things to do in richmond
There is a lot to do in Richmond! We have golf available on Friday and Saturday--please let us know if you want to play. And we have history, we have art, we have other museums, and we have plenty of outdoors to explore. Here are some things to do in each of those categories. https://www.visitrichmondva.com/
HISTORY
Richmond’s history dates back about 400 years to the first colonists who arrived in the country. Virginia played an important role in colonial, revolutionary era and civil war era American history. As Capital of Virginia since 1779, a lot of that history is local. Here are some of the best local sites for history buffs.
1. President Thomas Jefferson, who grew up down the road from Lindsay’s house at Tuckahoe Plantation, designed the Virginia State Capitol building, which is located in Capitol Square (walkable from both hotels). The park can be entered on Grace Street and runs between 9th and 12 streets and the buildings can be accessed from a new public entrance on the corner of 10th and Bank Street. https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/richmond/virginiastatecapitol.html
2. The Civil War Museum (a short drive from both hotels) uniquely examines the war from multiple distinct viewpoints: Union and Confederate, enslaved and free African Americans, soldiers and civilians. https://acwm.org/ You can also tour the Museum of the Confederacy (at the White House of the Confederacy on the corner of 12th St. and E. Clay St.). https://www.whc200.org/programs/
3. President James Monroe, who along with President John Tyler (and CSA President Jefferson Davis), is buried at Hollywood Cemetery, which overlooks the James River (walking distance from Jefferson, short drive from Courtyard). https://www.hollywoodcemetery.org/about/about-hollywood-cemetery
4. The Virginia Historical Society (a short drive from the hotels) is an amazing repository, research, and teaching center for Virginia history, including many of the presidential papers of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe. https://www.virginiahistory.org/
5. Richmond is also famous for Monument Avenue (a short drive from the hotels), which has several monuments memorializing Virginia Confederate participants of the Civil War, as well as Arthur Ashe.
6. During the Revolutionary period, Patrick Henry gave his “Give me liberty or give me death” speech in 1775 at Richmond’s St. John’s Church (a short drive from the hotels). They re-enact the speech there every Sunday during the summer and the church can be toured in the off-season. https://www.historicstjohnschurch.org/liberty-or-death-reenactments/
7. Chimborazo Medical Hospital, now a museum, was one of the largest, best-organized, and most sophisticated hospitals in the Confederacy. https://www.nps.gov/rich/learn/historyculture/chimborazo.htm
8. Battle of Richmond--main visitor center is at Tredegar Iron Works next to the Civil War Museum (above). https://www.nps.gov/rich/planyourvisit/visitorcenters.htm
9. The Valentine Museum (walking distance from both hotels), which includes the Wickham-Valentine house, has exhibits depicting Richmond urban and social history, costumes, textiles, decorative arts and architecture. https://thevalentine.org/
10. The home of Chief Justice John Marshall, who authored Marbury v. Madison, can be toured at the corner of 9th Street and Marshall (walking distance from the hotels). https://www.preservationvirginia.com/visit/historic-properties/the-john-marshall-house
11. The Black History Museum (a short drive from the hotels) is a repository for visual, oral and written records and artifacts commemorating the lives and accomplishments of Blacks in Virginia. http://blackhistorymuseum.org/plan-your-visit/
ART
1. Richmond has a vibrant art scene. The biggest art museum is the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (a short drive from the hotels and next to the Virginia Historical Society). We have arranged for a docent to give a tour of the museum at 10:30 on Saturday morning--please meet next to the museum’s member’s desk. https://www.vmfa.museum/
2. Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) has one of the largest and best art schools in the country and has recently constructed its Institute for Contemporary Art (a short walk from the Jefferson and short drive from the Courtyard). It is expected to open this spring. http://ica.vcu.edu/about/
3. Richmond also has a vibrant gallery scene with many small galleries in the downtown area (near the hotels). http://richmondmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/galleries/art-guide/
OTHER MUSEUMS
Richmond also has other museums that are not focused on art, including:
1. The largest collection of memorabilia of Edgar Allen Poe, who lived for many years in Richmond, in the world (a short walk from the Courtyard and short drive from The Jefferson). The Poe Museum is housed in the oldest original building in Richmond (circa 1740). https://www.poemuseum.org/index
2. The Science Museum of Virginia (a short drive from the hotels) explores scientific inquiry. http://www.smv.org/about
OUTDOORS
Richmond has a wide diversity of outdoor activities.
1. Canal Walk--Richmond was established at a set of falls that blocked further navigation up the James River. George Washington surveyed and planned the canal that circumvents the falls starting in 1784. Stretching 1.25 miles along the James River and the Kahawha and Haxall canals, the Canal Walk has access points at nearly every block between 5th and 17th streets (a short walk from the Courtyard and short drive from the Jefferson). http://www.venturerichmond.com/experience/canal/index.html
2. Brown’s Island is an amazing, six-acre riverfront park located south of Tredegar Street between 5th Street and 12th Street on the James River. It was formed by the Haxell Canal and is part of the Canal Walk. https://www.visitrichmondva.com/listings/browns-island/4557/
3. Part of the James River Park System, the main access to Belle Isle is by pedestrian footbridge from Tredegar St. on the north shore (a short drive to access point). There are 54 acres of wooded trails, mountain biking trails, interpreted historical sites, fishing at the quarry pond, and a granite wall for rock climbing. Don’t toy with the adjacent Hollywood Rapids (Richmond is the only major metropolitan area in the country with Class IV rapids). https://www.visitrichmondva.com/listings/belle-isle/1255/
4. Richmond Slave Trail is a self-guided three mile trail that starts across the James River at the Manchester Docks, and follows a route through the location of the slave markets of Richmond, beside the Reconciliation Statue, past Lumpkin’s Slave Jail and the Negro Burial Ground to the First African Baptist Church, a center of African-American life in pre-Civil War Richmond. (A drive to the start of the trail, which ends in downtown Richmond not far from the hotels). https://www.virginia.org/Listings/HistoricSites/RichmondSlaveTrail
5. Stretching along nine blocks of West Cary Street from Thompson Street to Boulevard, Carytown bustles with locally owned restaurants, spas and shops selling jewelry, antiques, toys, clothing and furniture. (A short drive from hotels). https://www.visitrichmondva.com/listings/carytown-merchants-association/47/
6. Recognized as one of the top gardens in the U.S., Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden was voted #4 in USA Today's 10 Best Public Gardens contest. With year-round beauty on 50 acres, the Garden also offers great dining, shopping, exhibits and events. (15 min drive from the hotels). http://www.lewisginter.org/
7. Maymont is a 100-acre Victorian estate and public park, including a historic house museum, an arboretum, formal gardens, a carriage collection, and a small zoo. https://maymont.org/