Charlottesville City Tour

In 1819, Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and third U.S. president, founded this university as a radical experiment. Unlike other schools, which were tied to religion, UVA was meant to be a temple of reason. Its centerpiece, The Rotunda, was modeled on the Roman Pantheon—a symbol of Enlightenment thinking. You’ll walk The Lawn, surrounded by elegant pavilions where professors still live, and pass through the Pavilion Gardens, inspired by English landscape design. It’s peaceful, intellectual, and steeped in symbolism. But UVA also hides a contradiction: Jefferson, who wrote “all men are created equal,” enslaved more than 600 people in his lifetime. Enslaved laborers built these buildings. Their presence is finally being acknowledged today.

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In 1826, a teenage Poe studied here for just one year. Though brilliant, he racked up gambling debts and had to leave. His preserved room (No. 13 West Range) gives a glimpse into the life of America’s most haunted writer, years before he wrote The Raven or The Tell-Tale Heart.

Outside the business school, you’ll find this bronze statue of the blind Greek poet Homer—seated, holding a lyre, guided by a young boy. Jefferson believed classical knowledge was essential to building a free society. This statue captures that belief in stone.

Charlottesville’s brick-lined Downtown Mall reflects a later American era—the 1970s urban revival. The Paramount Theater, originally opened in 1931, is a beautifully restored art deco gem.