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Airport Details

Airport Full Name
Richmond International Airport

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IATA Code
RIC

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Location:
The airport is situated seven miles (11km) southeast of Richmond.

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Airport Facilities

A bank located in the main lobby on the ground floor offers full service banking including foreign currency exchange. ATMs are located in the Upper Level of the terminal and in the lobby of the parking garages. There are several bars, cafes and restaurants throughout the airport. Shops are situated in the atrium area of the second level of the terminal building. The airport also has teleconferencing with free Internet Ethernet LAN connections for laptop computers and meeting rooms for hire. A free Wireless Internet Service is also available for laptops on the airport's upper level. A Visitor's Information Center is located on the upper level near the escalators.

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Transfers

Taxi and limousine services are available outside the baggage reclaim area. The Greater Richmond Transit Company offers public buses to the Richmond terminal and to the city, as well as other greater Richmond locations.

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Contact

Tel: +1 804 226 3000.

Climate Details (C)

JFM AMJ JAS OND
Min -3-227121720191583-1
Max 8915212529313127211610
You are here: Travel Guides » Richmond

Travel Guides: Richmond

General Information

Richmond

The stately Southern granddame of Richmond has been Virginia's state capital since 1780, and although a bastion of history, it also has all the hallmarks of a lively and modern urban centre. Acting as an ideal gateway to the rest of the state, a range of attractions is within easy reach and visitors can enjoy the neighbouring sights and sounds of the ocean, mountains, battlefields, historic colonial Williamsburg, or can even drive into Washington DC to visit the nation's capital.

Richmond has played an enormous role in American history, particularly as the capital of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Today visitors can enjoy a host of monuments, battlefields, cemeteries and museums that hark back to the days when Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee held out against the Union. This is not a city stuck in the past, however, and there are numerous modern attractions including an active nightlife, plenty of restaurants, bars and outdoor concerts. A stroll along the attractive Canal Walk, and along the restored Haxall and Kanawha Canals, provides a great way to relax and there is also the option to catch a boat; some tours include an historical narration or there is the 'drive yourself' option.

The cityscape is an interesting combination of modern high rise office complexes housing financial institutions, Fortune 500 Companies, government offices, hospitals and universities and the more charming cobblestone, gas-lit streets flanked by 19th-century warehouses and a 300-year old farmers' market, filled with the scent of ripe fruit and fresh flowers.

Getting Around

The Greater Richmond Transit Company runs the public bus system that serves the Richmond metropolitan area with a basic fare that is only accepted in exact change. The bus service runs daily from 5am to midnight. On weekends between June and September a motorised shuttle service connects all the city's cultural attractions for the benefit of tourists. Orange buses travel from Chimborazo Park across to the Science Museum of Virginia, stopping at all the attractions in between. The Blue line buses continue from the science museum to Maymount. The fare is standard and passengers can hop on and off as they choose. Richmond is well supplied with more than 40 taxi companies, with cab ranks outside most hotels, the airport, Amtrak and the Greyhound terminal. The city also offers plenty of walking tours and is relatively compact and easy to negotiate on foot. It is worth hiring a car to explore the outlying regions, but not entirely necessary if staying in town, although traffic is usually fairly light and parking relatively easy to find.

Activities

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond

Richmond boasts an exceptional Fine Arts Museum, which presents a panorama of world art from ancient to modern, including the largest public Fabergé imperial Easter egg collection outside of Russia, consisting of roughly 150 jewel-encrusted creations made for Tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II. The Museum also boasts a collection of English silver, one of the world's leading collections of the art of India, Nepal and Tibet, and six Gobelin Don Quixote tapestries.

Opening Times:
Saturday to Wednesday 10am-5pm, Thursday and Friday 10am-9pm.

Admission:
Free, but admission fees are charged for temporary exhibitions

Richmond National Battlefield Park, Richmond

Between 1861 and 1865, Union armies repeatedly set out to capture Richmond, strategic capital of the Confederacy, and end the Civil War. Three of those campaigns came within a few miles of the city. The park commemorates 11 different sites associated with those campaigns, including the battlefields at Gaines' Mill, Malvern Hill, and Cold Harbor. Established in 1936, the park protects 763 acres of historic ground. There is a visitor centre in the Tredegar Irons Works on Richmond Riverfront Canal Walk at the corner of Tredegar and 5th Streets. Here, visitors can watch a film depicting the battles around the city and get information about self-guided tours of the battlefields.

Opening Times:
Battlefields are open from sunrise to sunset. Visitor centre open 9am to 5pm. Closed Thanksgiving, 25 December, and 1 January.

