Caroline Street is the main axis of Fredericksburg's historic downtown, running north-south through several blocks of Federal and Georgian commercial buildings dating from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The stretch between William Street and Hanover Street is exceptionally intact — two- and three-story brick buildings with original storefronts, now occupied by restaurants, coffee shops, antique dealers, and independent boutiques.
The Market Square at Princess Anne and William Streets is the historic center, with the 1816 Town Hall building that now houses the Fredericksburg Area Museum. On weekend mornings, a farmers' market fills the adjacent open space. The whole district is walkable and pleasant, and the concentration of colonial and Federal-period architecture is remarkable for a city that changed hands four times during the Civil War without being burned to the ground. The side streets off Caroline — particularly Princess Anne and William — contain additional 18th-century houses worth a look.