Weekend in Richmond

Richmond has so much to offer, and is a really easy weekend trip from Washington, DC an hour to the north. It's awash in Civil War history, having been the focus of military campaigns in 1862 and 1864, and the National Park Service maintains a presence at the battlefields in the area, and a brochure explaining how to tour them. But it was an important city in Revolutionary War history and in the early history of the US. With a Capitol building designed by Thomas Jefferson, and the white house of the Confederacy, tons of museums, a thriving cultural scene and great restaurants, Richmond is definitely worth a visit.

Quick Tips:

Walk around the Fan, the largest Victorian historic district in the US, and visit the many old historic, registry of historic places type homes. There are a number of good restaurants in the area, the Strawberry Street Cafe is particularly good.

The Capitol Square is very quiet on a Sunday—go another day. Right now there is construction going on, in preparation for the 400th birthday of Virginia in 2007.

Maymont house and museum is a great place to visit also.

Best Way To Get Around:

You will need a car here. There is public transport but it does not get all the places you will want to go. Civil War battlefields are only accessible by car. If you stay in the Fan, you may be able to walk to restaurants and such, which is good, because parking is tight here. Parking is also tight in Carytown, but you will want to visit.

Grace Manor Inn is a gracious and beautiful quiet haven in the middle of this surprisingly busy and historical city. The level of comfort is immense, with large, two room suites, a multi-course gourmet breakfast, and lots of beautiful public spaces.

Intriguingly decorated with Victorian antique and reproduction furniture, which beautifully compliments its historic heritage, the Grace Manor Inn provides a comfortable and beautiful location just to sit for a while and sip a glass of wine. A music room, complete with baby grand piano, holds beautiful green and gilt furniture—the main sitting room in soft tones and white feels like a step back into the past—a more genteel and relaxed past.

There's a lovely outdoor area, too, and off street parking. One of my favorite places was the swing on the second floor balcony out back, where I could sip a glass of wine, and listen to the birds in the trees outside.

You're warmly greeted, given a tour of this interesting home, and put into a comfortable suite (ours was the least expensive, it still consisted of a large bedroom, beautifully appointed and including thick robes, as well as a sitting room with a TV, couch, Italian coffee maker for our first cup of coffee in the morning, a refrigerator stocked with a cheese tray, a bottle of wine and bottled water, and lots of room to stretch out.)

Breakfast was wonderful, and included mimosas or bellinis if desired, multiple courses, and a great deal of attention paid to special diets (the weekend we were there, the guests included me, a vegetarian, and some others who were doing a low-carb diet. The cook (co-owner Dawn) provided an exquisitely delicious gourmet breakfast for each of us, probably the best breakfast I have ever had, which perfectly followed our dietary needs. It was great.

When I go back to Richmond I will stay there again.