Charlottesville is a small city of about 50,000 in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in central Virginia. It is defined, in roughly equal parts, by Thomas Jefferson's legacy, the University of Virginia he founded, and the wine country that has developed across Albemarle County in the decades since. The Downtown Mall — a pedestrianised stretch of East Main Street lined with independent shops, restaurants, and bars — is one of the finest of its kind in the American South: long enough to wander, compact enough to know well after a day or two.
The University of Virginia is not just a university; it is Jefferson's architectural masterpiece. The Academical Village, with its Rotunda and serpentine brick garden walls, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 as part of the Monticello and University of Virginia grouping. Students and faculty mix freely with the town, which gives Charlottesville an intellectual energy unusual for a city its size. UVA's Fralin Museum of Art and its outdoor amphitheatre, the Dell, are both open to visitors.
Monticello sits on a hilltop 5 kilometres southeast of downtown, and a visit rewards more than the conventional plantation-tour experience. Recent archaeology and interpretive work at Monticello has substantially expanded the presentation of the lives of the enslaved people who built and maintained the estate — a more honest and more interesting story than what the house alone tells. Ash Lawn-Highland, the more modest plantation home of Jefferson's friend and successor James Monroe, is a short drive away and often undervisited.
Wine country begins almost immediately outside the city limits. Albemarle County has over 30 wineries, with Barboursville Vineyards — on the grounds of a Jefferson-designed mansion ruin — producing some of the most respected Italian-varietal wines on the East Coast. Shenandoah National Park is 45 kilometres north, with Skyline Drive running the length of the Blue Ridge and Whiteoak Canyon among the best waterfall hikes in the eastern United States. Charlottesville is approximately 2.5 hours southwest of Washington DC.