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Historical
Sites
Ash Lawn-Highland
www.ashlawnhighland.org
293-9539
Getting there: Rt. 20 South
to Rt. 53 East and follow signs (15 minute drive).
Home of James Monroe, President of the United
States, 1817-1825, who bought his "country cottage estate,"
as he called it, in 1793, mostly to be closer to his good
friend, Thomas Jefferson, who lived 2.5 miles down the road.
Annual celebration of Monroe's birthday on April 28. Open
daily, 9 am - 6 pm from April-Oct. and 11 am - 5 pm Nov.-March.
Local residents and children $5; other adults $9.
Monticello
www.monticello.org
984-9822
Getting there: Follow the signs from almost anywhere in town to Rt. 53.
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| Monticello |
Thomas Jefferson's home. Your ticket gets
you a half-hour guided tour of the house and self-guided tours
of the gardens and slave quarters. Open 8 am - 5 pm from March-Oct.
and 9 am - 4:30 pm from Nov.-Feb. Take your student ID—tickets
are $6 for Charlottesville/Albemarle residents (free if you
bring someone from out of town) and $14 for other adults.
Michie Tavern
www.michietavern.com
977-1234
Getting there: Half-mile before Monticello on Rt.
53.
One of the oldest homesteads in Virginia,
built by John Michie circa 1784, offers tours. Lunch at "The
Ordinary" is a fixed menu in the colonial style. General
store and museum gift shop. If you don't want to pay for
the tour, you can still check out the other period buildings
on your way to Monticello.
Montpelier
www.montpelier.org
(540) 672-2728
Getting there: Rt. 20 North and follow signs (25 miles).
First settled in 1723, the 175-room, 2,700-acre
lifelong home of James Madison, fourth U.S. President. Open 9:30 am-4:30 pm November through March. Open 9:30 am- 5:30 pm April through October. First Saturday in November you can see a steeplechase. $11 adults, $6 for children 6-14, free for children under 6.
Photos courtesy of
the Charlottesville/Albemarle Convention & Visitors
Bureau,
www.SoVeryVirginia.com
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Want a more active day trip? Check
out the Clubs and Organizations by Sport page
for information on skiing, snow tubing, canoeing, rafting, kayaking,
horseback riding, ice skating, and more.
For links to local and regional
historical offerings, check out the Monticello Avenue community Web
site:
http://avenue.org/
history.htm
UVA Student Guides offer tours of Thomas Jefferson's
Academical Village, including the Rotunda and ranges, throughout the
year. During the summer, the tours are shortened to include the Rotunda
only. The Rotunda is open to visitors daily from 9 am - 4:45 pm. Free.
Call 924-7969 for information.
Self-guided walking tours of historic downtown
Charlottesville are available on line.
Every fall and spring, the Foxfield
Races, a steeplechase horse race with a tailgating atmosphere,
is a big draw for UVA students. The Student Bar Association sponsors
a trip to the event.
In the spring, the Garden Conservancy holds Open Days. Many private gardens in the Charlottesville area are opened to the public for viewing.
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