Virginia's attic is looking pretty darn impressive after a multimillion-dollar renovation. With easy-to-digest changing and permanent exhibits tracing the story of the Commonwealth from its prehistoric beginnings to today, this is a great place for a quick history primer before setting out to explore the state's many historic sites.
Virginia Museum of History & Culture
Richmond
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.21 MILES
Richmond is a cultured city, and this splendid art museum is the cornerstone of the local arts scene. Highlights of its eclectic, world-class collection…
3.15 MILES
Contains the world's largest collection of manuscripts and memorabilia of poet and horror-writer Edgar Allan Poe, who lived and worked in Richmond…
2.54 MILES
Designed by Thomas Jefferson, the capitol building was completed in 1788 and houses the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere – the Virginia…
23.14 MILES
Dating from 1726, this plantation on the James River was the birthplace and home of Benjamin Harrison V, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence,…
Petersburg National Battlefield Park
22.6 MILES
Several miles east of town, Petersburg National Battlefield is where Union soldiers planted explosives underneath a Confederate breastwork, leading to the…
National Museum of the Civil War Soldier
25.92 MILES
West of downtown and inside the privately run Pamplin Historical Park, the excellent National Museum of the Civil War Soldier illustrates the hardships…
Richmond National Battlefield Park
2.18 MILES
The dozen Civil War sites and four visitor centers that comprise this park can be visited on an 80-mile driving tour around Richmond. The best place to…
1.75 MILES
Perched above the James River rapids, this tranquil cemetery contains the gravesites of two US presidents (James Monroe and John Tyler), the only…
Nearby Richmond attractions
1. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
0.21 MILES
Richmond is a cultured city, and this splendid art museum is the cornerstone of the local arts scene. Highlights of its eclectic, world-class collection…
0.78 MILES
Famous southerners including JEB Stuart, Robert E Lee, Matthew Fontaine Maury, Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson are memorialized in statue form along…
1.75 MILES
Perched above the James River rapids, this tranquil cemetery contains the gravesites of two US presidents (James Monroe and John Tyler), the only…
4. Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia
1.8 MILES
Housed in the castellated 1895 Leigh Street Armory, the only 19th-century built for an African American militia, this museum has a permanent collection of…
2.02 MILES
The Virginia War Memorial, dedicated to all branches of service who served in all theaters of American combat since World War II, is an impressive…
6. Richmond National Battlefield Park
2.18 MILES
The dozen Civil War sites and four visitor centers that comprise this park can be visited on an 80-mile driving tour around Richmond. The best place to…
2.22 MILES
Part of the multisite American Civil War Museum, this fascinating exhibit – housed inside an 1861 iron works that at its height employed 800 free and…
2.32 MILES
A long pedestrian bridge leads from Tredegar St (just past the national park site) out to this car-free island. Once a quarry, power plant and POW camp…