268 Best Sights in Virginia, USA

The city's most poignant museum is housed in the former Climax Warehouse, which stored tobacco in Richmond's Shockoe Bottom. In keeping with the museum's aim to further "tolerance through education," the museum details the experiences of Holocaust survivors from across Virginia who have recorded their stories and shared their memories. After an introductory film in which six Richmond-based survivors tell their stories, visitors receive a book for a self-guided tour; a free audio tour (in English, Spanish, German, French, or Polish) is also available. The museum's auditorium, the Chore Shul, is a replica of the beautiful 18th-century interior of the only surviving synagogue in Lithuania. Because of the nature of the exhibits, the museum is not recommended for young children.

At the Virginia Living Museum, visitors are transported to a steamy cypress swamp and cool mountain cove, the underwater world of the Chesapeake Bay and the underground realm of a limestone cave, all with living exhibits and hands-on activities. Outdoors, a ¾-mile boardwalk features animals native to Virginia in naturalized habitats and wildflower gardens. Check out the evening laser shows the second Saturday of the month at the planetarium.

Adjacent to Washington and Lee University, the Virginia Military Institute, founded in 1839, is the nation's oldest state-supported military college. With an enrollment of about 1,300 cadets, the institute has admitted women since 1997. After a two-year expansion and renovation effort, the Virginia Military Institute Museum now includes a 3,000-square-foot main exhibit hall in Jackson Memorial Hall, dedicated to the VMI Heritage. Displays include 15,000 artifacts, including Stonewall Jackson's stuffed and mounted horse, Little Sorrel, and the general's coat, pierced by the bullet that killed him at Chancellorsville, and on the lower level, the Henry Stewart antique firearms collection.

Near Market Square, just a short stroll along the Railwalk, the Virginia Museum of Transportation has the largest collection of diesel and steam locomotives in the country—not surprising, considering that Roanoke got its start as a railroad town and was once the headquarters of the Norfolk and Western railroad. The dozens of original train cars and engines, some of which can be boarded and many built here in town, include a massive nickel-plate locomotive—just one of the many holdings that constitute an unabashed display of civic pride. The sprawling model-train and miniature-circus displays please young and old alike.

A resource center for the study of the role of quilts and quilting in American culture, the Virginia Quilt Museum hosts exhibits of significant work by both early and contemporary quilt artisans. Located in the historic Warren-Sipe House, there's also a Civil War history room.

Thomas Jefferson designed this grand edifice in 1785, modeling it on a Roman temple—the Maison Carrée—in Nîmes, France. After an extensive renovation, the Capitol has an accessible entrance on Bank Street. Free indoor guided tours last one hour and include the Old House and Senate chambers, the Rotunda, and two restored rooms; they may also include the legislative chambers when the legislature is not in session. Alternatively, a map for self-guided tours of the public areas of the capitol is also available for those who would like to explore on their own. 

Virginia Tech is the state's largest university. A small college just a few decades ago, the school is now known for top-notch research programs and its Hokies football team, regularly ranked in the top 10. The focal point of the sprawling campus is the Drillfield, a vast green space surrounded by hefty neo-Gothic buildings built of what is known locally as "Hokie Stone" masonry.

A statue called Memory overlooks a wall with thousands of names of Virginians who sacrificed their lives in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf. A series of educational programs based on the real-life experiences of Virginians is shown in the Hall of Honor Auditorium, and touch-screen computers in the Visitors Center provide information on Virginia veterans. Displays of artifacts and memorabilia tell the story of the impact of these conflicts on Virginians and their families.

The Virginia War Museum houses more than 60,000 artifacts from all over the world. The collection includes a graffiti-covered section of the Berlin Wall, a Civil War blockade runner's uniform, weapons, uniforms, wartime posters, photographs, and other memorabilia. It traces military history from 1775 to the Gulf War and includes an outdoor exhibition of seven tanks and cannons, and the history of African Americans and women in the military. Several war memorials are on the grounds of Huntington Park.

The "Virginia Winery Guide" lists each of the state's wineries (many offer tours and tastings). It's free and can be picked up at visitor information centers throughout the state or by on the Virginia Wine Board's website. From there you can also find descriptions of more than 500 wine events and festivals that take place each year.

The largest in the state, Virginia Zoological Park has more than 400 animals in 100 species living on 55 acres—including rhinos, ostriches, African elephants, and Siberian tigers as well as such domesticated animals as sheep. In the Africa exhibit, elephant demonstrations are scheduled regularly in summer, and nine new species have been added in an expansion, including zebra, lion, giraffe, red river hog, and meerkat. With the assistance of docents, children can handle some of the animals.

