A long pedestrian bridge leads from Tredegar St (just past the national park site) out to this car-free island. Once a quarry, power plant and POW camp during the Civil War (though never all at once), today this is a somewhat scruffy city park. Big flat rocks are suitable for sunbathing, and hiking and biking trails abound – but don't swim in the James River, as the currents are treacherous.
Belle Isle
Richmond
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
2.19 MILES
Richmond is a cultured city, and this splendid art museum is the cornerstone of the local arts scene. Highlights of its eclectic, world-class collection…
1.47 MILES
Contains the world's largest collection of manuscripts and memorabilia of poet and horror-writer Edgar Allan Poe, who lived and worked in Richmond…
1.22 MILES
Designed by Thomas Jefferson, the capitol building was completed in 1788 and houses the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere – the Virginia…
20.91 MILES
Dating from 1726, this plantation on the James River was the birthplace and home of Benjamin Harrison V, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence,…
Petersburg National Battlefield Park
20.35 MILES
Several miles east of town, Petersburg National Battlefield is where Union soldiers planted explosives underneath a Confederate breastwork, leading to the…
National Museum of the Civil War Soldier
23.95 MILES
West of downtown and inside the privately run Pamplin Historical Park, the excellent National Museum of the Civil War Soldier illustrates the hardships…
Richmond National Battlefield Park
0.57 MILES
The dozen Civil War sites and four visitor centers that comprise this park can be visited on an 80-mile driving tour around Richmond. The best place to…
0.57 MILES
Perched above the James River rapids, this tranquil cemetery contains the gravesites of two US presidents (James Monroe and John Tyler), the only…
Nearby Richmond attractions
0.57 MILES
Perched above the James River rapids, this tranquil cemetery contains the gravesites of two US presidents (James Monroe and John Tyler), the only…
2. Richmond National Battlefield Park
0.57 MILES
The dozen Civil War sites and four visitor centers that comprise this park can be visited on an 80-mile driving tour around Richmond. The best place to…
0.59 MILES
Part of the multisite American Civil War Museum, this fascinating exhibit – housed inside an 1861 iron works that at its height employed 800 free and…
0.59 MILES
The Virginia War Memorial, dedicated to all branches of service who served in all theaters of American combat since World War II, is an impressive…
0.69 MILES
The 1.25-mile waterfront Canal Walk between the James River and the Kanawha (ka-naw-wha) and Haxall Canals is a lovely way of seeing a dozen highlights of…
1.22 MILES
Designed by Thomas Jefferson, the capitol building was completed in 1788 and houses the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere – the Virginia…
1.47 MILES
Contains the world's largest collection of manuscripts and memorabilia of poet and horror-writer Edgar Allan Poe, who lived and worked in Richmond…
8. White House of the Confederacy
1.5 MILES
This 1818 building was the executive mansion of the Confederacy between 1861 and 1865, and the wartime home of its president, Jefferson Davis. Guided 45…