Top 5 Must Visit Places in Virginia

There is so much to see and do in Virginia. Trying to decide what to do and what to see can get a little difficult. No matter where you go in Virginia, you will see an abundance of nature at its finest and pleasant people just waiting to greet you. There is just not enough time to experience all that Virginia has to offer in one vacation. I have narrowed it down to the top 5 must see and must do things in Virginia. So make sure to experience these top 5 things during your vacation, then if time permits fill in the gaps along the way with the other wonderful places in Virginia.

5. Virginia Living Museum

The Virginia Living Museum is a must see attraction for any nature lover. Offering a very unique combination of nature ranging from a zoological park all the way to a planetarium. Experience the wonderful smells and beautiful sights inside the Living Museum's botanical gardens. While visiting the Living Museum take the time to step outdoors and walk on the three fourth mile boardwalk that crosses the lake. During this walk keep your eyes open to the wildlife you can witness, such as river otters and even bald eagles.

4. Historic Jamestown

History buffs will love visiting Historic Jamestown. Take a step back in time to the first permanent English settlement. A National Park Service ranger will take you through a walking tour of the original settlement. Really step back in time when you visit the Jamestown Settlement which is a living-history museum offering new galleries and board replicas of three ships that crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1607. Want to see history unfold right before your eyes? Stop and watch real life archaeologists hard at work uncovering the past.

3. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum

See on of the world's finest collections of folk art inside this 10,400 square foot home. Exhibits offer you a view of American folk portraits, farm-related paintings and landscapes. Walk through the museum looking at stoneware, musical instruments and patriotic art. Does old-fashioned quilting interest you? See early quilts and coverlets as you make your way through the museum. A little morbid in my opinion but still worth taking a look at are the exhibits featuring objects of mourning.

2. Oatlands Plantation

I have always wanted to be a Southern Belle. I always had wished I had been born in a time when southern ladies wore big dresses and spoke with southern charm. Hiding behind big fans and batting eyes at a southern gent at a ball hosted inside a big ballroom. Since I was born too late to enjoy that kind of life, I have had to settle with visiting an antebellum plantation. Oatlands Plantation is a National Trust for Historic Preservation site. The plantation was built in 1804 and to this day will give you a glimpse into the life of a nineteenth-century working plantation and an early twentieth-century English-style country house. While enjoying Oatlands Plantation take the time to step outdoors and visit the breathtaking gardens which are complete with ornamental statuary and connecting terraces.

1. Virginia's Explore Park

This 1,100 acre environmental, historical and recreational park is located on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The top point to this park is the historic area. It is in this area that you can stroll through three historic areas that depict life in Virginia from 1,000 A.D to 1850. Staffs here are dressed in period accurate clothing interpreting Native American Village life. Come see how Virginians really lived in dressed through out a large part of history.

Remember these are just my top 5 things to see and do while in Virginia. There is so much more offered in Virginia than just these, so take the time to fill in the gaps along the way with all the other wonderful places and opportunities that Virginia is offering.