Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Charlottesville
Set in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Charlottesville is regularly ranked as
one of the country's best places to live. This culturally rich town of 45,000 is home to the
University of Virginia (UVA), which attracts Southern aristocracy and artsy lefties in
equal proportion. With the UVA grounds and pedestrian downtown area overflowing
with students, couples, professors and the occasional celebrity under a blanket of blue
skies, 'C-ville' is practically perfect.
Charlottesville Visitor Center ( 877-386-1103; www.visitcharlottesville.org ; 610 E Main St;
9am-5pm) is a helpful office in the heart of downtown.
Sights
Blenheim Vineyards WINERY
( 434-293-5366; http://blenheimvineyards.com ; 31 Blenheim Farm, Charlottesville; tastings $5;
11am-5:30pm) Blenheim is owned by Dave Matthews, who in some ways - what with
his folkie-preppie vibe and eternal gap-year sunniness, and the fact that he owns a vine-
yard - is the Platonic ideal of a UVA student. The wines are great and the setting is sheer
bucolic joy.
University of Virginia UNIVERSITY
( 434-924-0311; www.virginia.edu ; 400 Ray C Hunt Dr, Charlottesville) Thomas Jefferson foun-
ded the University of Virginia, where the classically designed buildings and grounds em-
body the spirit of communal living and learning that Jefferson envisioned. The center-
piece is the Jefferson-designed Rotunda ( 434-924-7969; 1826 University Ave; tours
daily 10am, 11am, 2pm, 3pm & 4pm) , a scale replica of Rome's Pantheon. Free, student-led
tours of the Rotunda meet inside the main entrance. UVA's Fralin Art Museum (
434-924-3592; 155 Rugby Rd;
noon-5pm Tue-Sun)
has an eclectic and interesting
collection of American, European and Asian arts.
DON'T MISS
MONTICELLO & AROUND
Monticello ( 434-984-9800; www.monticello.org ; 931 Thomas Jefferson Pkwy; adult/child $24/16;
9am-6pm Mar-Oct, 10am-5pm Nov-Feb) is an architectural masterpiece designed and
inhabited by Thomas Jefferson, Founding Father and third US president. 'I am as
 
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