Old Town Alexandria: Although Alexandria is very much part of metro Washington, D.C., the historic district known as "Old Town" evokes the time when the nation's early leaders strolled its streets and partook of grog at Gadsby's Tavern.
Mount Vernon: When he wasn't off surveying, fighting in the French and Indian Wars, leading the American Revolution, or serving as our first president, George Washington made his home at a plantation 8 miles south of Alexandria. Restored to look as it was in Washington's day, Mount Vernon is America's second-most visited historic home.
Fredericksburg: Not only did the Fredericksburg area play a role in the birth of a nation, it was the boyhood home of George Washington. James Monroe, who as president kept European powers out of the Americas by promulgating the Monroe Doctrine, lived here before he moved to Charlottesville. The great Confederate leader Robert E. Lee was born near here a generation later. Fredericksburg still retains much of the charm it possessed in those early days.
Charlottesville: If Washington was the father of the United States, then Thomas Jefferson was its intellectual genius. This scholar, lawyer, writer, and architect built two monuments -- his lovely hilltop home, Monticello, and the University of Virginia -- that still evoke memories of this great thinker and patriot.
Williamsburg, Jamestown & Yorktown: Known as the Historic Triangle, these three towns are the finest examples of colonial America to be found. Colonial Williamsburg looks as it appeared when it was the capital of Virginia in the 18th century. The original Jamestown settlement is now a national historical park, as is Yorktown, where Washington defeated Lord Cornwallis to end the American Revolution.
