Harrisonburg is a small city in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, anchored by James Madison University and shaped by a long-established Mennonite community. The combination of a large student body, a diverse immigrant and refugee population, and the old German-Scots-Irish farming culture of the valley produces a city with a lot going on for its size: good independent restaurants, a thriving Saturday farmers' market, a compact historic downtown, and a music scene that runs through the university.
The surrounding valley is one of the most beautiful stretches of the American interior. The Blue Ridge Mountains rise immediately to the east, with Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive about 25 kilometres away. Luray Caverns, New Market Battlefield, and several significant Civil War sites are within easy reach. The Virginia Quilt Museum and the Explore More Discovery Museum are the most distinctive cultural institutions in town.
Harrisonburg was named Virginia's first culinary district in 2014, a designation that reflects a restaurant scene punching well above its weight — in particular a remarkable number of good ethnic restaurants, fed by the refugee communities settled here since the early 2000s.