Roanoke is a railroad town with a remarkably good arts and outdoor scene for its size. The downtown is compact and walkable, the City Market and downtown core packed into roughly a ten-block grid. The major sights — the Virginia Museum of Transportation, the Taubman Museum of Art, the O. Winston Link Museum and the Roanoke Star — can all be reached in a single day on foot, scooter, or in short hops in the car.
The other half of the city's appeal is the surrounding mountains. McAfee Knob, Dragon's Tooth and Tinker Cliffs — three of the most photographed viewpoints on the entire Appalachian Trail — are all within a half-hour drive. The Blue Ridge Parkway begins just south of town and runs the length of the Blue Ridge for 469 miles to the Smokies.