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Travel guide
Richmond, Virginia
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: April to June, September to October
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Welcome
Richmond, Virginia, in a few days
The capital of Virginia, partly designed by Thomas Jefferson, was capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War, and today it tells that story without gloss, from the church where Patrick Henry demanded 'liberty or death' to the former slave markets of Shockoe Bottom. It is also a whitewater city, where you raft down rapids at the foot of the downtown towers, with a major art museum that is free all year round.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 3 things
- D2 Day 2 3 things
- D3 Day 3 1 thing
- D4 Day 4 1 thing
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
3 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Virginia State Capitol free · about 1 h 30Designed in 1785 by Thomas Jefferson on the model of the Maison Carrée in Nîmes, the first public building in the New World shaped like a Roman temple, with Houdon's statue of Washington.
- Afternoon · Edgar Allan Poe Museum · about 1 h 30A museum in the Old Stone House, the city's oldest surviving house, with manuscripts, letters and first editions of the writer who grew up in Richmond, and an enchanted garden with two cats.
- Late afternoon · St. John's Church · about 1 hA white wooden church of 1741 on Church Hill where Patrick Henry gave his 'liberty or death' speech in 1775, before Washington and Jefferson, with Edgar Allan Poe's mother buried in the churchyard.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hampton Inn & Suites - Richmond - Downtown, VA ↗ · All places to stay by budget →€150 a night
D2
Day 2
3 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · American Civil War Museum · about 2 hSet in the ruins of the Tredegar Iron Works, which cast most of the Confederacy's cannon, a museum telling the Civil War through soldiers, freedom seekers, freed people, women and civilians.
- Afternoon · Hollywood Cemetery free · about 1 h 30A 55-hectare garden cemetery of 1847 above the James River rapids, resting place of presidents Monroe and Tyler and of Jefferson Davis, with winding paths, Victorian tombs and great trees.
- Late afternoon · Belle Isle free · about 2 hAn island in the James River below the downtown towers, reached by a suspension footbridge, a former Civil War prison camp now part of James River Park, with rapids, sunbathing rocks and bike trails.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hampton Inn & Suites - Richmond - Downtown, VA ↗€150 a night
D3
Day 3
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Maymont free · half a dayA 40-hectare Gilded Age estate above the James River, with a pink sandstone Victorian mansion, Italian and Japanese gardens, an arboretum, a farm and rescued Virginia wildlife.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hampton Inn & Suites - Richmond - Downtown, VA ↗€150 a night
D4
Day 4
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Virginia Museum of Fine Arts free · half a dayOne of the country's great art museums, free 365 days a year, from ancient Egypt to contemporary art, with famous Fabergé eggs and Kehinde Wiley's Rumors of War at the entrance.
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Burgers and barbecue: brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
- Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl: the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
- Mexican food: tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
- Pancakes and weekend brunch: a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
- Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
Getting by
Words that help
🗣️ English is the main language here, so there is nothing to learn by heart.
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyUS dollar (USD, $)
BudgetAbout €150 a day, mid-range
Best seasonApril to June, September to October
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterSafe to drink
Tipping15 to 20%, expected
Emergency911
EntryUK, Australian and most EU passports need an ESTA, applied for online before departure, for stays of up to 90 days; a few EU countries sit outside the Visa Waiver Program and need a full visa. Canadians need neither, only a passport. Anyone who has been to Cuba since January 2021 cannot use an ESTA and must apply for a visa.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus, diphtheria and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well off the tourist trail. In the desert parks, the heat is the real risk.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/richmond-virginia
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.