Virginia

ABOUT VIRGINIA

VIRGINIAcertainly offers variety: its beaches catering to family fun, two world-renowned theme parks – Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Paramount’s King’s Dominion – as well as other water parks and zoos, a rich heritage, museums from aerospace to zoology, golf from the Atlantic Ocean to the Blue Ridge Mountains, shopping from factory outlets to craft shops, its country roads dotted with antique shops and auctions, and every type of outdoor activity.

Located in the Southwest Blue Ridge region, ABINGDON is a Virginia Historic Landmark; Morgan McClure Motorsports Museum & Souvenir Center is a "must see" for all NASCAR and racing fans, and the Virginia Creeper National Recreation Trail is a 34-mile scenic railroad bed converted into a recreational trail.

The history of ALEXANDRIA reads like a Who's Who of American History. Attractions include Fort Ward, housing a Civil War collection, George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens and Gunston Hall, the home of George Mason, father of the Bill of Rights.

ARLINGTON National Cemetery is a shrine to the women and men who have died for their country, including the Tomb of The Unknowns and John F. Kennedy’s gravesite; other attractions include Newseum, which takes visitors behind the scenes to see and experience how and why news is made, and The Pentagon where free tours are available.

Located in the Southwest Blue Ridge region near Wytheville, visitors to BASTIAN can experience a palisaded aboriginal village dating back more than 700 years at Wolf Creek Indian Village & Museum.

The Twin Cities of BRISTOL are in Virginia, on the north side of State Street, and in Tennessee, on the south side. Recognized by the U.S. Congress as the “Birthplace of Country Music” , Bristol pays tribute to its heritage with a downtown mural, monument and museum; the home where Tennessee Ernie Ford was born is garnished with mementos.

CHARLOTTESVILLE in Central Virginia is home to three U.S. presidents and their estates: Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, James Monroe's Ash Lawn and James Madison's Montpelier, all within miles of each other.

CHINCOTEAGUE ISLAND, Virginia's only resort island, is famous for its oyster beds and clam shoals. Chincoteague is the gateway to the Assateague Island National Seashore, a barrier island, and the Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge.

Among the historic FREDERICKSBURG attractions are the Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville Battlefield visitor centers, the Fredericksburg Area Museum And Cultural Center, George Washington's Ferry Farm, the boyhood home of George Washington, and Kenmore Plantation & Gardens, a Colonial mansion.

At the Virginia Air & Space Center, HAMPTON, the visitor center for NASA Langley Air Force Base, visitors can find such space-age artifacts as the Apollo 12 Command Module and a three-billion-year-old moon rock.

The entire downtown LEXINGTON- ROCKBRIDGE is listed as Historic Places. The pre-Civil War Stonewall Jackson House is the only home that the famous Confederate General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson ever owned. The Virginia Military Institute Museum illustrates the history and traditions of the Institute. South of Lexington is Virginia's premier natural tourist attraction, The Natural Bridge including the Nature Park, Caverns, and Wax Museum.

LOUDOUN is located less than an hour's drive from bustling Washington D.C. in the heart of horse country and foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Near LYNCHBURG Walk is Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest, his plantation home-away-from-home. East of Lynchburg at Appomattox visitors can relive the drama of the closing days of the Civil War at the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park and follow Robert E. Lee’s retreat on a 26-stop automobile tour.

To the west of Lynchburg there are 218 historic buildings in BEDFORD, but visitors can go back even further in time at Holy Land USA, a 250-acre replica of the Holy Land and Bible Lands.

MANASSAS National Battlefield Park was the site of the first major Civil War battlefield (also known as the Battle of Bull Run) and of the Second Battle of Manassas.

A scenic and rural outdoor recreation destination in the Blue Ridge Mountains, NELSON COUNTY is 35 minutes southwest of Charlottesville. Bordered by the Blue Ridge Parkway with 30 miles of scenic roads, overlooks and trails, Nelson County teems with vineyards and orchards, streams for anglers, and watchable wildlife. Rich in history, Nelson County is home to the elegantly restored Oak Ridge Estate, and to Wintergreen Resort, an 11,000-acre four season resort.

The Mariners' Museum in NEWPORT NEWS has the Crabtree Collection of Miniature Ships and artifacts from the USS Monitor, the Virginia Living Museum is a combination of a native wildlife park, science museum, aquarium, botanical preserve and planetarium – all in one setting.

At the 400-year-old seaport NORFOLK visitors can see the National Maritime Center, tour the Norfolk Naval Base Tour, or stroll around the 20 themed gardens of the Norfolk Botanical Garden.

In PORTSMOUTH there are tours of the Olde Towne historic district or an Olde Towne Trolley Tour past 18th and 19th century homes, Revolutionary and Civil War sites, the oldest operating naval hospital in America and other sights.

The streets of the capital RICHMOND, in Central Virginia, are filled with museums, churches, hotels and historic houses. The Civil War Trails interprets 250 Civil War sites. The Museum of the Confederacy is the leading center for the study of the Confederacy and the American Civil War. Richmond National Battlefield commemorates eleven different sites associated with the Civil War. South of Richmond at PETERSBURG visitors can relive the final days of the Civil War at at Petersburg National Battlefield and at Pamplin Park Civil War Site.

In ROANOKE A restored early 20th century warehouse, Center in the Square provides space for several independent cultural organizations. Other Roanoke attractions include The Roanoke Valley, Crossroads of History museum and Virginia’s Explore Park, an early American settlement.

Located along the historic Great Road of Virginia, the Salem Museum in SALEM traces the growth of a community from its Native American origins.

There are a number of caverns to explore in SHENANDOAH VALLEY and SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, including Luray Caverns with a Car and Carriage Caravan Museum, the Skyline Caverns at Front Royal, the Shenandoah Caverns and near Strasburg the Crystal Caverns at Hipps Hill; Stonewall Jackson’s Headquarters Museum is at Strasburg.

The Frontier Culture Museum, STAUNTON, is a unique international living history museum of American and European heritage.

TAPPAHANNOC dates back to a 17th century port settlement; by following the markers visitors can take a historic tour of Essex County.

VIRGINIA BEACH is a 310sq.mile vacation playland. At the Old Coast Guard Station two galleries depict the history of the life-saving service, shipwrecks off the Virginia coast and other exhibits. Another attraction is the Virginia Marine Science Museum.

The George Washington Birthplace National Monument in WESTMORELAND memorializes George Washington. Nearby, at Montross, is the Westmoreland State Park. The Stratford Hall Plantation was the ancestral home of Richard Henry Lee and Francis Lightfoot Lee, signers of the Declaration of Independence, and of General Robert E. Lee.

The story of America's past comes to life in Virginia's Historic Triangle: WILLIAMSBURG, JAMESTOWN and YORKTOWN. 18th-century Colonial Williamsburg is the world's largest outdoor living history museum. Jamestown Settlement explores the world of America's first permanent English colonists and their Powhatan Indian neighbors. Exhibits and film tell the story of the Revolutionary era at the Yorktown Victory Center. Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a 17th-century European-themed park.