Not every town has unparalleled vistas, a Cab Franc made at the hands of the same person pouring it, or Dave Matthews and John Grisham walking by as you enjoy lunch at a café on its historic pedestrian mall—but Charlottesville does.
It’s urban and bucolic, historic yet modern. There are boundless hiking trails, wedding venues, wineries, breweries, boutique retail shops, and theaters (not to mention more restaurant seats than there are people to fill them). It’s for the limitless adventurer, the wine-taster, the music-seeker, and the family searching for a new experience..
At Charlottesville Insider, our goal is simple: to showcase Charlottesville by curating our ideas about what makes it unique. Follow our insiders to see what’s new, find exclusive deals, or simply figure out how to spend your day in our favorite city.
Guides
CHARLOTTESVILLE INSIDER IS OPEN
Get the insider perspective on dining, lodging, tours and experiences from or team of local experts.
👩🍳🥮 Upcoming workshop at @bejustcville! ...
7-15-23 Seasonal Galette Workshop
Rachel De Jong of @coucourachou will lead participants through a hands-on exploration of crafting a decadent, seasonal galette in the French style. Under Rachel's expert instruction, locally-sourced ingredients will co-mingle with fresh fruit in this classic dessert that participants will not only see through from start to finish, but result in a mouth-watering finale as the class enjoys their confections together. To quote Rachel's favorite French phrase, "Vouloir le beurre et l'argent du beurre" (who doesn't want to have their cake and eat it too?!). This class is ideal for all skill levels!
More about Rachel...Raised in a large family whose door was always open for hospitality, she grew up prizing the power of food to delight and draw people together. After receiving her certificate in pastry from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, Rachel spent a decade honing her art in restaurant kitchens on both American coasts, serving as pastry chef alongside such internationally acclaimed chef restaurateurs as Patrick O’Connell (The Inn at Little Washington) and Ludo Lefevbre (Los Angeles’ Petit Trois). Now, she’s returned to her roots in the Blue Ridge, sifting the best of her recipes crafted and lessons gleaned to open a bakery that makes people feel good!
🥾 Charlottesville’s Rivanna trail, a beautiful 20-mile network of hiking trails, is the perfect way to get outdoors and feel like you’re in the wilderness without the need to leave the city. The next @rivannatrailsfoundation “Loop de’Ville” monthly walk is this Sunday! This free guided out-and-back walk along the Rivanna Trail will take place at 10am, and will cover five miles of forest trails from Meadow Creek Gardens to Greenbrier Park (creek crossings included!). Parking is available at the Meadow Creek Community Gardens and disc golf course.
🧗♀️ Looking to get active in Charlottesville on a cold or rainy day? @rockytopclimbing located less than a mile from the downtown mall in McIntire Plaza, is a perfect way to get some energy out indoors and have a blast while doing it! Adults, children, beginning or veteran climbers are all welcome! Rocky top features over 4,500 square feet of climbing terrain and an amazing community of climbers to help you feel right at home.
📸 @rockytopclimbing
📚The 29th annual Virginia Festival of the Book will take place March 23-26, with some preview events starting March 16-21. The festival features a full schedule of engaging presentations and discussions for all ages and interests as Charlottesville welcomes 50 authors from around the country! @vabookfest
👀 Insider picks:
📕 March 18th 5:30-6:30pm, Rapunzel’s Cafe and Bookstore - Local writers converge in Nelson County for a fun night of poetry and prose, as well as creative writing prompts. @rapunzelscoffeeandbooks
📕 March 24th, 7:30-8:30pm, Paramount Theater - "Finding the Light" - Bestsellers Panel - Three NYT bestselling novelists with new books—Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Vaishnavi Patel, and Matthew Quick—share what it means to find the light. @theparamounttheater
📕 March 25th, 7-9pm, Camp Holiday Trails - Join four acclaimed horror fiction writers for an immersive outdoor experience
@campholidaytrails
GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. Thanks for participating!
✨GIVEAWAY alert! Attention Charlottesville insiders…boutique hotel @theforumhotelcville is arriving in Charlottesville this spring, along with its two food & beverage concepts, @birchandbloomcville steakhouse, and @thegoodsportcville, a craft beer bar.
One lucky winner will receive:
🛏️1 night stay in a standard king room for 2023 (blackout dates may apply)
🍷$250 food and beverage credit to spend at Birch
& Bloom or The Good Sport
TO ENTER:
1) Follow these four accounts @theforumhotelcville,
@thegoodsportcville,
@birchandbloomcville
@charlottesvilleinsider
2) Tag 3 friends in the comments section.
3) Like this post!
Open to U.S. residents 21+. No cash value. Giveaway ends Wednesday, 3/22 at 11:59 PM ET, and a winner will be selected at random and announced on Instagram on 3/23 by @charlottesvilleinsider. This promotion is in no way sponsored, administered, or associated with Instagram, Inc. By entering, entrants confirm that they are 21+ years of age, release Instagram of responsibility, and agree to Instagram’s terms of use.
