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Alexandria VA Attractions
Colonial and post-Revolutionary buildings are Old Town Alexandria’s main attractions. Our favorites are the Carlyle House and Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, but they’re all worth a visit.
These sites are most easily accessible via the King Street Metro station, combined with a ride on the free King Street Trolley to the center of Old Town. The exceptions are the Alexandria Black History and Resource Center, whose closest Metro stop is the Braddock Street station, and Fort Ward, accessible via the AT5 DASH bus from the King Street Metro station, or by car or taxi.
Whenever you come, you're sure to run into some activity or other -- a jazz festival, a tea garden or tavern gambol, a quilt exhibit, a wine tasting, or an organ recital. But note that many of Alexandria's main attractions are closed on Monday.
Save with a Discounted Attraction Pass -- For a Key to the City Museum Pass, covering 9 historic sites, check out https://www.visitalexandriava.com/things-to-do/historic-attractions-and-museums/key-to-the-city/
Three Specialized Attractions -- In the former headquarters of Franklin, Armfield & Co., one of America's largest 19th-century slave traders, Freedom House Museum, 1315 Duke St. (tel. 703/836-2858; https://www.alexandriava.gov/FreedomHouse), between Payne and West streets, uses first-person accounts to tell the story of the more than 1,800 enslaved persons who were bought and sold here each year. A slave compound occupied most of this city block. The museum is operated by the Northern Virginia Urban League, which shares the building. Open Friday and Saturday, 1pm to 5pm. Admission is $5.
Much digging has taken place to study and preserve the past in Old Town, and some of the results are on display in the Alexandria Archaeology Museum, 105 N. Union St. (tel. 703/838-4399; www.alexandriaarchaeology.org), on the third floor of the Torpedo Factory Art center. It shares space with a working laboratory. Admission is free. Check website for hours.
If you've ever had a clever idea for an invention you thought would revolutionize the world (and make you rich), walk into the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office Museum, in the USPTO's Madison Building, 600 Dulany St. (tel. 703/968-4332; https://www.uspto.gov/about-us/uspto-locations/alexandria-va/national-inventors-hall-fame-and-museum), which uses high-tech displays to explain how ideas for famous products came into being. Admission is free. The museum is open Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday 11am to 3pm. From the King Street Metro station, follow Diagonal Road south to Dulany Street.
13 Results
- Museum
Alexandria Black History Museum
In 1939, African Americans in Alexandria staged a sit-in to protest the segregation of blacks from Alexandria’s main library. The black community built its own public library, and it is this 1940s building that now serves as the Black History Museum. The center exhibits photographs,… - Historic Site
Carlyle House Historic Park
One of Virginia’s most architecturally impressive 18th-century homes, Carlyle House also figured prominently in American history. A social and political center, the house was visited by the great men of the day, including George Washington. But its most important historic moment… - Religious Site
Christ Church
This sturdy redbrick Georgian-style church would be an important national landmark even if its two most distinguished members had not been Washington and Lee. It has been in continuous use since 1773; the town of Alexandria grew up around this building—it was once known as the… - Museum
Fort Ward Museum and Historic Site
A short drive from Old Town is a 45-acre museum and park that transports you to Alexandria during the Civil War. The action here centers, as it did in the early 1860s, on an actual Union fort that Lincoln ordered erected, part of a system of Civil War forts called the “Defenses of… - Historic Site
Friendship Firehouse
Alexandria’s first firefighting organization, the Friendship Fire Company, was established in 1774. In the early days, the company met in taverns and kept its firefighting equipment in a member’s barn. Its present Italianate-style brick building dates from 1855; it was erected after… - Museum
Gadsby's Tavern Museum
Alexandria commanded center stage in 18th-century America, and Gadsby’s Tavern the spotlight. The tavern consisted of two buildings—one Georgian, one Federal, dating from around 1785 and 1792, respectively. Innkeeper John Gadsby combined them to create “a gentleman’s tavern,” which… - Landmark
George Washington Masonic National Memorial
Visible for miles from atop Shooter's Hill, this imposing neoclassical shrine is modeled after the ancient lighthouse at Alexandria, Egypt, and dedicated to American Freemasonry's most illustrious member. The heart of the memorial is the ornate hall dominated by a colossal… - Museum
Lee-Fendall House Museum
This handsome Greek Revival–style house is a veritable Lee family museum of furniture, heirlooms, and documents. “Light-Horse Harry” Lee never actually lived here, but he was a frequent visitor, as was his good friend George Washington. He did own the original lot but sold it to… - Religious Site
Old Presbyterian Meeting House
Presbyterian congregations have worshiped in Virginia since the Reverend Alexander Whittaker converted Pocahontas in Jamestown in 1614. The original version of this Presbyterian Meeting House was built in 1774. Although it wasn’t George Washington’s church, the Meeting House bell… - Museum
Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum
When its doors closed in 1933, this landmark drugstore was the second oldest in continuous operation in America. Run for five generations by the same Quaker family (beginning in 1792), the store counted Robert E. Lee (who purchased the paint for Arlington House here), George Mason,… The Athenaeum
This grand building, with its Greek Revival architectural style, stands out among the narrow Old Town houses on the cobblestone street. Built in 1851, the Athenaeum has been many things: the Bank of the Old Dominion, where Robert E. Lee kept his money prior to the Civil War; a…The Lyceum
This Greek Revival building houses a museum depicting Alexandria’s history from the 17th to the 20th centuries. It features changing exhibits and an ongoing series of lectures, concerts, and educational programs. The knowledgeable staff will be happy to answer questions. The striking…- Arts & Crafts
Torpedo Factory Art Center
This block-long, three-story structure was built in 1918 as a torpedo shell-case factory but now accommodates some 82 artists’ studios, where 165 professional artists and craftspeople create and sell their own works. Here you can see artists at work in their studios: from potters to…
Alexandria VA Shopping
Old Town has hundreds of boutiques, antiques stores, art galleries, and gift shops selling everything from souvenir T-shirts to 18th-century reproductions. Most of the best stores are interspersed among the multitude of restaurants and offices on King Street from the waterfront to the Metrorail station. Plan to spend a fair amount of time browsing between visits to historic sites. A guide to the city's 50-plus antiques and collectibles stores is available at the visitor center (you'll pay a premium for antiques here, so you may want to wait to buy if you're going to Fredericksburg).
