Lynchburg Series: Downtown
My husband, Tom, and I went to Lynchburg, VA this summer for vacation. We rented an Airbnb, brought our dog, and had no plans for the week. We decided that we would just explore the town and see what there is to do each day. The one main attraction nearby I knew I wanted to visit was Natural Bridge, but aside from that, we didn’t know much about Lynchburg.
We decided the best place to begin our journey was the Lynchburg Museum. Upon entering the museum, we were greeted and given an overview of what the museum had to offer, as well as a wealth of information and recommendations of places to visit during our stay.
The museum was a lot of fun - they had a scavenger hunt to help us ensure we explored all areas of the museum. We took pictures of all the answers to the scavenger hunt, but you won’t find them here, as you’ll have to visit and explore yourself! 😉
The museum was quite interesting, and the building, like many across town, had lots of character. There is a lot more history to the town than I would have expected. I highly recommend a visit to Lynchburg, starting with a trip to the museum.
Lynchburg has seven historic districts, and the museum is part of the Court House Hill district. After we visited the museum, we walked around the district and loved all of the character and rich history the town has to offer.
Next, we decided to venture down (and back up) Monument Terrace. This terrace honors Lynchburg citizens who fought and died in many wars in our American history.
Phew, that was a LOT of steps! I recommend visiting on a day that’s not 100 degrees and humid…. but the trek was well worth it - the view from the bottom of Monument Terrace was stunning. The monumental stairway is captivating, and I love that there are markers along the way, telling more about the history of the town.
After our trip around Court House Hill, we decided to check out a couple of places that were on one of the city maps we picked up from the museum. First, we stopped at the Awareness Garden, which honors those impacted by cancer. All plants, plaques, and statues were made possible by donations and voluntary efforts, and I was impressed by how beautifully maintained the gardens are.
Then we made a short visit to Peak’s View Park. We walked around a little bit and found a nice hidden pond that looked pretty with the lighting at that time of day.
After a long day of traveling around the town, we enjoyed a nice dinner at Bootleggers, located right along The Bluffwalk. While waiting for our table, we enjoyed the beautiful views of the James River and Blue Ridge Mountains. One of my favorite things about being down in Lynchburg is you had views of the Blue Ridge Mountains almost everywhere you traveled.
Our first day in Lynchburg was certainly one for the books! Let me know in the comments which parts of town might you want to visit, or which images were your favorites, I’d love to hear!