🪄 We visited the Looking Glass at @ixartpark, Virginia’s first and only immersive art space. @ixlookingglass is a magical space, a full sensory experience you don’t want to miss! Bring the kids during the day to get lost playing in the enchanted forest and kaleidoscope cave (there isn’t anything they aren’t allowed to touch!), or come on a Thursday evening for a creative night out with drinks, art making, and music. Grab a craft cocktail or beer at the bar, enjoy some water color painting under the black lights, and then take the stage with your favorite karaoke song! Arts from underground” is open 7-11pm every Thursday and karaoke starts at 8pm on the Flowstone Stage! 🎤
🌸Loving this aerial shot of Chiles Peach Orchard Blooms by @aerowingva on 3-11-23! 📸👏
Signs of spring came early this year but the official first day is March 20th. Stay tuned for ideas for outdoor fun in the Charlottesville area as things warm up and the days get longer!
@chilespeachorchard
🏃♀️🔟 As a lead up to Charlottesville's oldest and most prestigious footrace that will take place this year on March 25th, we wanted to share some throwback photos (📸 thank you Lorenzoni family and C-ville Track Club!) and fun facts about the race. There’s still time to sign up to race or volunteer! @cvilletenmiler
💰Established in 1976, this not-for-profit race has raised tens of thousands of dollars for local charities.
🏃🏽♂️42 entrants competed in Charlottesville Track Club's inaugural Ten Miler that took place on Camp Holiday Trails course.
🏃 In 1982, the Ten Miler field had 390 entrants, 80 percent male and 20 percent female.
🛣️ In 1984, the Charlottesville Track Club unveiled the new downtown course, having police close roads to auto traffic for the first time in Charlottesville due to a race. Cynthia Lorenzoni became the first woman to break 60 minutes. 👏 @cynthialorenzoni
🥇In 1989, the race broke the 1,000th entrant mark for the first time with 1,415 runners. Olympian and former UVA All-American Margaret Groos ran a record-setting 54:38 and finished eighth overall, the best finish by a woman in race history. Two men, Ken Frenette and Mike Cotton, broke the 50-minute barrier for the first time.
❄️ The coldest day in race history took place in 1990, when three inches of snow fell on racers during 38-degree weather.
🎨 Our local artist feature for the month of March is the talented Russ Warren, who will introduce his latest work at his opening reception this weekend @lydmgallery. We recently visited Les Yeux Du Monde (see late Feb. reel), and were blown away by the beauty of the space, a contemporary art gallery on a mountaintop right outside of the city of Charlottesville. The gallery was founded by Russ's late wife Lyn. Russ’s latest work grapples with the grief brought on by the loss of his beloved partner. His studio sits right next to the gallery up on the hill, and after Lyn's death, Russ turned to his artwork where time in his studio proved to be cathartic. The sheer space of the gallery holds a lot of memories for Russ, and with the subject of his latest works being so personal, this upcoming exhibition should no doubt be a meaningful experience for all involved! Russ's style can be traced back to his mom, who decorated his room with Picasso print. Lyn, an art historian, spent many graduate hours studying Picasso, so when the two met they already had an aesthetic bond. Growing up, Russ studied Tamayo, another student of Picasso, who inspired his Southwestern - Mexican folk art passion. Russ uses dramatic color and line, and wild variations in scale and shadow to depict his subjects in emotional and often humorous ways.
An opening reception for The Denial of Death will take place at LYDM on Saturday, March 11th from 4-6pm. A luncheon and artist talk with Warren will be held from 12:30-1:30pm on Sunday, April 16th.
@russwarrenart
🍺 Calling all beer enthusiasts! @bejustcville is hosting an upcoming workshop put on by @finecreekbrewing that you don't want to miss! Join Brian Mandeville, Head Brewer and Mark Benusa, Co-Founder of Fine Creek Brewing for a deep dive into their brewing process. The class will focus on their use of local fruit, native and foraged ingredients, local malt, and their collaborations with local wineries. Sample and learn about farmhouse, mixed culture, barrel aged, and sour beers! Head on over to the "classroom" section of Be Just's website to reserve your spot.
Fine Creek Brewing is a great spot in rural Powhatan VA just outside of Richmond. This family-owned farmhouse brewery has an ever changing food and beer menu, supporting local farms and producers from fruit growers to grain farmers, from vegetable growers to malt producers. If you need a place to stay for the night, they offer cute cottages right next to the brewery. And don't forget to stroll over to the creek, where you can sit on the rocks and take in nature's sights and sounds!
🥃 Meet Ivar Aass, owner and distiller at @spiritlabdistilling, the oldest legal distillery in the city of Charlottesville. This business is one of those true gold mine finds for those who enjoy quality local products, a little off the beaten path, but once you’re in, you’ll be all in! “Just look for the red door” Ivar says when giving directions to his little inconspicuous warehouse space in Belmont. Ivar is super passionate about his business and craft, a labor of love for he and his wife, from the distilling process, to fun collaborations, to artfully creating his own bottle labels with a woodblock print!
Spirit Lab offers tastings of their spirits, bottles for purchase, and complimentary tours (as long they’re not too busy). Hours…
Mon 11-5
Fri 11-5
Sat 1-5
Or by appointment at your convenience!
🍜 We visited @northamericansake on a rainy day last week, and this ramen bowl more than hit the spot! We were coming from the @ixlookingglass next door (stay tuned for our post on this super-cool art space at the IX building), staring out at the pouring rain and puddles when it became clear that a warm bowl of noodles from the "Bad Luck Ramen Bar" was meant to be. The "Nas Original" was the perfect, most delicious treat - Tonkotsu Broth, Chashu Pork, Ramen noodles, corn, button mushrooms, a soft boiled egg, scallions, nori, togarashi, and garlic oil. We will be back to learn more about the sake brewing process, and will be sure to share what we find!