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All the United States Virginia

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Virginia

320 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Virginia

Updated May 22, 2025

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Cities

Top Cities
Alexandria
Dark Star Park.
Arlington
Edgar Allan Poe Museum
Richmond
Williamsburg
Exterior of prison buildings.
Lorton
Abandoned Virginia Renaissance Faire
Fredericksburg
All Cities
  1. Alexandria
  2. Arlington
  3. Bedford
  4. Bluemont
  5. Brandy Station
  6. Bristol
  7. Burke
  8. Centreville
  9. Charles City
  10. Charlottesville
  11. Fairfax
  12. Fairfax Station
  13. Falls Church
  14. Fort Belvoir
  15. Fredericksburg
  16. Front Royal
  17. Great Falls
  18. Herndon
  19. Leesburg
  20. Lexington
  21. Lorton
  22. Lynchburg
  23. Manassas
  24. Mc Lean
  25. Natural Bridge
  26. Newport News
  27. Norfolk
  28. Petersburg
  29. Portsmouth
  30. Richmond
  31. Roanoke
  32. Smithfield
  33. Springfield
  34. Staunton
  35. Sterling
  36. Vienna
  37. Virginia Beach
  38. Warsaw
  39. White Post
  40. Williamsburg
  41. Winchester
  42. Wytheville
  43. Yorktown
Attractions
Food & Drink
Map
Leaderboards
Stories

Unusual Attractions in Virginia

Williamsburg, Virginia

President Heads

Giant busts of 42 U.S. presidents are sitting in a field in Virginia.
Abandoned Virginia Renaissance Faire

Fredericksburg, Virginia

Abandoned Virginia Renaissance Faire

The remains of a failed attempt at medieval nerdery are hidden deep in the woods of Virginia.

Natural Bridge, Virginia

The Natural Bridge

A sacred site for Native Americans surveyed by George Washington and owned by both King George III and Thomas Jefferson.
Great Channels of Virginia.

Saltville, Virginia

Great Channels of Virginia

This maze-like slot canyon is a unique gem within an already fascinating geological area.
Edgar Allan Poe Museum

Richmond, Virginia

Edgar Allan Poe Museum

This museum devoted to the gothic author holds such interesting ephemera as his socks and walking stick.

Duffield, Virginia

Virginia's Natural Tunnel

A 300-yard long natural tunnel runs through a ridge deep in the Appalachian Mountains.
Dinosaurland

White Post, Virginia

Dinosaurland

Outsider art meets paleontology at this roadside reptile repository.
A hydrotherapy tub in St. Albans Sanatorium.

Radford, Virginia

St. Albans Sanatorium

Paranormal investigators claim this abandoned asylum is the most haunted spot in the eastern U.S.
See All 320 Things To Do in Virginia

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia

Doumar's Barbecue

This old-fashioned carhop restaurant gave the world the waffle cone.

Alexandria, Virginia

George Washington's Distillery

The only place for a truly presidential dram.

Charlottesville, Virginia

Monticello's Vegetable Garden and Fruitery

Thomas Jefferson's estate is home to hundreds of varieties of historic fruits and vegetables.
Festival sign

Gordonsville, Virginia

Gordonsville Fried Chicken Festival

This Virginia town has been famous for its fried chicken since the 19th century.
See all 15 Places to Eat in Virginia
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Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Atlas Obscura Itineraries

The Explorer’s Guide to Road Tripping Around Appalachia

The world still doesn’t quite know what to make of Appalachia. The mountainous, multi-state region has long been defined both by mystery and misconceptions. In many ways, it’s been America’s shadow since the nation’s birth. Early settlers fretted about American Indian tribes, dark hollows, and looming wilderness in the 1600s and 1700s, while modern folks tend to worry more about the environmental degradation and concentration of Trump voters. Yet, Appalachia is much like America as a whole—it sprawls from south to north across several states, spawning local cultures marked as much by their diversity and differences than what they have in common. And these mountains are old. Rocks formed during the Precambrian era have been found in some places. Parts of the Appalachian Mountains are thought to be even older than Saturn’s rings, and millennia of erosion have given rise to one of the richest temperate ecosystems in the world. This diverse bioregion has become home to a melting pot of culture. Archaeological findings indicate that American Indian tribes inhabited the region 20,000 years ago. The first Europeans arrived in the 1500s, when Spanish conquistadors ventured up from what is now Florida. English and French settlers followed, establishing a general pattern that continues into the present: Newcomers bring their cultural traditions into the region, where they are absorbed into the greater whole.

View Itinerary
Although much of Appalachia’s old-growth forests have been destroyed, those that survive are glorious.

Explore Virginia

History & Culture 54
History 51
Architecture 38
Museums 36
Civil War 34
Military 32
Cemeteries 24
Military History 23
Houses 21
Black History 19
Monuments 18
Slavery 16
Unique Restaurants & Bars 2

Virginia Leaderboard

Places Added

  1. blimpcaptain
    81
  2. Elliot Carter
    17
  3. Sydney Rose
    12
  4. exploringwithesch
    11
  5. Edward Denny
    8

Places Edited

  1. blimpcaptain
    141
  2. Jason Michael Walker
    55
  3. AF
    20
  4. Elliot Carter
    20
  5. breaingram
    19

Places Visited

  1. Kev Obie
    293
  2. Scriv
    268
  3. blimpcaptain
    242
  4. A Bear
    238
  5. OBellus Fun
    213

Recent Virginia Activity

  • samratwithdime

    wants to go to Laurel Hill House

  • samratwithdime

    wants to go to Nike Missile Control Site N-85

  • lindsaychilds

    has been to The Palisades Restaurant

  • lindsaychilds

    has been to Floyd Country Store

Stories About Virginia

What Secrets Are Behind the Magic of Miniatures? AO Wants to Know.

Artist Amanda Kelly crafts tiny worlds that tell intricate stories.
by Andrew Coletti
April 3, 2025
Smoke In Chimneys sells rainbow trout to about 250 restaurants.

Inside One Family's Mission to Revive an Abandoned Appalachian Trout Farm

The Walkers' hatchery now provides rainbow and brook trout to Michelin-starred restaurants across the East Coast.
by Eric J. Wallace
May 16, 2024

Podcast: Twin Oaks

Just how many parents can a kid have? A collaboration with Freakonomics.
by The Podcast Team
September 25, 2023

Podcast: Telling Time Through the Trees With the Places Team

These trees have seen major moments in history.
by The Podcast Team
April 24, 2023
Dontavius Williams thanks Caesar, the 18th-century enslaved chef who managed Stratford Hall, before beginning a demonstration in the historic hearth where Caesar once cooked.

Remembering Caesar, Colonial Virginia’s Enslaved Chocolatier

In Robert E. Lee's birthplace, Dontavius Williams honors an unsung chef.
by Sam Lin-Sommer
March 9, 2023

Podcast: Anne Spencer’s Garden

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team
August 30, 2022
The filling is smooth and sweet, but with something deeper and more complex.

Resurrecting Virginia's Forgotten 'Caramel' Pie

Beloved by Edna Lewis, this plum-based favorite deserves a resurgence.
by Claiborne Milde
June 2, 2022
The Higby variety of the Hog Island Fig.

The Surprising Resilience of the Hog Island Fig

Virginia's Eastern Shore has rallied around a sweet, centuries-old local delicacy.
by Rachel Kester
November 24, 2021

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