<p>My friend and I are going up to Virginia from Texas to visit UVa... Unfortunately we both don't know too much about the area or university. Is there any part of Charlottesville or UVa, that we absolutely must see? Historical? Really nifty? Anything off the walking tour?
Thanks</p>
<p>Go to Monticello!</p>
<p>I've heard good things about Skyline Drive.</p>
<p>Skyline drive goes for a very very long time if I remember correctly.</p>
<p>Any other ideas guys?</p>
<p>if you really want to do the whole thing you could visit colonial williamsburg/jamestown and heck you might as well go to DC while you're at it.</p>
<p>I agree with Protean, if your coming in from Texas its likely you will be using a DC airport. There is a lot to see in DC, the entire mall is great, and many of the museums and zoo are free. If you fly into Dulles the new air and space museum is practically next door, although you have to pay for parking. If you fly into Reagan you could take the metro into DC and see a lot in a day or two.</p>
<p>To get a feeling for Charlottesville, wander around The Corner and then go to the Downtown Mall. The Office of Admission has brochures that will give you directions. After visiting the Downtown Mall, head over to Monticello. The grounds are open and you can wander around even if you don't buy a ticket for a tour of the house. </p>
<p>FWIW, it's winter, so the hills won't be as lush as they are most of the year. Most of the time, the hills are green.</p>
<p>If you're in DC, here's a few ideas: walk around the mall, walk past the White House, and walk through the National Archives. The Archives are free (as are the whole Smithsonian) and you can see the Declaration and the Constitution, as well as one of the Magna Cartas. The museum of American history is supposedly really bad now (haven't seen it yet), but Natural History is great. Just beware of the expensive food prices. I live in MD 45 minutes from DC, so I do this type of thing fairly often :-).</p>