Top Reasons to Go to Richmond, Fredericksburg and the Northern Neck

Soak up art from around the world: Richmond's Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the most outstanding museum in the region, has among its treasures the Mellon collections of British sporting art and French impressionist and postimpressionist art—and those precious five Fabergé eggs.

Reflect at the somber Petersburg National Battlefield: On the site where more than 60,000 Union and Confederate soldiers died during the siege of the city, today a 1,500-acre park is laced with several miles of earthworks and includes two forts.

Combine Revolutionary history with architecture appreciation: Stratford Hall Plantation is the birthplace of the legendary Robert E. Lee, the only person to be a general in both the Confederate and Union armies. Built in the 1730s and the center of a 1,600-acre working plantation, it's one of the country's finest examples of Colonial architecture, and offers wonderful views of the Potomac River to boot.

Return to Colonial days at Fredericksburg's Kenmore: The mansion was built in 1775 on a 1,300-acre plantation owned by Colonel Fielding Lewis, a patriot, merchant, and brother-in-law of George Washington. Among the gems here are the outstanding plaster moldings in the ceilings and over the fireplace in the dining room—even more ornate than those at Mount Vernon.