Shopping

Richmond's neighborhoods have a number of specialty shops. The visitor centers provide brochures that cover these and many other stores around the city and out in the suburbs.

For distinctive souvenirs, don't forget museum gift shops, especially those at the Science Museum, Art Museum, Museum and White House of the Confederacy, Valentine Richmond History Museum, and the Virginia Children's Museum.

There are upscale shops along East Cary Street in Shockoe Slip, but the best place in town for a pleasant shopping stroll is in Carytown, the 7 blocks of West Cary Street between Boulevard and Nasemond Street that are lined with a mix of interesting stores. Ten Thousand Villages, 3201 W. Cary St. (tel. 804/358-5170), carries international handcrafts, with lots of baskets and primitive pottery.

You'll also find gourmet food shops, ethnic restaurants, secondhand clothing stores, and the landmark Byrd Theater, which shows second-run films at discount prices.