Virginia is packed with attractions. There are beachy things along the coast, like Virginia Beach; there are historical sites in the Hampton Roads area as well as Civil War battlefields all over the state; and there are mountains, the Blue Ridge, in the far west.

      The area around Washington, DC is especially attractive, historically, since many of the District of Columbia’s attractions seemed to have spilled over. For instance, the Iwo Jima Memorial, that iconic sculpture sacred to the Marines, is found in Arlington.

Iwo Jima Memorial

Also here is Arlington National Cemetery, the nation’s most hallowed military resting place.

Arlington National Cemetery

Thousands of visitors each year witness the solemn “changing of the guard” ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

   Not far from Arlington is Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, which also attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

Mount Vernon

Richmond, the capital of Virginia, is so focused on history that it contains a street, Monument Avenue, which showcases statues of significant Virginians.

Lee Statue, Monument Avenue

The region to the east of Richmond is also replete with historical sights. Williamsburg is an open-air museum depicting life in the 1760’s.

Governor's Palace

Yorktown was the site of the surrender of Gen Cornwallis to General Washington, an event which signaled the end of the Revolutionary War.

Victory Monument at Yorktown

In the western part of the state, Skyline Drive winds through Shenandoah National Park.

Shenandoah Valley

Thomas Jefferson built his home, Monticello, in Charlottesville, where he also founded the University of Virginia.

Monticello

     The Blue Ridge Parkway travels along the crest of this range of the Appalachians, offering spectacular vistas both eastward and westward.

Blue Ridge Parkway