Admission:
Free

Museum and White House of the Confederacy, Richmond

Civil War buffs flock to the Museum of the Confederacy, which houses the most comprehensive collection of Confederate artefacts, personal memorabilia and art to be found anywhere in the United States. The exhibits include 550 battle flags, 215 uniforms, including those of well-known officers, and 1,000 military buttons. Art works on display include E.B.D. Julio's heroic painting, 'The Last Meeting of Lee and Jackson'. Beside the museum is the White House of the Confederacy, the 1818 mansion in which Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his family lived during the Civil War. It is still furnished with original items. Visitors have to join a tour to see the White House. These depart regularly throughout the day.

Opening Times:
Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm; Sunday 12pm to 5pm.

Admission:
Museum: $9 (adults), $5 (children 7-18); White House: $9 (adults), $5 (children). Combo ticket: $12 (adults), $7 (children). Other concessions available

Capitol Square, Richmond

Richmond's Capitol Square is a glorious oasis of old trees and green lawns in the heart of the downtown area, perched on a hilltop. The magnificent centrepiece is the neo-classical State Capitol building, designed by Thomas Jefferson, which has been in continuous use since 1788. In the Capitol's Rotunda stands Virginia's most treasured artwork, the life-sized statue of George Washington sculpted by Jean Antoine Houdon, for whom Washington posed. Another highlight of the square is the Governor's Mansion, home of Virginia governors since 1813. The mansion, which has been restored but boasts its original woodwork, plaster cornices and ornamental ceilings, is open for tours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays (first floor only). Another historic building in the square is the old Bell Tower, dating from 1824, which houses a visitor centre providing tourist information about Virginia.

Opening Times:
Open daily. Guided tours are Monday to Saturday 9am to 4pm, Sunday 1pm to 4pm.

Admission:
State Capitol tours are free.

Monticello, Richmond

Monticello was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence. The distinctive neoclassical building of the main house was designed by Jefferson himself, and he continued to improve and add to it until his death in 1826. Jefferson's time at Monticello is surrounded by controversy regarding his treatment of his slaves, and particular relationship with one named Sally Hemings. The house, outbuildings and gardens are all open to the public, and tours are offered year-round.

Opening Times:
Hours vary according to season, generally 9am-6pm. Tours run throughout the day.

Admission:
Adults: $22 ($17 November to February), Children: $8

Mount Vernon, Richmond

One of Virginia's most popular tourist attractions and the highlight of any historical Virginia tour, Mount Vernon is the colonial estate of George Washington. The plantation has been restored to look just as it did during Washington's era. Consisting of 500 acres situated on the Potomac River, the gardens, mansion, and other buildings are open to the public, and costumed employees demonstrate life in the 18th century. In 2007, Mount Vernon was given permission to reopen Washington's distillery, which now produces its own whiskey, available only at the Mount Vernon Gift Shop. The estate offers tours of the mansion and grounds, sightseeing cruises on the Potomac River, and special tours showing scenes from the movie National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets.

Opening Times:
Open daily April to August 8am-5pm; March, September and October 9am-5pm; November to February 9am-4pm.

Admission:
General admission $15 adults, $7 children 6-17. Other concessions available. Distillery $4 adults, $2 children 6-17. Special tours charge separate fees.

Virginia Science Museum, Richmond

The hands-on Virginia Science Museum allows visitors to touch, feel, observe and explore the impact of science on their lives, covering everything from astronomy to computers, and crystals to flight engineering. The museum is housed in a soaring historic building, the former Broad Street Station designed in 1919 by John Russell Pope. The fascinating and fun museum is complemented by a 275-seat Ethyl Universe Planetarium and Space Theatre that screens Omnimax films as well as providing multimedia planetarium shows.

Opening Times:
Tuesday to Saturday, 9:30am to 5pm; Sunday, 11:30am to 5pm

Admission:
Exhibits $11 (adult), $10 (child); IMAX $9; both $16 (adult) and $15 (child)

St John's Episcopal Church, Richmond

St John's Church has stood on Richmond Hill above the James River since 1741, and is known for having been the venue for the second Virginia Convention in 1775, attended by George Washington and other historic personalities. The church is also where legendary Pocahontas was baptised and married to John Rolfe. The wooden building still boasts its original pulpit and some exquisite stained-glass windows. Between May and September living history performances are given every Sunday recreating the historic Second Virginia Convention. Informative tours explore the historic significance of the church building and grounds.

Opening Times:
Guided tours Monday to Saturday 10am to 4pm (3:30pm in winter); Sunday 1pm to 4:30pm (3:30pm in winter). Sunday services at 8:30am and 11am

Admission:
Tours: $7 (adults), $5 (children 7-18), Other concessions available.