Notable local favorite shops include Bellacara, 1000 King St. (www.bellacara.com; tel. 703/299-9652), for fragrant soaps and more than 50 brands of luxe skin- and haircare products; Society Fair, 277 S. Washington St. (www.societyfair.net; tel. 703/683-3247), Cathal Armstrong’s (of Restaurant Eve) venture, part bakery/market/butchery/wine bar/demo kitchen; An American in Paris, 1225 King St., Ste. 1 (www.anamericaninparisoldtown.com; tel. 703/519-8234), where one must knock on the door to enter and sort through the beautiful, one-of-a-kind cocktail dresses and evening gowns; and Red Barn Mercantile, 1117 King St. (www.redbarnmercantile.com; tel. 703/838-0355), a great place to buy gifts, no matter the occasion or person, college graduate to toddler’s birthday.
One essential stop is the Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 N. Union St., between King and Cameron streets on the Potomac River (tel. 703/838-4565; www.torpedofactory.org). This block-long, three-story waterfront structure was built by the U.S. Navy in 1918 and operated as a torpedo shell-case factory until the early 1950s, then used as storage for artifacts from the Smithsonian Institution. Today, it houses 84 working studios where artists and craftspeople create and sell their works. The shops and galleries are open daily 10am to 5pm, to 9pm on Thursday. It's closed New Year's Day, Easter, July 4th, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Alexandria VA Nightlife
Old Town Alexandria's nightlife options center on the bar scene, which is nearly as varied as the one across the Potomac in the District. In fact, a number of popular, in-town restaurant-bars have outposts here, including Pizzeria Paradiso, at 124 King St. (www.eatyourpizza.com; tel. 703/837-1245), whose cozy bar is situated behind a large glass fireplace and serves 15 drafts, American microbrews, and Belgian beers, and hosts happy hour Monday through Thursday from 5 to 7pm. If you’re in the mood for raucous karaoke, DJ and local band performances, shuffleboard, and Skee Ball, make your way to the Light Horse, 715 King St. (www.thelighthorserestaurant.com; tel. 703/549-0533), where downstairs is a restaurant, but upstairs is where you want to be. And for cocktails, live jazz, and a view of the Potomac, snag a seat in the lounge of Blackwall Hitch Thursday through Sunday evenings.
Alexandria falls under the aegis of Washington, D.C., when it comes to the performing arts. The free weekly City Paper (www.washingtoncitypaper.com) and the monthly magazine Old Town Crier (www.oldtowncrier.com) are the best sources of news about the local bar and music scene; pick up copies at the Ramsay House Visitor Center and in hotel lobbies.
King Street restaurants are the center of Alexandria's ongoing club and bar scene. Especially noteworthy are Two-NineTeen, 219 King St. (tel. 703/549-1141), which features live jazz Tuesday to Saturday nights in the Basin Street Lounge; the Fish Market, 105 King St. (tel. 703/836-5676), with either a pianist or a guitarist Thursday to Saturday nights; and Murphy's Irish Pub, 713 King St. (tel. 703/548-1717), the town's best Gaelic bar with live Irish bands to accompany corned beef and cabbage on weekends.
An older crowd likes to gather for live music on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings in the cozy lounge of the Morrison House, 116 S. Alfred St. (tel. 703/838-8000), between King and Prince streets. Sometimes you can hear wannabe professional singers belt out some fine jazz and even an aria or two.
The Birchmere, 3901 Mount Vernon Ave., south of Glebe Road (tel. 703/549-5919; www.birchmere.com), is the Washington area's prime showcase for nationally known bluegrass, country, and folk stars. Call or check the website for the schedule and reservations, which are absolutely necessary when a top performer is on stage.