NASA's Wallops Flight Facility Visitors Center fires the imagination with full-scale rockets, films on space and aeronautics, and displays on NASA projects. Although this was the site of early rocket launchings and NASA occasionally sends up satellites here, the facility now focuses primarily on atmospheric research.

The ninth-oldest college in the United States, Washington and Lee University was founded in 1749 as Augusta Academy and later renamed Washington College to commemorate a donation made by George Washington. After Robert E. Lee's term as its president (1865–70), it received its current name. Today, with 2,000 students, the university occupies a campus of white-column, redbrick buildings around a central colonnade. Twentieth-century alumni include the late Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell, newsman Roger Mudd, and novelist Tom Wolfe. The campus's Lee Chapel and Museum contains many relics of the Lee family. Edward Valentine's statue of the recumbent general, behind the altar, is especially moving: the pose is natural and the expression gentle, a striking contrast to most other monumental art. Here you can sense the affection and reverence that Lee inspired.

The nearly 45 acres of pools, children's play areas, lazy rivers, and water rides have a colorful 1950s and surf theme. Blast down Rock 'n' Roll Island's nearly 600 feet of body slides, ride the 700-foot lazy river, or soak in the 9,000-square-foot pool. Or you can enjoy relaxing by Virginia's largest wave pool in a lounge chair or a private cabana. There is also live entertainment, shopping, and restaurants.

Dating back to 1733, this National Historic Landmark village is a good example of 19th century life in Loudoun County. The Waterford Foundation has a self-guided walking tour of the town—stop by the Visitor Center at the Corner Store for town information. The walking tour is also available online.

Sited in a Colonial Revival manor house on Yorktown's waterfront, the Watermen's Museum was floated across the York River on a barge in 1987. In it you can learn more about the generations of men who have wrested a living from the Chesapeake Bay and nearby waters. The five galleries house ship models, dioramas, and artifacts themed on Chesapeake watermen, bay boats, harvesting fish, aquaculture, tools, and treasures. Outdoor exhibits include an original three-log canoe, dredges, engines, and other equipment used by working watermen past and present.

Weston Manor, built in 1789 by the Gilliam family, is a classic example of Virginia Georgian architecture, a formal five-bay manor with hipped roof. The family immigrated to Virginia in the 1600s as indentured servants, eventually acquiring several area plantations. Family members were descendants of Pocahontas, and a cousin married Thomas Jefferson's daughter, Maria. The distinctive interior moldings, wainscoting, and chair rails are 85% original.

This home was built circa 1720 by Colonel William Byrd II (1674–1744), an American aristocrat and founder of the city of Richmond who spent much of his time and money in London. He was in Virginia frequently enough to serve in both the upper and lower houses of the Colonial legislature at Williamsburg and to write one of the first travel books about the region (as well as a notorious secret diary, a frank account of plantation life and Colonial politics). Byrd lived here with his beloved library of 4,000 volumes. The house, celebrated for its moldings, carvings, and classic proportions, is open only during Garden Week in late April and to group tours of at least 10 people. However, it is worth the short drive off Route 5 to walk on the grounds beside the peaceful James River and smell the boxwoods. The grounds are arrayed with tulip poplars at least 100 years old, and other flowers are well tended. Three wrought-iron gates, imported from England by the colonel, are mounted on posts topped by figures of eagles with spread wings. Byrd's grave is here, inscribed with the eloquent, immodest, lengthy, and apt epitaph he composed for himself.

Beginning in 1743 Wetherburn's Tavern offered refreshment, entertainment, and lodging and may be the most accurately furnished building in Colonial Williamsburg, with contents that conform to a room-by-room inventory taken in 1760. Excavations at this site have yielded more than 200,000 artifacts. The outbuildings include the original dairy and a reconstructed kitchen. Vegetables are grown in the small garden.

What is now the Wilderness Road Regional Museum was once lodging for settlers making their way west on a Native American route that went from Pennsylvania through the Cumberland Gap. The man who founded the town of Newbern built this house in the same year, and the structure has since served as a private home, a tavern, a post office, and a store. Today the house contains antique dolls, swords and rifles, an old loom, and other artifacts of everyday life. A self-tour map of Newbern, the only Virginia town entirely within a National Register of Historic Places district, is available at the museum.

Carrying on a Virginia tradition of wine making that began with early settlers, Virginia's largest winery produces 60,000 cases yearly. The winery offers guided tours, a well-stocked wineshop, a 17th-century tasting room, and a museum of wine-making artifacts. Be sure to give the cabernets and merlots a try. The Gabriel Archer Tavern serves a casual lunch daily. At the tavern try a wine flight of four wines. Cafe Provencial serves an elegant dinner paired with wine. There is also a country inn, Wedmore Place, on the premises.

On the outskirts of the historic area is Windmill of Colonial Williamsburg, formally known as Robertson's Windmill, a Colonial mill for grinding grains. Program plans are unknown at this time.

