Why You Should Travel to Richmond

Virginia's capital city has become an increasingly popular place to live with a growing job market that includes top employers like Capital One Financial Corp., the HCA Virginia Health System and Bon Secours Richmond, along with a top-notch food scene and a wealth of things to do. While many come to check out Richmond apartments and homes to potentially make a move, it's well worth a visit even if that's not in the cards.

Here's why you should consider Richmond for your next travel destination.

To Take a Stroll Down Monument Avenue

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Monument Avenue is a boulevard that's been called the most controversial street in the country. It's long defined the city with its many monuments and statues, including the 12-ton equestrian figure of General Robert E. Lee. It was the first installation here, erected in 1890, and today, it's the last Confederate monument that remains. There are also magnificent mansions that date from the end of the gilded age, reflecting the works of renowned architects.

To Tour Maymont Mansion

The 1893 Maymont Mansion is a beautifully preserved estate and garden that's open to the public. It includes not only the gilded mansion itself but Italian and Japanese gardens, a nature and wildlife center, and a children's farm with animals visitors can feed. A guided tour will bring you through the mansion that provides a look at the lives of the Dooleys who left it to the people of Richmond after their deaths.

To Explore the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

One of the top attractions in Richmond, this art museum includes a permanent collection with more than 35,000 works of art from around the world. Explore independently or take a guided tour to view art deco, art nouveau, modern and contemporary American art along with French impressionist and post-impressionist pieces. The museum hosts two restaurants, a cafe that overlooks the Robins Sculpture Garden and its reflecting pool and the fine dining Amuse.

To Experience 'America's Next Great Restaurant-Obsessed Town'

Bon Appetit magazine called Richmond "America’s Next Great Restaurant-Obsessed Town," so you know you're going to find plenty of delicious eats here. It's long been known for its outstanding cuisine but in more recent years the dining scene has gotten quite a bit of national recognition, going well beyond classic Virginia fare like salty ham biscuits and pimento cheese. Thanks to the low rent, many top chefs have moved in and their menus tend to feature lots of local ingredients like crab and oysters from Chesapeake Bayalongside fresh produce from Victory Farms and Manakintowne, paired with craft beer or local wines.

To Learn About the Life of Edgar Allan Poe

One of the most influential American writers of the 19th century, Edgar Allan Poe was the first author to attempt to make a professional living as a writer. He's best known for his short stories and poems like The Raven which made him world-famous when it was published in 1845. His boyhood home in Richmond was recalled in one of his finest poems, To Helen, and today it serves as a museum that features one of the most extensive collections of Poe's manuscripts, letters, and artifacts, including a lock of his hair taken after his death.

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