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| Visitors to Richmond can take a history-rich stroll along aptly named Monument Avenue. |
If you’re looking for a fun road trip this fall, consider heading for Richmond, VA. Virginia’s capital has an intriguing blend of old school history and modern urban living, with the casualness of southern style. Whether you spend just a weekend or a full week here you’re sure to have enjoyed yourself and learned something new. Take a look at some of what Richmond has to offer that’s accessible to the drive market.
For those interested in Richmond’s classic historic homes and monuments, take a drive down Monument Avenue. This is America’s only grand residential boulevard that’s intertwined within multiple large-scale monuments that have survived almost unaltered since their erection in 1890. The National Historic Landmark houses statues of General Robert E. Lee, multiple Confederate leaders and most recently of tennis champion and philanthropist Arthur Ashe Jr.
For a more unique look into Richmond, drive down to Cary Street to see some of the city’s famed street art in a neighborhood known as The Fan (named after the streets that fan out from Belvidere Street and the Virginia Commonwealth University areas). Much of the street art on Cary Street has been featured as part of the Richmond Mural Project. On the drive you can see work by artists such as Stormie Mills, Greg Mike, Ever, Angry Woebots and others. Cary Street also has one of the largest stretches of Victorian architecture in the United States. More good street art can be found on West Main, Broad and Grace streets.
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| Carytown is an urban retail district lining Cary Street at the southern end of the Museum District in Richmond. |
Next, drive through Richmond’s current most trendy neighborhood, Scott’s Addition. Known unofficially as the Beverage District, it is home to a variety of breweries and cideries, as well as a meadery and a distillery. If you want to bar-hop, park the car and walk between any of the area’s 10 breweries and ale houses.
Don’t leave Richmond without visiting the Church Hill neighborhood. A must-see spot is St. John’s Church — better known as the spot where Patrick Henry made his famous “give me liberty or give me death” speech just prior to the start of the American Revolution. Also in the neighborhood is the popular Edgar Allan Poe Museum for lovers of literature or all things macabre.
If you’re flying into Richmond International or another airport nearby, there are ample rental car and car-share service opportunities available to travelers without vehicles. Downtown at 207 E. Main Street, for example, is Enterprise Rent-a-Car, which specializes in auto travel in the state capital area. To live like a local, try Uzurv. It’s Richmond’s home-grown version of Uber that allows you to book a ride on-demand and has a variety of filter options to ensure you get the ride you want most, like vehicle, amenities, special services and specific drivers.
Be sure to end your Richmond road trip at Libby Hill Park for the quintessential view that inspired Richmond’s name, as the town from this vantage point closely resembles that of Richmond on Thames in England.