Monticello, Virginia, United States

5414luvtravels 5:00 PM Dec 1, 2022

History buffs must-see
Tickets to Monticello are a little expensive, but our visit was a highlight of our trip to the Charlottesville area. I definitely recommend this as a stop if you are visiting Charlottesville and are interested in American history. There are numerous tours to pick from with varying price tags. We did not buy our ticket in advance and instead went to the ticket desk. Granted it was a "slow" day in November, but we had no problem getting a ticket for a tour that started within an hour of our arrival. The extra time allowed us to see the museum (an engraved copy of the Declaration of Independence is currently on display), visit the gift shop, and take the shuttle to the top of the hill for our tour. Our tour was given by an extremely knowledgeable docent. We learned so much about Jefferson and his life at Monticello. We were able to wander the grounds, see the slave area, and even have an outdoor lunch. You can tailor your trip and tour to spend as little or as much time as you want. It's a stunning property and if the weather had been warmer, we would have lingered even longer.

5Kristin R 5:00 PM Jan 27, 2022

Excellent tour
Excellent. I took the docent-led 45 min tour. It's quite expensive, I'd even say unnecessarily expensive, but only marginally more expensive than the self-guided tour so it's worth the few extra bucks. The visitor center has a nice museum and video to check out before you head up to the house. there, you will do the house tour, and then you are free to walk the property, see the out buildings, take a short tour specifically about enslavement (included in your entry ticket), etc. This activity is suitable for children and adults alike. Our docent was very good at presenting the information in a way that was accessible and appropriate for everyone on the tour (6 adults & 3 children).