Charlottesville, Virginia

Go here: Charlottesville is the town Thomas Jefferson built. Perhaps not literally, but his influence is everywhere, from his founding and design of the University of Virginia to Monticello, his historic home and burial site just outside the city. Tours of the estate are offered daily. Admission is $8-$20, free for kids younger than 6. Stroll the grounds of the University of Virginia at your leisure or take a free tour of the historic Lawn and Rotunda. Be sure to check out 13 West Range where Edgar Allan Poe lived when he briefly attended the university. The room is outfitted as it might have looked in 1826 when Poe was there.