I have been to many visitor centers over the years. Most have a physical building and are open 7 days a week. When I was planning to go to Charlottesville on vacation recently I searched on google and found out you can only call them on Weds and Thurs and they don't have a physical building. They have a temporary kiosk. I did ask for info about Charlottesville. The highlights are Monticello, UVA and the DownTown Mall. It was unfortunate that it rained on some days I was there. Nothing you can do about the weather. It was sunny on enough days I could get out and explore.
Also, if you are a history buff, Montpelier is about a half hour drive from Charlottesville and is the home of James Madison. It's not as grand as Monticello, but it was okay.
The other home, Highland, was the home of James Monroe and is located in Charlottesville. One thing I was not aware of is the original home burned down in 1829 after Monroe had sold the home. It was never rebuilt so what you are actually seeing on the property is a guest house the president never resided in. IF I had known this I would have thought twice about going there. They don't really put this information out there front and center. I only learned about it when I was there. They do have a history tour, but I think I would have probably skipped highlands.
the downtown mall is nice, my friend and I got to see a free concert at the venue called the 'Ting' There are many shops and restaurants, but one caveat is there were many homeless there. There is a police presence there. Just thought I'd mention it.
I took Amtrak and took their transit buses called CAT which are free. They don't run on Suns though. I did have to take Lyft to Monticello, there are no buses or shuttles to get to the property. There are also wineries and hiking trails in the Blue Ridge mountains to enjoy. read more
