Step Into Colonial America in Charlottesville

“I have lately removed to the mountains,” Thomas Jefferson wrote to a friend in 1769 as he began building Monticello on his “little mountain” in the foothills of the Blue Ridge. It is a stretch of gentle, green countryside he later described as “the Eden of America.”

Jefferson would continue building for 40 years, molding his home and “essay on architecture” into an amalgam of the villas of Italy’s renowned architect Palladio, Rome’s Pantheon and a town house he observed in Paris when he was there as U.S. ambassador.

Our third President was a Renaissance Man, being an architect, writer, accomplished violinist, horticulturist, statesman, Shakespearean scholar, connoisseur of French and Italian wines and vintner.

His presence still pervades this beautiful Virginia town, most forcefully at the University of Virginia, which he designed. According to the American Institute of Architects, it is the most beautiful architectural design in America.

Jefferson’s descendants and those of his mother’s Randolph family continue to gather here annually.

Jefferson coaxed our fifth President, James Monroe, into building here so that they might create a “society to our tastes.”

As a result, a visit to Charlottesville is a step into Colonial America.

Getting here: Fly USAir with a plane change. Also, Amtrak will get you here if you fly into Washington, D.C., or Roanoke.

How long/how much? It takes a minimum of two days to see Charlottesville. The Shenandoah Valley’s Skyline Drive begins 25 miles west at Waynesboro, part of which you can do on a day trip.

A few fast facts: Weather is pleasant in late April and continues that way through October, which is the state’s busiest month thanks to foliage crowds and the wine harvest.

Getting settled in: English Inn (2000 Morton Drive; $80 B&B; double) is a large place with Tudor architecture, befitting its name. It has a huge indoor pool, a fitness room and a fireplace in the lobby. Breakfasts are buffet, country-style. The Piccadilly Pub serves hearty British fare. Bedrooms are contemporary, complete with most amenities.

Hampton Inn (2035 India Road; $49 B&B; double) caters to families. Although it’s short on frills, it has a rooftop pool and coffee and airport van service are free. Also, the staff is friendly and helpful.

200 South Street (same as address; $85 to $160 double B&B;) consists of two historic homes, the first built in 1856. It’s a fine B&B;, with English and Belgian antiques, heirloom silver, Chinese porcelains, Oriental rugs and fresh flowers everywhere.

While the more expensive rooms (some with a Jacuzzi) have a four-poster bed and a working fireplace, others are comfortable and inviting. The B&B; serves a continental breakfast, afternoon tea and sherry. The inn is in the historic district, with good restaurants nearby.

Regional food and drink: Charlottesville is close enough to the Tidewater region of Virginia to get fresh Atlantic and Chesapeake Bay seafood for its menus, which means a good supply of scallops, shrimp, crabs and a variety of ocean fish.

The Tidewater area also gives the state its most noted ham, the Smithfield type, which are great bargains. They travel well and last for months without refrigeration.

Virginia’s vintners have carved a respectable niche for themselves. Charlottesville calls itself the “wine capital of Virginia,” with bottles from the Monticello-Montpelier region having won awards in Europe since the 19th Century. We liked those of the Dominion Wine Cellars and Misty Mountain Vineyard.

Good dining: Historic Michie Tavern (Virginia 6, near Monticello) was built as a home about 1746 and opened as a tavern and coach stop in 1784. It has rustic furniture in log-wall rooms, and serves a meal of black-eyed peas, fried chicken, stewed tomatoes, beets, green-bean salad, potato and cole slaw, homemade biscuits and corn bread, topped off with apple cobbler for dessert, for $7.95.

Costumed waitresses keep urging you to eat more of this or that, because it’s an all-you-can-eat arrangement. Food is fresh, colorful and delicious. Tour the upstairs rooms for their historic significance.

The Ivy Inn (2244 Old Ivy Road) is a 180-year-old home with original hard pine and oak floors, converted into a restaurant a couple of years ago by two enterprising University of Virginia graduates.

Start with she-crab soup or oysters with three sauces. Afterward choose from such as crab cakes, shrimp with a Jack Daniel’s-and-cream sauce, veal rosemary and wild mushroom-stuffed manicotti with pesto or red pepper coulis.

Much of the help is made up of university students. The service is good, and the Virginia wines complemented our excellent meal.

Book Gallery (1207 Emmet St.) combines a fine bookstore with a cozy restaurant and small bar, where customers take their purchases to read a few pages. The restaurant, down some steps, features original art and a menu that includes turkey-and-sausage gumbo, duck breast with cherries and Smithfield ham, Maryland crabcakes and Thai barbecued shrimp.

Going first-class: The Boar’s Head Inn (U.S. 250 West, just outside town; $120 double) is a touch of Old England spread over 43 acres, complete with a lake, 19 tennis courts, three swimming pools and an 18-hole golf course.

Everything gives the appearance of a British country hotel, from the period-furnished bedrooms to the Old Mill dining room (built in 1834) with waiters and waitresses in jerkins and pinafores. The regional food is superb.

On your own: Before touring Charlottesville, stop at the Visitors Center (Interstate 64 at the Virginia 20 exit) for a display of artifacts, historical records and other memorabilia of Jefferson’s life and Colonial times.

A visit to Monticello is uplifting. After a tour of the main house, walk through the gardens where Jefferson grew and catalogued 250 varieties of vegetables and herbs.

Nearby is Ash Lawn Highland, home of President James Madison and a 535-acre working plantation much less grandiose than Monticello. Docents in costume work in the farm buildings at such chores as candle making and bagging herbs.

Fourth President James Madison was a frequent visitor to Ash Lawn from his own stately plantation home, Montpelier, 25 miles north.

For more information: Call the Charlottesville Visitors Bureau at (804) 293-6789, or write (Box 161, Charlottesville, Va. 22902) for a brochure on the city and Monticello, a map of attractions and a lodging-dining guide.