268 Best Sights in Virginia, USA

Two miles east of Middleburg is the Chrysalis Vineyard, a 412-acre-and-growing vineyard dedicated to producing both old- and new-world varieties of wine and hoping to revive interest in the fabled Norton, a grape native to Virginia. The owner maintains she'd rather grow the world's best Norton than the 400th best cabernet. Wine tastings here emphasize the educational experience, as volunteers present each wine in detail to tasters. The entire experience takes about 45 minutes. Afterward, buy a bottle of wine and snag a picnic table near the tasting tents. Grills are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Chrysalis is also host to a number of music festivals throughout the year, including a jazz festival in May and the Norton Wine & Bluegrass Festival the first weekend in October.

By any standard, the Chrysler Museum of Art downtown qualifies as one of America's major art museums. The permanent collection includes works by Rubens, Gainsborough, Renoir, Picasso, Cézanne, Matisse, Warhol, and Pollock—a list that suggests the breadth available here. Classical and pre-Columbian civilizations are also represented. The decorative-arts collection includes exquisite English porcelain and art nouveau furnishings. The Chrysler is home to one of the most important glass collections in America, with objects from the 6th century BC to the present and particularly strong holdings in Tiffany, French art glass, and English cameo, as well as artifacts from ancient Rome and the Near and Far East.

The history of City Point includes a Revolutionary War skirmish and 10 months as General Ulysses S. Grant's Union headquarters during the Civil War, from which he directed the Siege of Petersburg. It's free to take the open-air, self-guided museum walking tour of 25 wayside exhibits and Grant's Headquarters. The City Point Early History Museum is in a former U.S. Navy church, St. Dennis Chapel, and can be visited by appointment.

This is the logical first stop at Colonial Williamsburg. Here you can park free; buy tickets; see a 35-minute introductory movie, Williamsburg—the Story of a Patriot; and pick up This Week, which has a list of regular events and special programs and a map of the historic area. Tickets are also sold at the Lumber House in the historic area, though you'll get a better price if you buy in advance from the Historic Williamsburg website.

Located about 3 miles northwest of Wolf Trap, this operating gristmill dates from the first decade of the 19th century, although the country store was added in the early 20th century. In addition to the restored gristmill, there are two exhibit rooms inside the miller's home. It offers tours every hour on the hour, with the last tour leaving at 3; educational programs; special events; and occasional outdoor concerts. You can picnic on the grounds, feed the ducks, and learn about America's technological roots. The Colvin Run Mill General Store originally served the local community and today offers penny candy, freshly ground cornmeal and wheat flour, and various old-fashioned goods. The mill itself usually operates Sunday afternoon from April to October. Call ahead to see if conditions permit grinding.

This moderately difficult 2½-mile hike guides visitors east- and west-facing viewpoints with distinctly different rewards. A gentle ascent along the iconic white-blazed Appalachian Trail first leads to a concrete trail marker. A short westbound spur trail reveals a rocky outcrop at Compton Peak for spectacular views of Dickey Ridge and Massanutten Mountain. An eastbound spur trail delivers visitors to a curious hexagonal-patterned geological feature made of greenstone lava and basalt called a columnar jointing. Hiking time is about two hours. Moderate.

This cemetery contains the remains of more than 2,000 soldiers (most of them unknown) as well as the graves of generals Dabney Maury, Seth Barton, Carter Stevenson, Daniel Ruggles, Henry Sibley, and Abner Perrin.

Built in 1887 by Confederate veterans, this tiny nondenominational chapel behind the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts was once part of the old Confederate soldiers' home. A video and displays of Confederate memorabilia pay tribute to the soldiers.

The original Courthouse of 1770 was used by municipal and county courts until 1932. Civil and minor criminal matters and cases involving slaves were adjudicated here; other trials were conducted at the Capitol. The stocks once used to punish misdemeanors are outside the building: they can make for a humorous photo opportunity. The courthouse's exterior has been restored to its original appearance. Visitors often participate in scheduled reenactments of court sessions.

