Welcome to Virginia

Virginia is truly a four-season destination with the geography and climate to match every outdoor activity, adventure and sport, whether it’s of the high-adrenaline or laid-back variety. Go ahead. Explore Virginia. We’re open for adventure and invite you to rediscover the great adventurer within yourself. Follow the Lewis & Clark Expedition on your own river-raft trip, camp-out in the wilderness and hike the trails blazed by Daniel Boone. If your idea of a great vacation includes sand and surf, sun and seafood, Virginia’s beaches along the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay are waiting for you! Relax, watch passersby, build a sand fort, do a little crabbing from a pier. Just enjoy each other in Virginia, and make plenty of memories to take back home.

Few places offer the variety of things to see and do that you’ll find in the dynamic Hampton Roads metro area. And Chesapeake, Virginia sits in the center of it all, making it the perfect launch-point for your next getaway. Chesapeake has plenty of attractions, golf, history, waterways, and parks to fill your days. Chesapeake is centrally located within 20 minutes of the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, 15 minutes from downtown Norfolk, and 40 minutes from Colonial Williamsburg and the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

"I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed." On April 5, 1856, Booker T. Washington was born a slave on the 207-arce farm of James and Elizabeth Burroughs. After the Civil War, Washington became founder and first principal of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial School. Later as an adviser, author and orator, his past would influence his philosophies as the most influential African American of his era. Visitors can step back in time and explore Washington’s life.

Visit Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg, the nation's largest living history museum, consists of 301 acres encompassing 88 original buildings and hundreds of other homes, shops and public buildings. Colonial Williamsburg operates the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum and Bassett Hall. Visitors can enjoy 18th-century style dining Colonial Williamsburg's four dining taverns -- Chowning's, Christiana Campbell's, Shields and King's Arms Tavern.

Visit the Appomattox National Historical Park, where Robert E. Lee, Commanding General of the Army of Northern Virginia, surrendered his men to Ulysses Grant, General-in-Chief of all United States forces, on April 9, 1865. This 1800-acre national park in central Virginia includes the McLean home (surrender site) and the village of Appomattox Court House, the former county seat for Appomattox County. Also visit the Appomattox Museum and the Clover Hill Village Living History Museum.

Virginia's Shopping Haven

Shopping is one of the main reasons people visit Virginia, from factory outlets for bargain hunters to craft shops featuring famous artists and local crafters. Virginia’s country roads are dotted with antique shops and auctions where treasures from many eras can still be found at flea market prices. Shop till you drop through art galleries, antiques, malls, markets, souvenir shops and wineries in Virginia.

No other home in the United States more accurately reflects the personality of its owner than Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's architectural masterpiece and beloved mountaintop home in Virginia. Monticello was a working plantation, where 130 enslaved African Americans raised crops and tended livestock, made nails and barrels, cloth and carriages. They helped to build the house, crafted many of its furnishings, and cultivated the gardens.

Cumberland Gap National Park

The Park preserves the mountain pass used by Indians, and later by settlers moving west. Known as the Wilderness Road, it became the route westward for pioneers from North Carolina. Civil War battles were fought here as North and South vied for control of strategic crossroads. Forth McCook Earthworks, created by the Union Army led by Robert L. McCook, can still be seen on the road to the Pinnacle Overlook at the park. Cudjo's Caverns, located beneath Pinnacle Overlook, offers the tallest stalagmite in the world.

At the wineries you can expect a unique experience with several offering additional agricultural opportunities including interaction with farm animals, vineyard and orchard tours, and picnic areas. Along the way they will catch a glimpse of the other treasures of Bedford including distinctive vistas, numerous attractions, wonderful country stores and restaurants, and outdoor recreational opportunities. Warm smiles and friendly conversation await each visitor.

Agecroft Hall and Gardens

On the rolling banks of the James River in Virginia stands a remarkable Tudor estate. This manor house was actually built in Lancashire, England in the late 15th Century. For hundreds of years, Agecroft Hall was the distinguished home of England's Langley and Dauntesey families. At the end of the 19th century, however, Agecroft fell into disrepair, and in 1925 it was sold at auction. Hearing of this tremendous opportunity, Richmonder Thomas C. Williams, Jr. purchased the structure, and had it dismantled, crated, and shipped across the Atlantic, and then painstakingly reassembled in a Richmond neighborhood known as Windsor Farms. Today, Agecroft Hall stands beautifully re-created, in a river setting surrounded by beautiful gardens.