Downtown Richmond Attractions

American Civil War Museum in Richmond, Virginia

Discover Richmond's History in Downtown RVA

Learn about Richmond's place in U.S. history when you visit the museums, landmarks and sites of downtown Richmond.

There is history along every block of historic downtown Richmond and downtown Richmond's growing list of attractions invites you to explore our city's past, present and future. You can choose from downtown RVA's museums, self-guided trails and tours, eight historic neighborhoods and nationally recognized, historic sites and places to discover all there is to learn about the history of Richmond, Virginia.

8 Neighborhoods to Explore in Downtown Richmond

Black History Museum in Richmond, Virginia

Museums in Downtown Richmond

American Civil War Museum

The American Civil War Museum is more than a collection of artifacts and relics. In the battle against the all-too-human instinct to wish the past were simple, the newly renovated and updated museum uses education and storytelling to explore the unparalleled significance the Civil War holds to complexities we face today.

Hours: Monday thru Sunday, 10AM-5PM

Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia

The Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia celebrates the stories of the famous, forgotten and always inspiring African American history of Virginia.

Hours: Thursday thru Saturday, 10AM-5PM

Richmond National Battlefield Park Visitors Center at Tredegar Iron Works

UPDATE: The visitor contact station at Tredegar Iron Works is temporarily closed for remodeling.

This National Park Service visitors center in downtown Richmond offers both self-guided and guided walking tours. Available facilities and resources include: a sales area, visitor information, restrooms and park maps.

Hours: Wednesday thru Sunday, 9AM-4:30PM

Edgar Allen Poe Museum

Edgar Allan Poe was one of the most important and influential American writers of the 19th century. The Poe Museum’s collection is the most comprehensive in the world and its programs reach thousands of scholars, students, teachers and literary enthusiasts every year.

Hours: Tuesday thru Saturday 10AM-5:00PM and Sundays 11AM-5PM (Closed Mondays)

Richmond Railroad Museum

The Richmond Railroad Museum is located in the restored historic Southern Railway Station just south of the James River in the Manchester neighborhood with displays featuring historic railroading equipment, track cars, artifacts and Richmond’s largest HO scale model railroad.

Hours: Saturdays, 11AM-4PM and Sundays, 1-4PM

The Valentine

The Valentine has been collecting, preserving and interpreting Richmond’s 400-year history for over a century. Located in the heart of historic downtown Richmond in the Court End neighborhood, the Valentine is a place for residents and tourists to discover the diverse stories that tell the broader history of our city.

Hours: Tuesday thru Sunday, 10AM-5PM

Virginia Holocaust Museum

The Virginia Holocaust Museum preserves and documents the Holocaust in exhibits and its archival collections. Through the permanent exhibit, educational programming, and outreach, the museum employs the history of the Holocaust and other genocides to educate and inspire future generations of Virginians to fight prejudice and indifference.

Hours: Monday thru Friday, 9AM-5PM; Saturdays and Sundays, 11AM-5PM

Hidden Gems in Downtown Richmond

Virginia War Memorial

The Virginia War Memorial is the Commonwealth of Virginia’s premier monument, museum, and educational center dedicated to Virginians who served to defend the United States from World War II through today.

Hours: Monday thru Saturday 9AM-4PM and Sundays, 12-4PM

Richmond Slave Trail

The City of Richmond and the Slave Trail Commission unveiled markers for the Richmond Slave Trail in April 2011. Seventeen markers along the path display somber and illuminating information on the history of slavery in Richmond. This three-mile trail goes from the James River's Manchester Docks at Ancarrow’s Boat Landing to Lumpkin's Jail Site in Shockoe Bottom.

First Freedom Center

First Freedom Center was founded in 1984 to celebrate the bicentennial of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, adopted in 1786 by the Virginia General Assembly. Free to visit, the First Freedom Center celebrates this important history by exploring the past, present and future of religious freedom in America.

Hours: Tuesday thru Sunday, 10AM-5PM and is FREE to the public

8 Things To Do To Feel Like a Local in Downtown Richmond

Riverfront Canal Cruises in Richmond, Virginia

Downtown Richmond Tours

Basket & Bike

Basket & Bike offers three types of downtown bike tours: Downtown Sunset Bike Tour, Discover Downtown Bike Tour and the Richmond Art & Secret Garden Bike Tour.

Bikes & Brunch Tours

Whether you are on a weekend getaway, local and looking for a new activity with friends, considering moving to the city or just want to get out, Bike & Brunch tours will provide you with a fun-filled morning.

Haunt of Richmond Ghost Tours

Richmond has its share of ghostly and ghastly tales, and Haunts of Richmond can't wait to share them with you on one of their downtown-focused ghost tours: Shadows of Shockoe, Haunted Capitol Hill, Phantoms of Franklin and Haunted Pub Hops.

Let's Roam

Let's Roam offers tons of great scavenger hunts, street art walks, ghost hunts, bar crawls and other activities in the Richmond, VA area.

Riverfront Canal Cruises

The Riverfront Canal Cruise in downtown Richmond features a 40-minute, historically-narrated boat tour of the James River and Kanawha Canal, designed by George Washington. Hear about centuries of Richmond’s history, from Powhatan’s Chiefdom to the first commercially successful electric streetcar in the world, while traveling in authentic, flat-bottomed boats. Learn more about Riverfront Canal Cruises here!

Richmond Mural Project

The Richmond Mural Project was a yearly event with the goal of creating over 100 murals by world-renown talent in the first 5 years alone. The recurrence and solidification of the project throughout this time has established Richmond as a landmark destination for internationally recognized murals, establishing it as a premier art destination with 100+ murals throughout the city. Explore 20 places to find street art in downtown Richmond here.

Mending Walls Project

Mending Walls is a public art project that brings together public artists from different cultures to create murals that address where we are now in society and how we can move forward through understanding and collaboration.

Richmond Food Tours

Discovering Richmond Food Tours means exploring the Arts District as an insider. You will sample delicious food and snacks from 6 different restaurants like: Wong Gonzalez, Lift Coffee Shop, Charm School, Mama J's, Chez Foushee, Lillie Pearl, Bar Solita, NAMA and more.

Richmond Tour Guys

The Downtown Sampler, Shockoe Bottom and Capitol Square tours are acclaimed by locals and visitors who discover fun stories and ways to experience the city like they never have before; exploring and seeing Richmond through new eyes.

RVA Trolley

Historic tours, craft brewery tours, winery tours, food tours, street art tours, custom tours and more! Explore all Richmond has to offer on board one of these authentic, vintage trolleys!

RVA TukTuk

RVATukTuk offers tours and rides on their fleet of electric-powered, three-wheeled open-air vehicles.

Segway of Richmond

Segways are a perfect way to tour Richmond and super easy to use. Cover more ground than walking, but still get up close to all the amazing things Richmond has to offer - history, street art and more!

The Valentine Walking Tours

Explore some of downtown Richmond's most historic neighborhoods, like Court End, Shockoe Bottom, Shockoe Slip and more, on these engaging and illuminating tours by The Valentine.

Walking the Ward with Gary Flowers

Gary L. Flowers provides walking tours of Historic Jackson Ward featuring 20 stops in the downtown neighborhood of his hometown of Richmond, Virginia. Tours include historic, educational, economic, religious and social institutions that inspired the name "Black Wall Street" and "The Harlem of the South."

16 Essential Tours to Take in Downtown Richmond