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Capitol SquareCity/Region: Richmond
Richmond's Capitol Square is a glorious oasis of old trees and green lawns in the heart of the downtown area, perched on a hilltop. The magnificent centerpiece is the neo-classical State Capitol building, designed by Thomas Jefferson, which has been in continuous use since 1788. In the Capitol's Rotunda stands Virginia's most treasured artwork, the life-sized statue of George Washington sculpted by Jean Antoine Houdon, for whom Washington posed. Another highlight of the square is the Governor's
Mansion, home of Virginia governors since 1813. The mansion, which has been restored, but boasts its original woodwork, plaster cornices and ornamental ceilings, is open for tours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays (first floor only). Another historic building in the square is the old Bell Tower, dating from 1824, which houses a visitor center providing tourist information about Virginia.
Phone Number: (804) 698 1788 (tour information)
Website: legis.state.va.us
Hours: State Capitol is open for tours Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 5pm, Sunday 1pm to 4pm
Admission: State Capitol tours are free
The Museum and White House of the ConfederacyCity/Region: Richmond
Civil War buffs flock to the Museum of the Confederacy, which houses the most comprehensive collection of Confederate artifacts, personal memorabilia and art to be found anywhere in the United States. The exhibits include 550 battle flags, 215 uniforms, including those of well-known officers, and 1,000 military buttons. Art works include E.B.D. Julio's heroic painting, 'The Last Meeting of Lee and Jackson'. Beside the museum is the White House of the Confederacy, the 1818 mansion in which Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his family lived during the Civil War. It is still furnished with original items. Visitors have to join a tour to see the White House. These depart regularly throughout the day.
Address: 1201 East Clay Street
Phone Number: (804) 649 1861
Email Address: info@moc.org
Website: www.moc.org
Hours: Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm; Sunday 12pm to 5pm. Closed Wednesdays in winter
Admission: Museum: $8 (adults), $4 (children 7-18); White House: $8 (adults), $4 (children). Combo ticket: $11 (adults), $6 (children). Other concessions available
Richmond National Battlefield ParkCity/Region: Richmond
Between 1861 and 1865, Union armies repeatedly set out to capture Richmond, strategic capital of the Confederacy, and end the Civil War. Three of those campaigns came within a few miles of the city. The park commemorates 11 different sites associated with those campaigns, including the battlefields at Gaines' Mill, Malvern Hill, and Cold Harbor. Established in 1936, the park protects 763 acres of historic ground. There is a visitor center in the Tredegar Irons Works on Richmond Riverfront Canal Walk at the corner of Tredegar and 5th Streets. Here, a film depicting the battles around the city is shown and information about self-guided tours of the battlefields is available.
Phone Number: (804) 226 1981
Website: www.nps.gov/rich
Hours: Battlefields are open from sunrise to sunset. Visitor center open 9am to 5pm
Admission: Free
Virginia Museum of Fine ArtsCity/Region: Richmond
Richmond boasts an exceptional Fine Arts Museum, which presents a panorama of world art from ancient to modern, including the largest public Fabergé imperial Easter egg collection outside of Russia, consisting of 150-odd jewel-encrusted creations made for Tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II. The Museum also boasts a collection of English silver, one of the world's leading collections of the art of India, Nepal and Tibet, and six Gobelin Don Quixote tapestries.
Address: 200 N. Boulevard
Phone Number: (804) 340 1400
Email Address: webmaster@vmfa.state.va.us
Website: www.vmfa.state.va.us
Hours: Wednesday to Sunday 11am to 5pm
Admission: Free, but a donation of $5 is suggested. Admission fees are charged for temporary exhibitions
St John's Episcopal ChurchCity/Region: Richmond
St John's Church has stood on Richmond Hill above the James River since 1741, and is known for having been the venue for the second Virginia Convention in 1775, attended by George Washington and other historic personalities. The church is also where legendary Pocahontas was baptized and married to John Rolfe. The wooden building still boasts its original pulpit and some exquisite stained-glass windows. Between May and September living history performances are given every Sunday recreating the historic Second Virginia Convention. Informative tours explore the historic significance of the church building and grounds.