What is now this memorial next to the visitor center was once the Hemicycle, a huge carved retaining wall faced with granite at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery. Built in 1932, the wall was restored, with stairways added leading to a rooftop terrace. Inside are 16 exhibit alcoves showing the contributions that women have made to the military—from the Revolutionary War to the present—as well as the history of the memorial itself. A 196-seat theater shows films and is used for lectures and conferences. A computer database has pictures, military histories, and stories of thousands of women veterans. A fountain and reflecting pool front the classical-style Hemicycle and entry gates.

Two iconic homes on one site are found just west of Mount Vernon. Woodlawn overlooks the Potomac River on lands first belonging to the Algonkian-speaking Doeg people, and then lands of George Washington’s larger Mount Vernon plantation. Finished in 1805, the Federal-style mansion was designed for Eleanor and Lawrence Lewis by William Thornton, the architect of the U.S. Capitol. It displays the power and prosperity of America’s first ruling class. Anti-slavery Quakers purchased and transformed Woodlawn in 1805. The Quakers and local free Black people demonstrated that with agricultural reforms and Black landownership, the South could be successfully cultivated without slavery.

Also on the grounds, Pope-Leighey House is a Frank Lloyd Wright Unison home. Designed for the Pope family in 1940, it artfully blends into the landscape. Its innovative design concepts and natural materials create a sense of space and grace. The home is an expression of Wright’s radical vision for beautiful, affordable, and more inclusive middle-class housing. To save it from demolition, the home was moved from Falls Church, Virginia, to Woodlawn in 1965 by its second owner, Marjorie Leighey. It's the only Wright house open to the public in Virginia.

Guides and exhibitions at both houses offer insight into the architectural details of both houses, as well as thoughtful narratives dedicated to telling the fullest story possible about all people associated with the property.

Interactive exhibits and displays children can touch make this museum family-friendly. The collection features period antiques, items from Wilson's political career, and some original pieces that belonged to Wilson's father, a Presbyterian minister. Wilson's presidential limousine, a 1919 Pierce-Arrow sedan, is on display in the garage. An interactive World War I trench exhibit simulates the soldier's experiences and there's also a hands-on kids' corner.

The College of William and Mary, founded in 1693, is the second-oldest college in the United States after Harvard University. The campus extends to the west; the Wren Building (1695) was based on the work of the celebrated London architect Sir Christopher Wren. Its redbrick outer walls are original, but fire gutted the interiors several times, and the current quarters are largely reconstructions of the 20th century. The faculty common room, with a table covered with green felt and an antique globe, suggests Oxford and Cambridge universities, the models for this New World institution. George Wythe became America's first law professor at the college and taught law to Thomas Jefferson, Henry Clay, James Monroe, and John Marshall. Tours, led by undergraduates, include the chapel where Colonial leader Peyton Randolph is buried. Among the portraits of college presidents on the second floor of the Wren Building is an arresting painting of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who visited William and Mary during her tenure.

Yorktown Battlefield preserves the land where the British surrendered to American and French forces in 1781. The museum in the visitor center has on exhibit part of General George Washington's original field tent. Dioramas, illuminated maps, and a film about the battle make the sobering point that Washington's victory was hardly inevitable. A look around from the roof's observation deck can help you visualize the events of the campaign. Guided by an audio tour purchased from the gift shop, you may explore the battlefield by car, stopping at the site of Washington's headquarters, a couple of crucial redoubts (breastworks dug into the ground), the field where surrender took place, and the Moore House, where the surrender terms were negotiated.

On the western edge of Yorktown Battlefield, the Yorktown Victory Center has wonderful exhibits and demonstrations that bring to life the American Revolution. Textual and graphic displays along the open-air Road to Revolution walkway cover the principal events and personalities. A Declaration of Independence entrance gallery and long-term exhibition, The Legacy of Yorktown: Virginia Beckons provide background information. Life-size tableaux show 10 "witnesses," including an African American patriot, a loyalist, a Native American leader, two Continental Army soldiers, and the wife of a Virginia plantation owner. The witnesses' testimony is very dramatic and makes the American Revolution real for children. This presentation brings the personal trials of the colonists to life more effectively than the artifacts of the war.

The exhibit galleries contain more than 500 period artifacts, including many recovered during underwater excavations of "Yorktown's Sunken Fleet" (British ships lost during the siege of 1781). Outdoors, visitors may participate in a Continental Army drill at an encampment with interpreters costumed as soldiers and female auxiliaries, who reenact and discuss daily camp life. In another outdoor area, a re-created 1780s farm includes a dwelling, kitchen, tobacco barn, crop fields, and kitchen garden, which show how many Americans lived in the decade following the end of the Revolution.