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 begin the tour is at the Civil War Visitor Center housed in an old wool mill next to Historic Tredegar. Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy from 1861 to 1865, and at this center, which offers park maps, informative exhibits and an audiovisual presentation, you'll learn lots about the city's wartime story.
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Richmond National Battlefield Park
Richmond
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
2.1 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…
1.1 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…
0.7 MILES
Designed by Thomas Jefferson, the capitol building was completed in 1788 and houses the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere – the Virginia…
20.96 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
20.69 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
24.41 MILES
West of downtown and inside the privately run Pamplin Historical Park, the excellent National Museum of the Civil War Soldier illustrates the hardships…
0.61 MILES
Perched above the James River rapids, this tranquil cemetery contains the gravesites of two US presidents (James Monroe and John Tyler), the only…
16.77 MILES
Built on the banks of the James River, this is Virginia's oldest plantation (1613). It retains an original row of brick service and trade houses – tool…
Nearby Richmond attractions
0.04 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…
0.16 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…
0.18 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…
0.57 MILES
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…
0.61 MILES
Perched above the James River rapids, this tranquil cemetery contains the gravesites of two US presidents (James Monroe and John Tyler), the only…
0.7 MILES
Designed by Thomas Jefferson, the capitol building was completed in 1788 and houses the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere – the Virginia…
7. White House of the Confederacy
0.96 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…
8. Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia
1.06 MILES
Housed in the castellated 1895 Leigh Street Armory, the only 19th-century built for an African American militia, this museum has a permanent collection of…