Enjoying 36 Hours in Charlottesville

There are quite a few posts on this site about how to make the most of visiting Charlottesville, but for those planning a weekend visit, here is our “Essential” Charlottesville Visitors Guide!

IT’S ALL GOING DOWN AT THE DOWNTOWN MALL

The Mall is the heart and soul of Charlottesville, where all the action is! Lined with restaurants, galleries, and shops, the Mall is also the site of many Cville “happenings”.  Friday nights feature “Fridays After Five” a free concert/party at the east end of the Mall and on Saturday mornings you can enjoy two awesome Farmer’s Markets.  Don’t forget to stroll around the boutique shops of the Warehouse District and the backside of the Mall and the historic Court Square area.  For kiddos, don’t miss The Virginia Discovery Museum.

THEY CALL IT GROUNDS

Consider a strolling tour of the historic and beautiful University of Virginia Grounds. See the Rotunda, the Lawn & “the Corner,” a row of cute shops along University Avenue.

JEFFERSON’S PLACE

Just outside of town, you can visit Monticello, the home of our third president, a National Historic Landmark and, together with the UVA Central Grounds, a UNESCO World Heritage Sight.  There are tours available of the house, the grounds and garden, and tours which focus on the history of enslaved persons at Monticello, as well as the archeological history of the property.

NATURE NEARBY

If you’re hankering to commune with nature without venturing too far afield, check out:
The Saunders – Monticello Trail
The Rivanna Trail
The Ragged Mountain Nature Area
The Ivy Creek Natural Area.

There are also abundant parks around town!

TAKE A HIKE…OR A DRIVE!

If you love hiking, or mountains, you’ve come to the right place.   Options abound in the nearby Shenandoah National Forest, along the Blue Ridge Parkway and on the Appalachian Trail.  Just plan carefully: you can access all three of these at Afton, 15 miles west of Charlottesville, but you will want to pick a hike nearby your access point! Route 250 directly west out of Charlottesville is “Milepost 0” on the northern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway as well as the very Southern end of the Shenandoah National Park. A drive down the parkway or up through the Park is pretty spectacular as well!  You can find more suggestions for hiking, biking and climbing in and around the area here.

THEATRE

LiveArts
The Paramount
The American Shakespeare Center in Staunton

ART

The McGuffey Art Center
The Fralin Museum at UVA
The Kluge Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum 

MUSIC, DANCE AND OTHER CULTURE

Easiest to search here

BEER, CIDER, SPIRITS & WINE

Yup!  We’ve got plenty of that…..Here are some of our favorites, but you can ask the google if you need to see more – 
RIGHT IN THE CITY 
Three Notch’d Brewing 
North American Sake 
Vitae Spirits 
Michael Shaps

OUT WEST
Ragged Branch Distillery
Starr Hill Brewery
Pro Re Nata
Blue Mountain Brewery
King Family Vineyards 
White Hall Vineyards 
Combine one of these with hiking the Blue Ridge or peach picking at Chiles in the Spring/Summer. 

NEAR MONTICELLO,  CLOSE TO TOWN
Jefferson Vineyards

HEAD SOUTH…
Potter’s Craft Cider Garden
Pippin Hill Farm (if you are heading this way, consider lunching at Dr. Ho’s Humble Pie or a stop at the Batesville Market for crafts and lunch).

More wine here, including special events.

MORE FUN STUFF,  IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

(note – some of this is weather dependent)
Rafting on the Rivanna

A morning of Markets: we now have TWO fabulous Saturday  morning markets, just a few blocks from one another:
The Market at IX
The City Market

Books Galore!

Here is everything Golf in the Area

Need more, CHECK OUT OUR COMMUNITY CALENDARS 
Visit Charlottesville
C-Ville Weekly
Cville Calendar
Event Brite
Blue Ridge Outdoors

Finally, DON’T FORGET TO EAT!