Charlottesville

Understand

Of the eight U.S. presidents who came from Virginia, two — Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe — were from Charlottesville, and two more came from neighboring counties. Central Virginia was a major battlefield during the Civil and Revolutionary Wars. Jefferson, whom locals affectionately call "Mr. Jefferson," or "TJ," continues to cast a long shadow, particularly over local architecture. Many of Charlottesville's public buildings are made of brick and built in a Jeffersonian style, and many private homes are colonial. His home at Monticello and the Jefferson-designed University of Virginia have set the tone for the communities' beautiful buildings. When visiting Charlottesville, be sure to stop by the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society to learn more about the area's rich history.

The culture of Charlottesville revolves around two points: the University of Virginia and the Historic Downtown Mall.

Tourist information

• Visit Charlottesville website

Get in

By plane

• Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) has a wide range of flights to domestic and international destinations, but is about 100 miles from Charlottesville. If you can't drive from Dulles to Charlottesville or take a connecting flight, there is a daily Virginia Breeze bus between the two, or you can take a taxi/Uber/Lyft to Manassas station, then take an Amtrak train (see below).

By train

Go Charlottesville station

To travel to and from the station, call for taxi service or take the CAT bus or trolley, if you are not walking.

📍 810 W Main Stabout halfway between the Downtown Mall and the University (3/4 mile to each), but within walking distance of several restaurants.

MapsWebsite☆ Want to go

• Routes stopping in Charlottesville:

• Cardinal operating three trips weekly between Chicago and New York City with stops in Dyer, Rensselaer, Lafayette, Crawfordsville, Indianapolis, Connersville, Cincinnati, Ashland, Huntington, Charleston, Hinton, White Sulphur Springs, Staunton, Charlottesville, Culpeper, Manassas, Alexandria, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Wilmington, Philadelphia, Trenton, and Newark.
• Crescent between New Orleans and New York City via Birmingham, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Washington, D.C.
• Northeast Regional is Amtrak's busiest regional service, connecting Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and the many towns and cities in-between. Toward the east end of the route, some trips terminate at Springfield instead of Boston. Some services also continue south into Virginia towards Newport News, Roanoke and Norfolk on three separate branch routes from Alexandria. Charlottesville is on the branch to and from Roanoke.

By car

The major highways leading into Charlottesville are US-29 and I-64. I-64 is a four-lane interstate leading to Charlottesville from east and west. There is rarely traffic on I-64 near Charlottesville, and the only major hill is crossing Afton Mountain, about 30 minutes west of town. US-29 is an extremely variable road. To the south, it is a four-lane road with frequent curves and at-grade crossings, but few traffic lights. To the north, the road alternates between being a four-lane commercial center with frequent traffic lights and businesses and being more similar to US-29 south of town. Traffic on US-29 north of town can be slow or dense at rush hour and around special events in Charlottesville, but speeds below 25 mph are rare.

Travel times from nearby cities are:

• Staunton, about 45 minutes.
• Richmond, a little over an hour.
• Lynchburg, between 1 and 1½ hours (68 miles)
• Washington, D.C., between 2 and 2½ hours. The trip is approximately 110 miles.
• Roanoke, about 2 hours.

By bus

Greyhound has a bus stop in Charlottesville. If you are traveling to or from Washington, DC, the train is generally faster, cleaner, and more comfortable than the bus. Virginia Breeze (selling tickets via Megabus) and Flixbus have routes through Charlottesville as well, and these two services have student discounts. Note that all three have bus stops in different places.

Get around

University of Virginia

Getting around the University of Virginia, often called UVA (with each letter pronounced), is easy using the free University Transit System (UTS) buses. The Central Grounds area is very walkable, but some areas of campus (called "Grounds" by students) can be over a mile away. From the University to the downtown mall is a walk of 20-30 minutes and there is a free trolley bus that runs in a loop from the University to the Downtown Mall approximately every 20 minutes. It is not easy to find parking around the University area, including the Corner and between 14th Street and Rugby Road. There is a parking garage at the University Bookstore, on Emmet Street, that only fills up during certain university events (e.g., Days on the Lawn). There are also plenty of Veo rental e-scooters around Grounds.

City of Charlottesville

The city is reasonably well connected by free city buses, the Charlottesville Area Transit (CAT). Don't use Google Maps for CAT bus routes; Google sometimes has the wrong bus data. Parking in nearly all areas of the city is free and easy to find. Parking at the Downtown Mall will often require paying a modest rate at a lot or parking garage.

One of the CAT routes is a free trolley bus that operates along East Main Street/Water Street between downtown and the University of Virginia. Stops include the Virginia Discovery Museum, the downtown mall, the Amtrak station/Greyhound stop, and the Rotunda and chapel of the University of Virginia. Like with UVA, the city has Veo rental e-scooters, but don't expect every area to have them or for every road to be scooter-friendly.

Surrounding area

Transportation outside of the city is best accomplished by car, although taxi and certain buses may be available for some locations. Main roads are well signed and in good repair, but can be hilly and curvy. If traveling to an unusual location or taking a shortcut through smaller country roads, be prepared for unpaved roads, limited signs, and frequent curves.

Taxis

With the possible exceptions of the airport and the Downtown Mall, you must call for taxi service in Charlottesville. There are several taxi companies in the city.

• ABA Taxi: +1 434 981-6800
• A&A Taxi: +1 434 842-4851
• A&W Taxi: +1 434 882-1822
• Accent Taxi: +1 434 981-1913
• Access: +1 434 974-5522
• Arrow Taxi, James Collier, Jr.: +1 434 760-2035
• Doni Taxi: +1 434 227-2321
• Herring Shuttle: +1 434 953-6025
• Midnight Special: +1 434 760-0916
• Monticello Cab: +1 434 760-0055
• New York City: +1 434 825-1669
• Peter's Shuttle: +1 434 760-5740
• Ride Rite Airport Service: +1 434 327-3815
• Shuttle & Safari Taxi: +1 434 227-6825
• Skyline Cab: +1 434 981-0473
• Tommy’s Taxi: +1 434 242-8959
• Star Taxi: +1 434 227-2324
• Wahoo Taxi: +1 434 981-0585
• Yellow Cab: +1 434 295-4131

Rental car

• Enterprise, Hertz and Thrifty have locations in central Charlottesville. Alamo, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Hertz and National have locations at the Charlottesville Airport.

Go next

• Blue Ridge Parkway and Shenandoah National Park - Beautiful drives along the Appalachians, with many hiking trails, some of which connect to the Appalachian Trail.
• Montpelier, the home of James Madison, is half an hour north on Route 20.
• Hike at the Ivy Creek or Ragged Mountain Natural Areas
• Tube the James River in Scottsville
• Golf at the many public and semi-private golf courses
• Explore Nearby Towns and Cities Washington DC, Richmond, Lynchburg, Roanoke etc, are within 3 hours drive from Charlottesville
• Arts and Crafts in and Around Charlottesville
• Monticello Wine Trail , Group of 40 wineries all located within 25 miles of Charlottesville.