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Practicalities
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Amtrak trains from DC stop in Charlottesville at 810 W Main St, and Greyhound pulls in a few blocks away at 310 W Main St. Once you arrive, you can get to everything on foot, including the new downtown
visitor center
at 108 2nd St SE (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 11am-3pm; tel 434/977-6100 or 1-877/386-1102,
). The more established visitor center (daily 9am-5pm; tel 434/977-1783), well-signposted on Hwy-53 just south of I-64, houses a superb free exhibit called "Thomas Jefferson at Monticello," and is an excellent starting point for a trip to Monticello. Bus #8 from Market Street downtown goes there.
The best eating and drinking is to be had near the university and on the downtown mall. In between the two, Southern Culture , 633 W Main St, (tel 434/979-1990) is an inexpensive local favorite, with a slightly retro-1950s feel and fabulous tuna steak. Metropolitan , 214 W Water St tel 434/977-1043), is a suitably pricey downtown restaurant, but the fresh fish is worth every dollar. Just north of the downtown mall at Fifth and Market streets, Tastings (tel 434/293-3663) offers grilled meats and a grand selection of wines, including many from the vineyards surrounding Charlottesville, while Virginia's best selection of beers, plus a range of light meals, can be sampled a block further north at the Court Square Tavern , 500 E Jefferson St (tel 434/296-6111). The C&O Restaurant , 515 E Water St (tel 434/971-7044), housed in an old railroad engineers' diner, offers bistro-style food in its humming bar and more upscale French nouvelle cuisine in the upstairs dining room.
Being a college town, Charlottesville isn't short of
nightlife
, whether at bars like the
Outback Lounge
, 110 N Fourth St (tel 434/979-7211), or in its two main nightclubs,
Max's
, 120 S 11th St (tel 434/295-6299), and
Starr Hill
, 709 W Main St (tel 434/977-0017), which hosts live bands. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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United States,
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