 Discover tranquil beaches and quaint towns that accent Virginia's Eastern Shore. Take the 17.6-mile-long Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel for a retreat to this 70-mile-long, finger-like peninsula, situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay. Explore the numerous barrier islands, wildlife refuges and natural habitats that make this an outdoor-lover's haven.
Enjoy the leisurely pace of old railroad towns and fishing villages along the way. See the region's fishermen haul in their catches of oysters and flounder. Hear the shouts of "saltwater cowboys" herding wild ponies from the Chincoteague and Assateague marshes during the annual round-up.
Discover the legacy of the region's first people as you travel through towns with Indian names such as Kiptopeke, Onancock, Accomac and Wachapreague. Listen for traces of old-world accents in the voices of Tangier Island residents.
Enjoy an action-packed vacation in Virginia's Tidewater and Hampton Roads region, the birthplace of English-speaking America.
Bask in the sun and sand along 29 miles of oceanfront beach - Virginia Beach. Cruise the tidal rivers of the Chesapeake Bay and watch for humpback whales in the Atlantic Ocean.
Explore Jamestown, where the first settlers struggled to create a new life. Walk Yorktown's battlegrounds, where Revolutionaries and Redcoats clashed. Talk with merchants along Colonial Williamsburg streets. Imagine the Civil War battle of the ironclads.
Hit the greens at the award-winning golf courses in the region. Get in some screams on a world-class roller coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Picture yourself as an astronaut at Hampton's Virginia Air and Space Center. Follow scenic Route 5 for a visit to the historic James River plantations.
Escape from fast-paced lifestyles to Virginia's Chesapeake Bay region, a world of rural villages where boats and marinas offer respite from rush. Restaurants dish up fresh, local seafood with Southern hospitality. Resorts, such as The Tides and Windmill Point, provide leisurely afternoon yachting excursions and boat rentals.
Sample the succulent fruit freshly picked from a berry farm and tickle your palate with a taste of flavorful wine produced at the Chesapeake Bay region's plantation winery. Watch eagles soar while you cruise up the Rappahannock River - or to the islands in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay.
Discover the ancestors of Virginia's first people at the Mattaponi and Pamunkey Indian reservations. Along the Potomac River, explore the birthplace of the nation's first president, George Washington, and stroll the estate where Confederate General Robert E. Lee was born.
Northern Virginia offers the culture of two different worlds combining historic and high tech, cosmopolitan skylines and country starlit skies. Take leisurely drives along scenic byways through horse country or cruise the modern highways leading to major urban attractions a short distance from the nation's capital.
Compare historic homes such as Mount Vernon, the Potomac River estate of the first U.S. president, with the modern lines of a nearby Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house.
Meander across historic Civil War battlefields and see history in the making at The Newseum, the first interactive museum of news.
Enjoy the offerings at small wineries, galleries, artists' studios and boutiques in rural towns and villages, or visit upscale shopping and premier outlet malls in urban settings.
Experience the revolutionary spirit of Central Virginia at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and James Monroe's Ash Lawn-Highland in Charlottesville and James Madison's Montpelier in nearby Orange.
Listen for the echoes of cannons and gunfire from the Civil War battlefields that wind through this former Confederate stronghold. Hear the roar of racing engines in Richmond, Martinsville, South Boston and Dinwiddie. Or encounter a volcanic eruption on one of the world's fastest roller coasters at Paramount's Kings Dominion.
Enjoy hot-air ballooning, whitewater rafting, hiking, cycling and horseback riding in Central Virginia. Relax at one of the many fine bed-and-breakfasts, inns and hotels - or at Wintergreen Resort and Boar's Head Inn.
View impressive collections at world-class museums such as the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond.
Farther west, savor the harvest of the vine at one of more than a dozen wineries. Stroll past Victorian homes on streets with names like Diamond Hill and Millionaire's Row in Lynchburg and Danville.
"Daughter of the stars" ? "Breadbasket of the confederacy" ? "The Big Valley." All these nicknames describe the 200-mile long Shenandoah Valley that sweeps across the Blue Ridge and Allegheny mountains.
Experience fiery fall foliage, vibrant spring blooms and picture-postcard farms and inns along scenic byways, country roads and the ever-popular Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway. Enjoy outdoor recreational activities in the vast national parklands and forests that blanket the region.
Discover crafts, foods, quaint villages and towns, theatrical entertainment, museums and sites highlighting the mountain heritage of the region.
Marvel at expansive mountain vistas, miles of hiking trails and trout-filled streams, and enormous one-of-a-kind naturally created caverns. Relax at a four-season resort - Bryce, the Homestead and Massanutten - offering golf, tennis, skiing and more.
The pioneering spirit of the Southwest Blue Ridge Highlands is as prevalent today as it was more than 200 years ago when Daniel Boone forged the Wilderness Trail for the nation's westward expansion.
Experience the majestic splendor of the natural wonders of the region. Reach for the sky at Virginia's highest peaks, Mount Rogers and White Top. Witness nature's handiwork at the "Grand Canyon of the South" in Breaks Interstate Park and at Natural Tunnel. Travel along famous paths such as the Appalachian Trail, the Virginia Creeper Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Celebrate the heritage here while listening to toe-tapping mountain music, taking in a performance at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon and appreciating the native arts and crafts still produced the old-fashioned way.
At Virginia?s westernmost tip, the Heart of Appalachia basks in wonders crafted by nature.
Explore Burke?s Garden, the fertile, crater-like valley atop a mountain named for the surveyor who claimed he had stumbled on the Garden of Eden.
Take the Natural Tunnel State Park chairlift for a stunning view of limestone formation called the "eighth wonder of the world" by William Jennings Bryan. Or climb High Knob Mountain?s observation tower for a panoramic look at five states: Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina and Tennessee.
Discover rare plants and aquatic organisms - including unusual ferns, wildflowers, spiny soft-shell turtles - that thrive in the mineral-rich soil and clear, mountain waters at Pinnacle Natural Area Preserve.
Enjoy whitewater rafting on the mighty Russell Fork River through Breaks Interstate Park, called the "Grand Canyon of the South", and experience breathtaking vistas at the numerous overlooks.
Travel to Stone Face Rock, said to mark the entrance to the Cherokee Indians? holy grounds.
Trek the Daniel Boone Heritage Trail to the Wilderness Road State Park. Then continue to Cumberland Gap Historical Park, which straddles the Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky junction.
Capture the awe and excitement first experienced centuries ago by Indians and explorers when they came upon the myriad natural wonders on their journeys westward on your own travels through the Heart of Appalachia.
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