Jefferson's architectural masterpiece and the heart of the University of Virginia, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Lawn, the Rotunda, and the colonnaded pavilions can be walked freely at any hour; the grounds are public. Guided tours depart from the Rotunda several times daily. The Poe Room in the West Range is open most days — check the UVA website for current hours.
UVA Academical Village
A story
Jefferson called it an 'academical village' rather than a campus, and the distinction was deliberate. He designed the Lawn — a long rectangular green flanked by student pavilions connected by colonnaded walkways — as a community of scholars living and studying together, anchored by the Rotunda at the north end rather than a church. The Rotunda was based on the Pantheon in Rome, scaled to half-size. The Academical Village was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, one of only a handful of sites in the eastern United States. Edgar Allan Poe briefly lived in Room 13 of the West Range during his single year at UVA in 1826; the room is maintained as a period memorial.