Top Richmond Attractions

The top 10 Richmond attractions are a matter of opinion, but the following 10 are hard to beat.

1 – Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, 1800 Lakeside Avenue, features more than 50 acres of gardens. More than a dozen themed gardens include a Healing Garden, Sunken Garden, Asian Valley, Rose Garden, a wetland garden, a Victorian garden, and a Children’s Garden. A classical domed Conservatory, which is the only one of its kind in the mid-Atlantic, has displays, orchids and tropical plants. General admission tickets are $13 per person with discounts for seniors, children and military.
https://www.lewisginter.org/

2 – Maymont

This 100-acre estate, 2201 Shields Lake Drive, includes an historic mansion atop a hill with views of surrounding gardens, rolling landscape, a children’s zoo, majestic trees and a nature center. Admission to the grounds is free. The farm and wildlife center have a suggested donation of $5.
https://maymont.org/

3 – Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

VMFA, 200 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard, completed a four-year, $150 million expansion project in 2010 that added more than 165,000 square feet to the museum’s previous 380,000 square feet. The new James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin Wing houses a number of galleries, including the American art collection, the Lewis collection of Art Deco and Art Nouveau and others. Admission is free.
https://www.vmfa.museum/

4 – Virginia Museum of History and Culture

The society collects, preserves and interprets numerous examples of Virginia history. Founded in 1831, its first president was Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall. The museum is right next to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts at 428 N. Arthur Ashe Boulevard. Admission is $10 for adults with discounts for seniors, children and active military personnel.
https://www.virginiahistory.org

5 – Science Museum of Virginia

The Museum at 2500 West Broad Street offers hundreds of interactive exhibits and has permanent exhibitions on health, energy and natural science. It also features artifacts, live animals, a theater company and an IMAX®DOME. Other attractions include visiting exhibitions, educational programming, overnight adventures, lectures, demonstrations and summer camps. General admission is $15.50 for teens and adults; discounts are available for seniors and children.
https://www.smv.org

6 – Richmond International Raceway

The raceway, 600 E. Laburnum St., hosts two NASCAR Doubleheader weekends every year that feature the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series, under the lights on a ¾-mile D-Shaped oval. It also hosts many other events throughout the year such as festivals.
https://www.richmondraceway.com/

7 – Canal Walk

Richmond’s Canal Walk is a free 1.25 mile trek along the banks of the Haxall Canal and the James River & Kanawha Canal. The walk is accessible on 5th, 7th, Virginia, 14th, 15th, and 17th Streets. It presents four hundred years of Richmond history via medallions, monuments and exhibits.
http://www.rvariverfront.com/

8 – Virginia Capitol and Executive Mansion

Since 1788, the Virginia Capitol at 9th and Grace Streets has been home to the General Assembly, the oldest legislature continuously operating in the Western Hemisphere. The Capitol was designed by Thomas Jefferson and was the first public building in the New World constructed in the Monumental Classical style.The Executive Mansion is the oldest continuously occupied governor’s home (since 1813) in the country. It has free 20-minute tours available to the public.
https://www.executivemansion.virginia.gov/

9 – Hollywood Cemetery

Hollywood Cemetery, 412 S. Cherry Street, has been operating as a cemetery in Richmond since 1849. It is the final resting place of two American presidents (James Monroe and John Tyler), Confederate President Jefferson Davis, six Virginia governors, two Supreme Court justices, twenty-two Confederate generals, and thousands of Confederate soldiers. Admission is free; guided tours are available.
https://www.hollywoodcemetery.org/

10 – Agecroft Hall

Agecroft, 4305 Sulgrave Road, is an actual British manor house built in the 15th century in Lancashire, England. It eventually fell into disrepair and was sold at an auction. Richmond resident Thomas C. Williams Jr. bought the property, dismantled it, shipped it to Richmond and rebuilt it. The mansion is open to tours, which also include a garden. Admission costs $10 for adults with discounts for seniors, children and military personnel.
https://www.agecrofthall.org/

Scott S. Bateman