A series of cascades fall a distance of 1,200 feet. Combined, Virginia claims this is the highest waterfall east of the Rockies, though no single waterfall within the series would qualify as such. Whatever the superlatives or qualifications, the falls are a wondrous sight. A trail winds up a steep mountainside all the way to the top, but the first overlook is an easy stroll 700 feet from the lower parking lot. The best time to see the waterfalls is winter through spring, when the water is high.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks and operated by the historical society, the Daniel Harrison House is named for Dayton's first settler and is the oldest house in the town. It's also called Fort Harrison, a nod to its fortified stone and frontier style. Costumed interpreters discuss how the furnishings—beds with ropes as slats and hand-quilted comforters—were made. Artifacts on display come from recent excavations undertaken adjacent to the house.

This rocky 1½-mile hike guides visitors parallel to a flowing stream all the way to the tumbling cascades of Dark Hollow Falls, a 70-foot waterfall that's among the most popular sights in the park. It's all uphill on the return, so plan accordingly. Hiking time is under two hours. No pets allowed on this trail. Moderate.

This museum adds another cultural dimension that goes well beyond Colonial history. Grouped by medium are English and American furniture, textiles, prints, metals, and ceramics that date from 1600 through 1830. If you're yawning at the thought of fancy tableware, stop: presentations here tend to be creative and surprising. Prizes among the pieces in the collection are a full-length portrait of George Washington by Charles Willson Peale and a royally commissioned case clock surmounted by the detailed figure of a Native American. You enter the museum through the Public Hospital.

Explore nature-oriented exhibits and a large topographical map of the park. Pick up a Junior Ranger activity booklet for kids ages 7 to 12 to complete to be sworn in as a Junior Ranger and earn a badge. Savor the views from a west-facing landing behind the visitor center that attracts plein air painters on clear days when you can see for miles. Restrooms are located in a separate building adjacent to the visitor center.

The spine of Colonial Williamsburg's restored area is the broad 1-mile-long Duke of Gloucester Street. Some Saturdays at noon–2:30 pm, the Fifes and Drums Corps marches the length of the street and performs a stirring drill (check the website for dates). Along this artery, or just off it, are two dozen attractions. Walking west on Duke of Gloucester Street from the Capitol, during the tours, you can actually buy from a dozen 18th-century shops—including those of the apothecary, the wig maker, the silversmith, and the milliner.

This forested picnic area is situated adjacent to the Appalachian Trail, which rubs up against the east side of the picnic area. There are picnic tables, restrooms, and water spigots. From here, it's an easy hike to Blackrock Summit.

Richmond's oldest residence, the Old Stone House in Shockoe Bottom, just west of Church Hill Historic District, now holds a museum honoring the famous writer. Poe grew up in Richmond, and although he never lived in this early- to mid-18th-century structure, his disciples have made it a monument with some of the writer's possessions on display.

Built in 1769 by William Harwood, the Georgian-style house known as Endview Plantation has witnessed momentous events in American history. Situated atop a knoll near a spring, Endview's land was traversed by Native Americans of the Powhatan Chiefdom a thousand years before the coming of the English. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Endview's owner, Dr. Humphrey Harwood Curtis, formed the Warwick Beauregards, which became Company H, 32nd Virginia Volunteer Infantry. During the subsequent Peninsula Campaign of 1862, Endview served as headquarters for Confederate generals Lafayette McLaws and Robert Toombs. Maintained today as a living-history museum, Endview offers a wide variety of programs; guided tours begin every 30 minutes.

Built in 1717 by John Brush, a gunsmith, and later owned by Thomas Everard, who was twice mayor of Williamsburg, this wood-frame house contains remarkable, ornate carving work. It is open only for special-focus tours and temporary exhibits, and vignettes on slaves' lives are held here in summer.

During the Civil War, a handsome Greek revival hotel was transformed into a Confederate-receiving hospital for wounded and dying soldiers. In addition to weapons, uniforms, and the personal effects of Union and Confederate soldiers, the museum displays the often crude medical equipment used for amputations, tooth extractions, and bloodletting. One room re-creates a hospital ward; an estimated 70,000 soldiers were treated here between 1862 and 1865. The museum hosts an annual ghost walk every October.

