Where America's Story Began
Virginia is a state on the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States, known for early colonial history, the Blue Ridge Mountains and rolling countryside. Jamestown, founded in 1607, was the first permanent English settlement in North America, and the Historic Triangle of Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown still tells that story with living-history museums. Colonial Williamsburg, a restored eighteenth-century capital, is a favourite with families and history lovers, with costumed interpreters, craft workshops and tavern dining.
Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and the University of Virginia, both in Charlottesville, were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, and George Washington's Mount Vernon sits on a sweeping bend of the Potomac. Richmond, the capital, adds museums, murals and an energetic food scene along the James River. For a tourist board, these layers of heritage make Virginia an easy state to promote to culture-minded travellers.
Skyline Drive, Vineyards and the Coast
The landscape is as rewarding as the history. Shenandoah National Park's Skyline Drive runs about 105 miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge, with overlooks, waterfalls and hiking trails, and it blazes with colour in October. The Blue Ridge Parkway continues southwards, linking Virginia with Tennessee and the Smokies. Around Charlottesville and Middleburg, vineyards and horse country give a gentler, rural elegance, with country inns and farm-to-table kitchens.
Virginia Beach offers a long Atlantic shoreline, a lively boardwalk and a relaxed holiday pace, while the Eastern Shore and Chincoteague Island are known for their wild ponies and quiet marshes. Northern Virginia, just across the Potomac from Washington DC, adds Arlington, Alexandria's cobbled Old Town and easy transport links. A hotel group can offer everything from grand historic inns to oceanfront stays.
Read the full Virginia guide on Visit Travel Group, or see VisitVirginia.co.uk on Visit Travel Group.