Lexington sits in the Shenandoah Valley, a small and walkable town that contains more American history per square mile than almost anywhere outside Washington DC. Two campuses dominate the centre — Washington and Lee University, one of the oldest in America, and the Virginia Military Institute, the country's oldest state military college — and between them they give the town its particular atmosphere: serious, well-kept, and acutely conscious of its past.
The Civil War is everywhere. Robert E. Lee is buried in the University Chapel on the Washington and Lee campus, along with his horse Traveller. The Stonewall Jackson House, where Jackson lived before the war, is open to visitors. And the George C. Marshall Museum on the VMI campus covers the VMI alumnus who became Army Chief of Staff, Secretary of State, and Nobel Peace Prize winner.
The surrounding landscape is reward enough in itself. The Chessie Nature Trail follows the Maury River east from town along a converted railway line, with Blue Ridge Mountain views and excellent birdwatching. Natural Bridge and the rest of the Shenandoah Valley are within easy reach for day trips.