:30pm April-October, 11:30am-3pm November-March). Located just this side of Monticello on Rt. 53. 977-1234
Environment- It may not be in the heart of the Rockies, but Charlottesville has more than its fair share of outdoor and environmental opportunities. The Rivanna Trails Foundation, as part of its campaign to build a footpath around the city, sponsors all sorts of hikes and work days (923-9022), as do the folks at the Ivy Creek Foundation (973-7772). If you're looking for a little more action and adventure, the Outdoor Adventure Social Club of Greater Charlottesville sponsors outdoorsy trips all over the Blue Ridge and beyond. 760-HIKE
–>>See our Sports and Recreation section for more.
The Miller Center- Studies and informs the national and international policies of the United States with a special focus on the American Presidency. Offers frequent 11am free weekday forums with leading scholars and policymakers such as former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. 2201 Old Ivy Road. 924-7236
Revolutionary War- British General Banastre Tarleton camped here for a while after almost capturing Jefferson, but a speedy 27-year-old horseman named Jack Jouett heard about the plan at Cuckoo Tavern in Louisa and hustled to Charlottesville to warn the Governor. Jefferson, after waiting for his horse to be shod, sped to safety at Blenheim (estate of Champe Carter adjoining Monroe's home, Highland). There was no southern Longfellow to give Jouett the Paul Revere treatment, so except for Monticello and a few houses here and there, there's not much to see locally except a plaque honoring Jouett in Court Square and a middle school named after him.
Civil War- Charlottesville had just one little skirmish in the "recent unpleasantness," at Rio Hill (now a shopping center), when George Custer burned down a bridge over the Rivanna River. Charlottesville does have a few monuments, including equestrian statues of Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee in the middle of their namesake parks downtown– not to mention the obligatory pair of cannons at the County Courthouse.
Wineries galore- See our Wine Section.
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