Northern Virginia
From the colonial period the influence of George Washington and the founding fathers is found here in abundance. George Washington truly does sleep in Northern Virginia. He and his devoted wife Martha are interred at his colonial estate, Mount Vernon, on the shore of the Potomac in southern Fairfax County. The history of Washington and the colonial and revolutionary war period can also be found nearby at other Washington related sites.

The Civil War’s first conflicts were fought in Northern Virginia at Manassas (Bull Run) in 1861. The second Battle of Manassas occurred in the same area in 1862. The area is preserved and offers a visitors center and museum depicting the two conflicts at the site. The commander of the Confederate forces General Robert E. Lee , and his wife Mary Custis Lee, the great granddaughter of Martha Washington , lived in the family estate, now known as Arlington House, from 1831 to 1861. The home with a commanding view of the city of Washington, from the western side of the Potomac, and was to become the site of one of the most hollowed grounds in our nation. One the site of the Custis Lee estate Arlington National Cemetery serves as the final resting place of thousand who served and as a reminder of high the price of freedom..

Along the Potomac on the eastern edge of Arlington Cemetery is the Pentagon, the world largest office building and a symbol of the emergence after World War II of the US as the leading non-communist nation in the cold war period.

Monuments/Memorials

Arlington National Cemetery
George Washington Masonic Memorial
U.S. Marine Memorial

Museums

Alexandria Archeology Museum
Fort Ward Museum and Park
National Air and Space Museum (Dulles)
The Newseum

Historic Sites/Buildings

Carlyle House
Christ Church
Frank Lloyd Wright's Pope Leighey House
Gadsby's Tavern
Gunston Hall Plantation
Lee-Fendall House
Lloyd House Alexandria Library
The Lyceum
Manassas National Battlefield
Mount Vernon, the Estate of George Washington
Patowmack Canal and Great Falls National Park
The Pentagon
Pohick Church
River Farm
Sully Plantation
Woodlawn Plantation

Other Places Of Interest

Claude Moore Colonial Farm at Turkey Run
Colvin Run Mill Park
George Washington's Mill State Park
Green Spring Gardens Park and Horticulture Center
Meadowlark Gardens Regional Park

Performing Arts/Cultural Sites/Sports Arenas

Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts

Shopping/Entertainment

Northern Virginia Regional Shopping Centers

Washington, DC
The Nation’s capital, sits at the center of the region which is traversed by the Potomac River. The seat of the Nation's government provides visitors with some of the worlds most famous landmarks including the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the Smithsonian Institution, and a plethora of monuments, museums and other attractions at the core of the Washington, DC area.. 

East of the Potomac surrounding Washington DC, to the north east and south are the Maryland suburbs of Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties offering a multitude of attractions (as well as nearby Baltimore and Annapolis).

Other Attractions in the Capital Region

Monuments/Memorials

Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Korean War Veterans Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
United States Navy Memorial and Naval Heritage Center
Vietnam War Veterans Memorial
Washington Monument
National World War II Memorial

Bureau of Engraving & Printing
Cherry Blossom Info
Chesapeake and Potomac National Park