Botanists will have a field day at First Landing State Park, which is inland from the Cape Henry lighthouses and near the army installation at Fort Story. Spanish moss grows no farther north than here, and blue spruce appears no farther south (and does not grow at First Landing). The park is a haven for red and gray foxes, raccoons, opossums, water snakes, and other denizens of swamp and dune. Boardwalks built just above the water level on the Bald Cypress Trail let you get close to flora and fauna while keeping your feet dry. There are cabins, campgrounds, picnic areas, and guided tours, plus supporting concessions and facilities.

The channel between Chesapeake Bay and Hampton Roads is the "mouth" of Hampton Roads. On the north side of this passage is Hampton's Fort Monroe, built in stages between 1819 and 1834. The largest stone fort in the country, it's also the only one still in operation to be enclosed by a moat; it was named a National Monument in 2011. Robert E. Lee and Edgar Allan Poe served here in the antebellum years, and it remained a Union stronghold in Confederate territory throughout the Civil War. After the war, Confederate president Jefferson Davis was imprisoned for a time in one of the fort's casemates (a chamber in the wall); his cell and adjacent casemates now house the Casemate Museum. Exhibits of weapons, uniforms, models, drawings, and extensive Civil War relics retell the fort's history, depict coastal artillery activities, and describe the military lifestyle through the Civil War years and the 20th century

This historic 1¼-mile loop trail begins across Skyline Drive from the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center, allowing visitors a peek into rural mountain life by stepping foot onto what was once a family farm. Stroll past carefully placed rock walls, periwinkle vines, and a family cemetery filled with grave sites of the Fox family, one of more than 400 families that lived on the land before Shenandoah National Park was established in 1935. Hiking time is less than one hour. No pets allowed on this trail. Easy.

One block north of the Rotunda, the Fralin Museum of Art (formerly known as the University of Virginia Art Museum) houses art from around the world, including pieces from ancient times to present day.

Beyond the usual booklets, pamphlets, and maps, this visitor center offers a money-saving pass to city attractions ($32 for entry to nine sights including Washington's boyhood home, more than a 40% discount over individual admission prices). Before your tour, you may want to see the center's 10-minute orientation slide show. The center building itself was constructed in 1824 as a residence and confectionery; during the Civil War it was used as a prison.

The 9,000-acre park includes four battlefields and four historic buildings. At the Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville visitor centers you can learn about the area's role in the Civil War by watching a 22-minute film ($2) and viewing displays of soldiers' art and battlefield relics. In season, park rangers lead walking tours. The centers offer recorded tours ($4.95 rental, $7.50 purchase) and maps showing how to reach the Chancellorsville battlefield (where General Stonewall Jackson was mistakenly shot by his own troops), and the Spotsylvania Court House battlefield—all within 15 miles of Fredericksburg.

Just outside the Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center is Sunken Road, where on December 13, 1862, the Confederates achieved a resounding victory over Union forces attacking across the Rappahannock (there were 18,000 casualties on both sides). Much of the stone wall that protected Lee's infantrymen is now a re-creation, but 100 yards from the visitor center, part of the original wall overlooks the statue The Angel of Marye's Heights by Felix de Weldon (sculptor of the famous Marine Corps War Memorial statue in Arlington). This memorial honors Sergeant Richard Kirkland, a South Carolinian who risked his life to bring water to wounded foes; he later died at the Battle of Chickamauga.

During a period of the 19th century, one of the South's most lucrative slave-trading businesses, Franklin and Armfield, operated out of this Federal-style row house on Duke Street. More than 3,750 enslaved men, women, and children were held here between 1828 and 1861, en route to cotton and sugar plantations and markets in the deep South. Recently renovated and expanded, the museum has three floors of rotating exhibits that strive to reframe the undertold stories of enslaved and free Black people who lived in—and were trafficked through—Alexandria.