Address: 2401 East Broad Street
Phone Number: (804) 648 5015 (Tour operations)
Email Address: stjohns-church@inetmail.att.net
Website: www.historicstjohnschurch.org
Hours: Guided tours Monday to Saturday 10am to 3.30pm; Sunday 1pm to 3.30pm. Sunday services at 8.30am, 9.30am and 11am
Admission: $6 (adults), $4 (scholars)
Virginia Science MuseumCity/Region: Richmond
The hands-on Virginia Science Museum allows visitors to touch, feel, observe and explore the impact of science on their lives, covering everything from astronomy to computers, and crystals to flight engineering. The museum is housed in a soaring historic building, the former Broad Street Station designed in 1919 by John Russell Pope. The fascinating and fun museum is complemented by a 275-seat Ethyl Universe Planetarium/Space Theater that screens Omnimax films as well as providing multimedia planetarium shows.
Address: 2500 West Broad Street
Phone Number: (804) 864 1400
Email Address: info@smv.org
Website: www.smv.org
Hours: Exhibits: Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 5pm, Sunday 11.30am to 5pm. The IMAX and Planetarium have various screening schedules
Admission: Exhibits: $10 (adults), $9 (children 4-12). Big Screen: $8.50. Combination ticket: $17.50 (adults), $16.50 (children)
Shenandoah National ParkCity/Region: Shenandoah Valley
Following the Blue Ridge Mountains for 100 miles (161km) through west Virginia the Shenandoah National Park is a wilderness area where deer and black bears roam among about 100 species of trees on the forested slopes. Hiking trails snake through the area from the azalea-trimmed Skyline Drive, the 105-mile (169km) long road that runs through the park from the Piedmont Plateau, providing wonderful vistas of the Shenandoah Valley from its overlooks. Services and visitor centers are available on the drive, but are closed during winter. Wildflower weekend is celebrated in May, and ranger-led tours and programs are offered between April and October.
Phone Number: (540) 999 3500
Website: www.nps.gov/shen
Transport: No public transport operates within the park
Hours: Open 24-hours daily; some sections of the Skyline drive are closed between dusk and early morning during the hunting season, or during bad weather. Visitor facilties operate from March to late November
Admission: Individuals: $8 (March to November); $5 (December to February). Vehicles: $15 (March to November); $10 (December to February). Tickets are valid for 7 days
LexingtonCity/Region: Shenandoah Valley
The sedate town of Lexington, 138 miles (222km) west of Richmond in the Shenandoah Valley, boasts one of the most picturesque downtown areas in America, its fine old buildings having been preserved and restored so it appears that the clock stopped here in the 1800s. Tourists visit the town simply for its ambience, and perhaps to pay tribute to Civil War General Robert E Lee, who after the war served as president of the Washington and Lee University here and was eventually buried in Lexington along with his famous horse, Traveller. Apart from the University, which has one of the oldest and most attractive campuses in the country, Lexington is also home to the Virginia Military Institute, one of whose graduates was General George C. Marshall, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. The Institute has a museum dedicated to his memory.
Website: www.lexingtonvirginia.com
Colonial Historic TriangleCity/Region: Virginia Coast
The three east-Virginian towns of Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown make up a unique historical attraction where the clock has been turned back 200 years or more. The first British settlers in the 'New World' founded Jamestown in 1607. In nearby Yorktown in 1781 Americans won their independence during the last major battle of the Revolution. Visitors can now see what life was like in the fledgling Virginia during the colonial period by visiting Williamsburg, where a British flag still flies over the Capitol building and women are still wearing long dresses and ruffled caps, with men in powdered wigs populating the taverns. It all adds up to the greatest historic theme show ever, but it makes Williamsburg into more than just a recreation of an 18th-century town. Chat to the locals and you feel you are actually back in those days, as blacksmiths puff their bellows at the forge and clip-clopping horses pull carriages along the cobblestone streets. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation looks after 88 original buildings in the town, while 300 others have been reconstructed, including two taverns, a parish church, the courthouse and capitol building.
Phone Number: (757) 229 1000
Website: www.visitwilliamsburg.com
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