For a mix of luxury living and college-town cool, head to this Central Virginia destination.
Charlottesville might be best known as the home of the University of Virginia and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. But hop off the Amtrak at its quaint station and you’ll discover a walkable city brimming with vintage finds, farm-to-table fare, and award-winning wines. Whether you’re browsing rare books at independent shops, learning American history at area museums, or kicking back at a countryside resort, you’ll find that Charlottesville offers a versatile getaway. This story is part of our July Explore Virginia by Train issue. Check back as we share additional weekend trips in Virginia that are just a train ride away.
What to Do
The train drops you off just a few blocks from the city’s brick-lined Downtown Mall, a pedestrian shopping area designed in the 1970s to revitalize the community. With its preserved historic buildings (it was added to the National Register of Historic Places last year) and more than 120 shops and 30 restaurants, it remains a gathering place for locals and a destination for visitors. Vintage style lovers will be in heaven browsing shops like Arsenic & Old Lace, where designer gowns can be found alongside breezy day dresses, polka-dot loafers, and Western staples. (It’s the real deal. Last year, actress Zendaya wore a Mugler gown sourced from the shop on the morning show Live with Kelly & Mark.) Find retro sweatshirts, denim, and records at Low Vintage and handmade slow fashion pieces at Darling x Dashing. In this literary city, you’ll find at least three independent bookstores in the Downtown Mall alone and about seven in total. New Dominion Bookshop is the oldest independent bookseller in Virginia, and the three-story Daedalus Bookshop, a Charlottesville institution since 1975, specializes in out-of-print books. More rare editions, along with antique prints and maps, can be found at Blue Whale Books.
Walk over to the University of Virginia campus and visit its free art museums: The Fralin Museum of Art and the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, the only museum outside of Australia dedicated to Indigenous Australian art and regarded by many as one of the best of its kind in the world. The campus itself is an architectural marvel. Designed by Thomas Jefferson, it’s the only university in the world with UNESCO World Heritage Site status…