Hi everyone!!
I have never been to Virginia before and planning to to there in soon so I was wondering, what's there to see in Virginia. I've searched the web and there's alot of museum and historical site to see but what's best in Virginia?

Thanks.

The Shenandoah Valley is breathtakingly beautiful when the dogwood are in bloom, probably sometime in April. I still miss them.

Other interesting things to do? Well, our son was conceived on a trip to VA about 22 years ago.

What's best? Nature and history - beaches, mountains, Civil War and Colonial spots. What are your particular interests?

I agree with the above poster - let us know what interests you specificially and you'll get plenty of suggestions about things to do and see. Do you know where in the state you want to visit, or are basing where you'll go on what's in that area that interests you? I live in the southeastern part of the state and can tell you what I like best around here. Post back here with specifics.

Monticello is just fascinating -- it has something for everyone.

Otherwise, I agree wtih the above posters -- it's such a big state with so many things, especially historic, it's hard to narrow down without more details on your preferences. "Best" is so subjective!

So much to do here; I agree with the other posters, it depends on your interests. You might want to check out another thread by Toni who's planning a trip to DC and VA. There are a ton of great suggestions for all sorts of different things to do in VA (civil war sites, Monticello, museums, wineries, fruit picking, hiking...). A lot also depends on the time of year.

Great state, lived there for 10 year. Many things are similar to what you might see somewhere else, but still worth doing, Skyline drive is very nice, particalurly in the Fall, Spring or Summer; Williamsburg is neat, Old Town Alex and Mt Vernon are fun.

However, Monticello is something that you probably could not find anything quite like it anywhere else. It is the most interesting historical residence, by a long shot, that I have been to in 40 years.

1. Skyline Drive.
2. Monticello.
3. James Monroe's house, not far from Monticello.
4. Many battlefields. Bull Run, Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Cold Harbor.
5. Mount Vernon.
6. Highland County, up near the West Virginia border, is very beautiful.
7. Jamestown/Williamsburg
8. Confederate museums in the Richmond area.
9. Appomattox.
10. Both George Washington and Robert E. Lee were born in old-style plantation homes in Prince George County in the Northern Neck.

OK, I'll say it. Monticello does not live up to the hype. It's a UNESCO World Hertiage Site, but we were in & out in under 2 hours. Great location and the house is beautiful, but I'd go to Mount Vernon over Monticello any day.

Virginia Tourism has a great book that you can order (free)------The Virginia Travel Guide---call 1-800-847-4882

Wow, Va, something for everyone, I guess. We could have spent the whole day at Monticello, we thought it was far more interesting than Mt. Vernon. We took 3 separate tours -- house, garden, and slave quarters/history -- then went to see the family cemetery. Even my adolescent son was fascinated by Jefferson's lifestyle, philosophy, and history. We have spent a total of about 3 weeks on various vacations around VA, and Monticello was one of our favorite experiences.

Don't forget Busch Gardens and Water Country, USA, near Williamsburg! It was a great bribe to use on the kids when we told them we were going to DC and Williamsburg. Also neat for the whole family is (are?) Luray Caverns. The whole area around Monticello is outstandingly lovely -- I abandoned the family one sunny day to drive down some beautiful backroads to see "Walton's Mountain." I know it sounds cheesey, but it was kind of neat. Virginia Beach is also fun for a family, in a honky-tonk sort of way. We had a great Virginia vacation and look forward to going again.

Huh, interest question? Sightseeing, have to agree that are lots of museums we'll probably going to visit some of them. Many people said something about Monticello and Shenandoah Valley, where's that? I'm not much into theme park.

How many in your party and any kids, if so what are their ages? HOw much time are you planning to spend exploring Virgina? Which part of the state were you planning to visit? Will you be driving in from another state or flying in and then renting a car? All this info will affect advice. Virginia is BIG geogrphically and public transportation is very limited outside urban areas. For transportation info, to order free maps go to VA Dept of Transportation website at http://virginiadot.org
Virginia Department of Tourism is at http://www.virginia.org
I would recommend concentrating on one region, unless you have several weeks and time to travel all over. Here are my recommendations based on region:
southeast: Norfolk - Nauticus, art museum, McArthur Mall; Newport News - Mariners Museum; Hampton: Langley visitors center/ Science Museum; Williamsburg: Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, Busch Gardens theme park; From Williamsburg following the James River inland: historic plantations on Route 5 in Charles City County, and south of the James in Prince George County. Central VA: Richmond: Museum of Confederacy, Poe Museum, Science Museum, Maymont Park with gardens, animals, miles of walking paths, and it is FREE!, Tredegar Iron works which is now National Park Service headquarters for historic Richmond; HOpewell - Civil War era attractions; Petersburg - Center Hill Mansion and Blandford Church and Cemetary. Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula: historic Gloucester & Mathews, Irvington and White Stone, Westmoreland and Montross - lovely drives in rural Virginia where people work the water every day and pace of life is much slower. I could give info on lots of other areas but as you can see it would help if you narrow down where you want to go. You can drive from DC to Richmond in 3 hours or less if traffic isn't bad, from Richmond to VA Beach is about 3 hours or less, from Richmond to Charlottesville is 90 minutes, if you are going to far southwest VA the drive can be 5 to 8 hours depending on where you are going. Also do you prefer urban or rural touristy or WAAY out of the way? I can give directions to Studley, Frog Level, and Vontay, and also how to get to where Stonewall Jackson's arm is buried. (The rest of him is buried in Hollywood Cemetary in Richmond but the arm got amputated and buried near the battlefield) and tell you about some tiny stores that have good barbecue sandwiches and OK restroom facilities.

It'll be a party of 3. Just going during the good friday weekend. We coming from Philadelphia. Until now we haven't decide where exactly we want to go but Joy in Virginia give us a very good idea how we can spend our time in Virginia.

Thank you everyone. Really appreciated it.
Le